Fantasia

Fantasia is a 1940 American animated anthology film from Walt Disney Productions, pairing eight animated sequences with classical music pieces conducted by Leopold Stokowski and performed largely by the Philadelphia Orchestra, with the music critic Deems Taylor appearing on screen between segments to introduce each one. The project began as an elaborate Mickey Mouse short built around The Sorcerer's Apprentice, and grew into a feature when its costs outgrew what a short could recoup. Disney and RCA developed a new stereophonic sound system for the film, Fantasound, using multiple speakers placed around the theater to create a surround sound effect, making Fantasia the first commercial film shown in stereo and introducing recording techniques, including simultaneous multitrack recording and overdubbing, that became standard in the film industry. Its high production costs, the expense of installing Fantasound in theaters, and the loss of its European market to World War II left the film unprofitable on its original release, and it only became a financial success after a 1969 theatrical re-release found it a new audience.