Grade: C

Verdict: It won't amaze ya.

Details: Starring Mickey Mouse, Steve Martin and Bette Midler. Directed by Pixote Hunt, Hendel Butoy, Eric Goldberg, James Algar, Francis Glebas, Gaetan and Paul Brizzi. Rated G. 1 hour, 30 minutes.

Rate it: Write your own review

Review: I wouldn't trade one whirling mushroom from the old "Fantasia" for the entirety of "Fantasia 2000."

Granted, there are occasional wondrous moments, and children today will probably like it a lot better than children (or adults) liked the 1940 original. But "Fantasia 2000," Disney's Imax film that's having a four-week run at regular-sized theaters starting today, hasn't an ounce of the charm, wit, warmth or awe of its predecessor.

The new film's seven fresh segments are Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 (abstract shapes); Ottorino Respighi's "Pines of Rome" (flying whales); George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" (1930s New York, supposedly in the style of legendary caricaturist Al Hirschfeld); Dmitri Shostakovich's Piano Concerto No. 2 (an altered "The Steadfast Tin Soldier"); Camille Saint-Saens' "Carnival of the Animals" (flamingos with yo-yos); Sir Edward Elgar's "Pomp and Circumstance" (Noah and the flood, assisted by Donald Duck); and Igor Stravinsky's "Firebird Suite" (nature destroyed and reborn).

There's also a gallery of guest hosts (Steve Martin and Bette Midler, among others), which gives the movie an eerie "That's Entertainment" 1970s feel. Except that "Fantasia 2000" isn't entertainment as much as a showcase for advanced computer technology. Whatever its flaws - from kitschy cupids to racist centaurs - at least the first "Fantasia" had a human touch. The sequel seems cold and mechanical by comparison.

The mysterious whales, for example, offer some gorgeous imagery but not one iota of the personality of mean ol' Monstro the Whale in "Pinocchio." The touchingly bittersweet tale "The Steadfast Tin Soldier" has been given a happy ending. The destruction and rebirth in "The Firebird" seem borrowed from the original's "Rite of Spring" segment and from the recent Japanese animated feature "Princess Mononoke." And frantic flamingos with yo-yos? Give me dancing hippos in tutus any day.

The worst mistake "Fantasia 2000" makes is to include a segment from the 1940 "Fantasia": the classic "Sorcerer's Apprentice," starring Mickey Mouse and a host of troublesome enchanted brooms. One look at it and you realize how soulless the other pieces are.

— Eleanor Ringel Gillespie, Cox News Service