Episode Summary

Erin and Rachel review Disney’s Fantasia (1940) segment by segment and discuss the film’s repeated racist, female objectifying, and fatphobic imagery. But the music and unicorns are pretty! Maybe there’s a reason Disney likes to focus on Sorcerer Mickey when they talk about this film...

Episode Bibliography

Armstrong, S., Algar, J., Roberts, B., Satterfield, P., Sharpsteen, B., Hand, D.D., Luske, H., Handley, J., Beebe, F., Hee, T., Ferguson, N., & Jackson, W. (Directors). (1940). Fantasia [Film]. Walt Disney Productions.  

Clague, M. (2004). Playing in ‘toon: Walt Disney’s Fantasia (1940) and the imagineering of classical music. American Music, 22(1), 91-109.

Daly, S. (November 29, 1991). Changes in the restored version of “Fantasia.” Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved from https://ew.com/article/1991/11/29/changes-restored-version-fantasia/

Dotsey, C. (December 26, 2017). The Making of Fantasia: Disney’s Masterpiece. Houston Symphony. Retrieved from  https://houstonsymphony.org/disney-fantasia/

Fantasia (1940 film). In Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://web.archive.org/web/20200405220323/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantasia_(1940_film)

Gabler, J. (October 5, 2015). 'Rite of Spring': A classic 'Fantasia' segment, whether Stravinsky liked it or not. Classical Minnesota Public Radio. Retrieved from https://www.classicalmpr.org/story/2015/10/05/rite-spring-fantasia

Gabler, N. (November 2015). Disney’s “Fantasia” Was Initially a Critical and Box-Office Failure. Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved from https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/disney-fantasia-critical-box-office-failure-180956963/

[Official Business]. (February 22, 2019). Fantasia (1940) Sunflower comparison BEST QUALITY [Video]. Youtube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeE-yaev7bM

Sergeant, D. C., & Himonides, E. (2019). Ochestrated sex: The representation of male and female musicians in world-class symphony orchestras. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 1-18.