Also featured is the famous 'Sorcerer's Apprentice' routine, in which Mickey Mouse (voiced by Walt himself for the last time) creates magical mayhem when he tries to get his chores done with the aid of a spell or two. It now appears very dated; the colours are garish, Stokowski's arrangements and conducting idiosyncratic and the dancing animals now seem incongruous.
Where ‘Fantasia’ excels is in its ambition, forging a new status for animation in the early decades of the twentieth century. Whilst it received mixed critical reaction and failed to make a profit on its release, it established animation (and Disney animation in particular) as something of an art form. ‘Fantasia’ remains a fascinating achievement for 1940 when colour and cartoon films were still in their infancy. It remains a beguiling testament to the potential of cinema, a breathtaking synaesthetic experience, and a landmark in animation and what was later to become music video.