Disney's Bringing A Double-Dose Of Fantasia To Blu-Ray This Thanksgiving

I wonder how many kids in the audience of this summer's The Sorcerer's Apprentice had any idea that the sequence where Jay Baruchel struggles against an army of out-of-control mops was just a new spin on a moment perfected by an animated mouse some 70 years earlier. Jerry Bruckheimer's attempts to craft a new summer franchise loosely based on the "Sorcerer's Apprentice" segment of Disney's Fantasia may not have met with much success, but that's all the more reason to revisit the timeless original -- and this November you'll be able to do so in gorgeous, high-def style.

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment will release both Fantasia and its latter-day follow-up, Fantasia 2000, on both Blu-ray ($45.99) and DVD ($39.99) this November 30th. As is SOP for Disney these days, the Blu-ray set will actually be a four-disc combo pack containing both the Blu-ray and DVD versions. The original film has been given a state-of-the-art restoration and upgraded to 7.1 Digital Surround Sound. Naturally, both films are packed with a Mickey-approved wealth of bonus features. You can check out the specs and the lovely cover art below.

Fantasia DVD Bonus Features

• New Audio Commentary with Disney historian Brian Sibley
• Disney Family Museum (running time: approx. 5 minutes) -- Walt’s daughter Diane Disney-Miller takes viewers on a tour of the new Disney Family Museum in San Francisco, California, featuring a very large exhibit on Fantasia and most importantly, the Schultheis notebook with long-lost Fantasia production notes found in more recent years in the walls of a convent.

Fantasia Blu-Ray Bonus Features

Everything on the DVD plus:

• Disney View -- This viewing mode maximizes the Blu-ray viewing experience with a 16 x 9 aspect ratio. Original artwork created by a Disney artist, in a style that complements the beauty of the film.
• The Shultheis Notebook: A Disney Treasure (running time: approx. 14 minutes) --An in-depth look at the recently discovered Schultheis Notebook. The detailed log was created by Herman Schultheis, an effects man on Fantasia, and intricately breaks down the film from a technical view. Many of the special effects used in Fantasia were a mystery to modern-day animators until this notebook was recovered.
• Interactive Art Gallery and Screensavers -- Viewers can explore the artwork of Fantasia as never before, in HD resolution with unique Blu-ray interactivity and programming.
• With executive producer Roy E. Disney, conductor James Levine, animation historian John Canemaker, and Scott McQueen, manager of film restoration.
• Audio commentary with interviews and story note recreations by Walt Disney, hosted by John Canemaker.

Fantasia 2000 DVD Bonus Features

• Musicana -- Walt’s Inspiration for a Sequel (running time: approx. 10 minutes) -- This documentary reveals rarely seen art created for Musicana, a late 1970s project intended as a Fantasia sequel with a focus on exploring other cultures via their greatest musical compositions. Viewers are offered a look at the origins of pieces that were started by Walt, such as “The Emperor and the Nightingale,” which was then taken over by a very young John Lasseter. Ultimately, Musicana was stopped to begin production on “Mickey’s Christmas Carol,” but the memories of this piece still live on with the animators who conceived it.

Fantasia 2000 Blu-Ray Bonus Features

Everything on the DVD plus:

• Dali & Disney: A Date With Destino (running time: 82 minutes) -- This feature-length documentary explores the collaborative relationship between Walt Disney and Salvador Dali, revealing how and why the Destino short came to fruition under the lead of Roy E. Disney in 2003 so many years after its inception in 1946.
• Destino (running time: approx. 7 minutes) -- The legacy of Walt Disney and Salvador Dali lives on in this highly anticipated short film.
• Original DVD Bonus Features from Legacy Collection
• With executive producer Roy E. Disney, conductor James Levine, and producer Don Ernst.
• Audio commentary with the directors and art directors for each segment.