January thaw

[altivo]

Drip, drip, drip. Dropping below freezing now. Fortunately the warm up was only a couple of degrees above freezing, so we didn't get the catastrophic meltdown that flooded the boys' barn last year. The main consequence was that the snow around the "ice tracks" our wheelbarrow follows got spongy, making navigation of a full wheelbarrow difficult. It

Comments

[altivo]

One of the joys of working in a really large research library is that you rarely have to throw things away or sell them. Unfortunately, the politics of academic institutions are draconian and obnoxious.

Children's books often disappear because they are completely worn out and falling apart. That's why few libraries have the original format editions of Beatrix Potter's animal story books, for instance. It's sad, too. All those lovely watercolor illustrations she did and the miniature format was so perfect. The modern reprints just don't have the same quality of reproduction for the artwork, or the same feel to them.

Yes! Animated films are one of my big peeves. Here as in so many places, they tend to be tossed into the children's department without any thought at all. I've now made so much noise about it that I get asked when one arrives whether it should go there or not. Jeez, folks, read the reviews and summaries. It's not rocket science, really. But they just can't break free of the notion that all animated films are simple cartoons. Worse, they can't bring themselves to watch one and find out differently. It's a deep seated prejudice that underlies that attitude. Fantasia is a perfect example. Except for the Mickey Mouse scene and perhaps the classical myths to Beethoven, children are bored and confused. A deeper understanding of both the stories and the music are needed in order to appreciate the film. Then comes Allegro non Tropo which is in part a parody of the original, and things grow really complex. "But it's a cartoon, it's for kids." Sorry, no.

[hellmutt]

Hahaha! Fantasia reminds me of when, as a child, I used to fast-forward right to the Pastoral Symphony and... er... the one with the ballet hippos. I found the rest boring; Even Mickey as the sorceror's apprentice annoyed the younger me with his blatant incompetence and inefficiency (yes, really). :)

[altivo]

You're right, I forgot about "Dance of the Hours." ;p

However, the treasures in the film lie in the Bach at the beginning, the Tschaikowsky Nutcracker selections, and the last two works, "Night on Bald Mountain" and "Ave Maria," at least in my opinion. Children generally do not appreciate those and may even be seriously frightened by some of them.

Disney's own discussions of the film make it clear that he was aiming at all audiences, but in particular hoped to reawaken an interest in classical music among teens and adults. At least in the era in which the film was released, it failed at that and was heavily criticized for the choice of "long hair" music. Fortunately it survived and is appreciated today.