On today’s date in 1940, Disney's animated film Fantasia opened at New York's Broadway Theater.

It proved to be a landmark film on a number of fronts: first, it was a milestone in cultural “cross-over”, in which classical music (in the person of conductor Leopold Stokowski) shook hands (literally and figuratively) with pop culture (in the person of Mickey Mouse). In “Fantasia,” Disney set selections of classical music from Bach to Stravinsky to animated stories created by his studio artists.

“Fantasia” was also a milestone in recorded sound. For its initial East and West Coast release, the Philadelphia Orchestra recorded nine special optical tracks, one for each section of the orchestra. These were mixed by Stokowski into a multi-track stereo soundtrack to be played in synchronization with the film on special equipment made by RCA for a multiple-loudspeaker theater installation called "Fantasound.” (Today that would have meant a soft drink sponsor!) Three large speakers were positioned behind the projection screen, and no fewer than 65 smaller speakers were placed around the walls of the theater.

The resulting “surround-sound” was stunning by 1940 standards, but cost $85,000 to set up. After the second full installation at the Carthay Circle Theater in Los Angeles, “Fantasound” was not employed anywhere else.

Instead, eight "Fantasia Road Show" versions were assembled, each with 15,000 pounds of equipment but without the full surround-sound setup. These toured American movie theaters until 1941, when, following the outbreak of World War II, Disney diverted his funds, technology, and even Mickey toward the war effort.