[6]

Breakthroughs in technology make the aural component of this sequel superior to the first, while advances in computer-generated imagery often leave Fantasia 2000 feeling cold and clunky. I like the abstract butterfly battle set to Beethoven’s 5th and the Al Hirschfeld inspired New York sequence set to “Rhapsody in Blue,” but the rest of the program is lackluster at best. Flying CGI whales set to “Pines of Rome?” No, thank you. Donald Duck herding animals into Noah’s Ark over “Pomp and Circumstance?” For real? The final piece, Stravinsky’s “Firebird Suite,” is accompanied by anime-style renderings of a wood spirit fighting a volcano — a climax too similar in theme and tone to the first film’s “Night on Bald Mountain” sequence to set Fantasia 2000 apart. But at least the music’s good, thanks in part to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and conductor James Levine.