When Disney's Fantasia 2000 makes its world-wide debut at IMAX theaters on January 1, 2000, it will become the first theatrical feature-length film ever released in the large-screen 70mm format. Acclaimed conductor James Levine leads the Chicago Symphony Orchestra through some of the greatest classical music ever written, with seven exciting new animated segments and one returning favorite, "The Sorcerer's Apprentice." The IMAX version will run throughout April, then take a short hiatus. A 35mm version goes into wide release in summer 2000.

Fantasia 2000 begins with an homage: images from the 1940 Fantasia float through the cosmos as snippets of the original music swell and recede. The images drift away, revealing several Disney artists seated beside an orchestra. The musicians tune their instruments and the artists sharpen their pencils in anticipation. Conductor James Levine approaches the podium, raises his baton, and launches us into the familiar strains of Beethoven's "Symphony No. 5."

Director Pixote Hunt (The Rescuers Down Under, The Pagemaster) uses abstract imagery and pastel palette in this `good vs. evil' scenario. Says supervising director Hendel Butoy, "There are some triangular shapes that mimic butterfly motions, colorful shapes that are good or sympathetic. And then you have the antagonistic shapes, which are dark and come out of these cracks in the ground." The two groups battle for control as traditional hand-drawn animation meets innovative CG graphics in a dazzling display of color and texture.

Like the first Fantasia, Fantasia 2000 begins with an abstract sequence, Ludvig Van Beethoven's "Symphony No. 5." All images © Disney Enterprises, Inc.	A pod of whales takes flight when a supernova explodes in "Pines of Rome."

Actor Steve Martin then welcomes us to Fantasia 2000 with a brief history of Walt Disney's original vision for the film. Martin introduces the great violinist Itzhak Perlman, who then leads us into the next segment, composer Ottorino Respighi's "Pines of Rome." Says director Butoy, whose previous credits include The Fox And The Hound, The Black Cauldron, The Great Mouse Detective, and Oliver & Company: "I like to describe this segment as a fantastic journey. When I first heard the music, the very first notion that I had, right off the bat, was a sense of flight." From this was sparked a whimsical vision of flying whales and exploding stars. "We combined computer-generated imagery of the whales and water with traditional background painting and traditional effects. We had to write our own computer code to make those things happen. I still haven't seen anyone else do what we've done."