PDA

View Full Version : Give me your best description [of Fantasmic]



Pages : [1] 2

Laila!
12-12-2002, 02:59 AM
Guys, what's Fantasmic really like?

winniepooh
12-12-2002, 03:55 AM
It is the coolest thing ever!

Not everyone loves it, but it is one of my favorite things at the park (and it videotapes quite well).

hbquikcomjamesl
12-12-2002, 07:29 AM
It's hard to describe. This isn't a cop-out; it's really the best description, because descriptions fall short of the real thing.

Laffite
12-12-2002, 09:47 AM
It's *LOUD* ("BOOM!" (Think Columbia)) and I like it that way! :)

Preston

Mukta
12-13-2002, 08:10 AM
It's a water, fire, electronic, musical, live-action, fireworks, spectacular that uses a collage of Disney movies to depict the battle between good and evil.
And it's really, really good! :D

tod
12-13-2002, 08:33 AM
I know you guys all love "Fantasmic!" to death, the entire west side of the park gets clogged as hell when it runs so this could well be a minority opinion but I didn't like it much. I found it superficial, pretty much all flash and no substance, on my first viewing and it didn't get any better on the second. There was no third.

So to find the best description, I would go to Shakespeare, Macbeth to be precise, Act 5, Scene 5, around line 30:

A tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

Your mileage may vary.

--T

Ghoulish Delight
12-13-2002, 08:45 AM
Originally posted by tod
I know you guys all love "Fantasmic!" to death, the entire west side of the park gets clogged as hell when it runs so this could well be a minority opinion but I didn't like it much. I found it superficial, pretty much all flash and no substance, on my first Do you not like fireworks shows? Did you not enjoy the show's namesake, Fantasia? Fantasmic! has no less substance than either of these. They are not supposed to be gripping tales, they are supposed to be entertaining eyecandy with good music. And Fantasmic! is certainly that. It's a spectacle. It's big, it's loud, it's firey. And it, amazingly, takes place on what during the day is a calm, quiet shack by the river. You don't go see Fantasmic! expecting Shakespeare. You go expecting a fireworks show on steroids.

ldsguy
12-13-2002, 09:03 AM
Personally I like Fantasmic! but I hate, with a passion, Fantasia, can't stand that movie, one of the worst that Disney's ever done in my opinion, even worse than Atlantis and I like most Disney films, including Treasure Planet.

hbquikcomjamesl
12-13-2002, 09:25 AM
Let me guess: Either (1) you intensely dislike classical music, or (2) you are hopelessly uptight about classical music, putting it up on a pedestal so high that you're no more capable of actually enjoying it than if you DID intensely dislike it.

Ghoulish Delight
12-13-2002, 09:40 AM
Originally posted by hbquikcomjamesl
Let me guess: Either (1) you intensely dislike classical music, or (2) you are hopelessly uptight about classical music, putting it up on a pedestal so high that you're no more capable of actually enjoying it than if you DID intensely dislike it. Nice james. Straight for the personal, judgemental attack. Cute.

zedizdead
12-13-2002, 10:12 AM
I absolutely LOVE Fantasmic the SHOW. (Music, Fireworks, EFX)

But I HATE Fantasmic the EXPERENCE. (Crowds, Pushing, Shoving)

Laila!
12-13-2002, 12:04 PM
Originally posted by Mukta
a collage of Disney movies to depict the battle between good and evil.


Okay, but what's the plot?

Mukta
12-13-2002, 12:11 PM
The plot is, Mickey is using his imagination. We are watching him use it to show us good things. Love, friendship etc. Then the evil queen from Snow White and the other villains get together and decide to use evil to turn his imagination against him and scare him. At the end he realizes that although they are influencing him, it is still his imagination and he is in control. So he gets rid of the bad thoughts and is happy again.

tod
12-13-2002, 01:19 PM
Originally posted by Ghoulish Delight
Do you not like fireworks shows?

I love 'em. This summer, "Believe" choked me up almost every time I saw it.

Did you not enjoy the show's namesake, Fantasia?

The movie? Yes, very much. I also like cheesecake. I don't see the connection.

Fantasmic! has no less substance than either of these. They are not supposed to be gripping tales, they are supposed to be entertaining eyecandy with good music. And Fantasmic! is certainly that. It's a spectacle. It's big, it's loud, it's firey. And it, amazingly, takes place on what during the day is a calm, quiet shack by the river. You don't go see Fantasmic! expecting Shakespeare. You go expecting a fireworks show on steroids.

Okay, here we differ, and very large.

Fantasmic seemed to me to be a ragtag collection of effects (spraying water making movie screens, explosions), props (boats, blow-up character balloons) and movie clips from various Disney movies strung together with no cohesive plot. (Bear with me, I'm trying to remember this from many years ago.) To me, the low point is when the Maleficent character tells Mickey "Now you will deal with me, and all the powers of Imagination!" -- the word "imagination" standing in for the less-family-friendly "hell."

Anyway, my point was I didn't like it much, and I scared up an appropriate Shakespeare quote for the occasion. I'm willing to be I'm not alone, not that this matters. By all means Laila! should check it out and might even like it.

But if not... that's okay too.

--T

hbquikcomjamesl
12-13-2002, 01:40 PM
Nice james. Straight for the personal, judgemental attack. Cute.
Well, to be quite honest, I wouldn't mind in the slightest if "ldsguy" offered up a third alternative and made a liar out of me. And if the first of the two possibilities is true of anybody, I suspect they simply haven't heard classical music in a context where it wasn't being subjected to the second; if the second is true of anybody, they desperately need to loosen up, and realize that they're respecting the music too much, and not loving it enough.

And "tod," the exact quote is "Now, you will deal with me, and all the powers of MY imagination!" Which changes the meaning somewhat from your inadvertent misquote (but considering the character who utters the line, I'd say that Malificent's imagination [or Malificent's anything else] is more-or-less synonymous with Hell). As far as I'm concerned, the only real "low point" in the whole show is the (now apparently gone for good) Ursula balloon boat. THAT was, as Anne Robinson would say, "the weakest link."

At any rate, considering as how we are witnessing Mickey Mouse's dream, it isn't SUPPOSED to have much of a plot; it's SUPPOSED to be stream-of-consciousness with lots and lots of free association.

Ghoulish Delight
12-13-2002, 01:42 PM
Originally posted by tod
To me, the low point is when the Maleficent character tells Mickey "Now you will deal with me, and all the powers of Imagination!" -- the word "imagination" standing in for the less-family-friendly "hell." To be nitpicky, it's "...all the powers of my imagination!." And that's because of the theme/plot of the show, and not specifically because of any family friendliness (although I do doubt they would have used the original line regardless). I have no problem with the replacement because it fits with the plot of the show. The word Imagination is featured quite prominantly throughout it, actually, because the original title of the show was "Imagination!"

*note: The emphasis on my is not just to illustrate where you misquoted. She actually does emphasize the line that way, because she is setting it as the opponent to Mickey's imagination.

tod
12-13-2002, 03:54 PM
(Bear with me, I'm trying to remember this from many years ago.)

I am trying to say here: I saw it twice, I didn't like it much, you might not either. Or maybe you'll love it as much as all these other people here on this thread do.

By all means see it. Thousands do every week and it's been there for years (cf. Light Magic) even though I didn't like it.

The great thing about Disneyland is you really can't go wrong. There are no vomit-flavoured jellybeans lying in wait. Everything is good, in varying degrees. Find out what you like and go with it.

I like a lazy trip on the Mark Twain, myself.

--T

Laila!
12-13-2002, 10:26 PM
Originally posted by tod
By all means Laila! should check it out and might even like it.

--T

That would be very nice but I can't (sob sob sob). It's too far and it's too expensive for me :crying: I did catched up with "believe", though, the first (and the last) time I went to DL..... So I'm just curious what's with all the fuss about Fantasmic

Sophie832
12-14-2002, 01:01 AM
I've seen Fantasmic! more times than I can count since the very first year, and I still saw it as many times as I could this past year. Here's what I think is so great about it (and this may not agree with some people's opinions):

From the moment the narration starts and you hear the music start with the one tone that gets louder until the lights go off, it's an entire experience.

The storyline gets me involved every time (call it hokey if you want), and I love the music (my favorite parts are the section with the flowers, the monkeys, and the finale).

At the end, the big finish makes me smile, and I love that I can always hear the amazed crowd ooh and ahh and cheer on Mickey.

Fantasmic is just a great show, period, and I sincerely hope you get a chance to see it next year (Disney would be stupid to stop doing it).

Tigertail777
12-14-2002, 01:08 AM
I absolutely loved Fantasmic! Okay I will attempt to explain what I can here:
there is a lot of "wow!" factor to fantasmic... for one thing, at appropriate moments these huge walls of water and mist spring up from the river, and then they project scenes from various cartoons onto this wall of water, its pretty darn cool I dont think I have seen anything like it. At the same time the water screens are going there is the whole mickey story others described, and fireworks, and costume characters come in at appropriate times. The whole thing is just a visual and audio feast, its like a strange surreal dream. There are costume characters dancing on little float barges, the columbia becomes Hooks ship in peter pan with all of the pirates and Peter doing trapeze like acts in the rigging as it floats by. There are some surreal visual effects like a gaint pinnochio on glowing strings, and then the strings dissappear, neon dancing flowers with petals that sort of dance off. A huge puppet type thing of the dragon Malificent from sleeping beauty breathes real fire and sets the river on fire.
Let me just say this is a visual pageantry that must be seen to be beleived. Its like watching a dali-esque Disney dream.

SameerUCLA
12-14-2002, 08:38 AM
There's a reason I was listening to the soundtrack in my car yesterday - Fantasmic! is just a terrific experience. Lots of fun, some scary moments for the kiddies, and just a good ol' romp.

Favorite scene - after the 'underwater' sequence, darkened set, Mickey says "Hey! W-w-what's goin' on?"
...
...
...
...
BOOM! out comes Columbia out of nowhere and the pirate battle is on! Just spectacular!

Laffite
12-14-2002, 10:43 AM
Originally posted by SameerUCLA

BOOM! out comes Columbia out of nowhere and the pirate battle is on! Just spectacular!

I --knew-- I wasn't the only one addicted to the sound and smoke of that 10-gague blank cannon.

Preston

kisroo
12-15-2002, 08:51 AM
Laila!~speaking as someone who *used* to get up at 4:00 am for tickets to the Fantasmic dessert buffet (IMHO, by far, the best way to experience it if you are willing to spend the $):
We love Fantasmic! It is a classic "good against evil" show that allows Disney to do what I think Disney does best: Put on a great show that incorporates music, cutting edge effects (hey! I am continuously impressed with the water and the pyrotechnics and the choreography that goes into this show ok?!), and good 'ol fashoned "magic".

The music makes me teary, still (I also have the soundtrack). ;)
I love watching Mickey "fight" the powers of "imagination" when it is in the
*wrong* hands. I like how they tie in a lot of the classic villans against all that is good in Disney's "family". I love the Columbia fight scene with Peter Pan and Hook. I love the romance of the Princess "floats". I love seeing Mickey doing his Fantasmic dance at the end on Mark Twain Island.
It's like seeing a parade put on the water, mixed in with the best of fireworks/laser shows, all wrapped up with magical Disney music. It doesn't matter how many times we've seen it, we end up being fascinated each time(but, this is coming from someone who only gets to the park 1-2x a yr).

I'd highly recommend that you at least spend one of your nights seeing Fantasmic. But, again, you're talking to someone who has waited in line at 4:30am for tickets 3x.... :rolleyes: :p

Kisroo

Laffite
12-15-2002, 11:30 AM
Originally posted by kisroo

The music makes me teary, still (I also have the soundtrack). ;)


You mean the part when the Mark Twain comes out with the beautifully soft flowing electric organ music? And when you hear that part of the music at home you suddenly remember the lights and sparks twirling at the side of the Mark Twain as it gildes around the corner of TSI? And then the lights suddenly BOOMED and lit up everything with the music and then comes that pop-style classical Fantasmic theme with Mickey dancing to the music on Texas deck?

Ahh...the magic :) I -die- at that part everything.

kisroo
12-15-2002, 11:41 AM
Laffite!!! Stop!!! You're making me cry!:crying: :D
I'm logging off and going to listen to my CD and look at my vacation pictures right now! Do you think I should eat dessert just so I can "relive" it?! Oh, gosh, now I'm gonna have to go the the weight loss thread in the lounge, too!:p

So, ok, how 'bout the heart-string tugging, climatic-building moments when Mickey is "directing" the music at the end as fireworks explode everywhere he 'points' those cute and ever so magical gloved fingers?! All of this, of course, leading up to the fabulously victorious ending with sparks flying from aforementioned gloves....(I'm dancing in my computer chair as we speak!):p

Sigh. Where's my dessert and my Mint Julep when I need it?!:rolleyes: