Fantasia

Although “Fantasia” is a film filled with a variety of musical numbers, the most famous is The Sorcerer's Apprentice, a concert piece by French composer Paul Dukas, starring Mickey Mouse.

The segment opens with the Sorcerer (named Yen Sid, or Disney spelled backwards) practicing his craft, calling up a smoky spirit in the shape of a bat that he changes into a misty butterfly. Mickey Mouse is the lazy, young, and mischievous apprentice-magician of the powerful Wizard, assigned the tiring task of filling the large water vat in the cavern with buckets of water from an outdoor fountain.

Left alone in the sorcerer's underground cavern after the Wizard heads for bed, he sees that the mystical Wizard has left behind his tall, pointed magical hat. Mickey dons it and pretends to be the Wizard. Dabbling with spells, he extends his arms toward a broom leaning against the wall. He brings one broom to life and commands it to move, hop, and sprout arms. Eventually the broom begins dumping buckets of water into the large vat As Mickey finds himself relieved of his duties, he takes a short nap and dreams of using his power to control the universe. When he awakens to find a number of magic brooms overfilling that vat with water.

The Sorcerer appears at the top of the stairway just in time. With a wave of his hand, he stops the water and the brooms' movement. He eyes his apprentice and summons him near. When Mickey is close enough, he takes the magical hat back and hands the disenchanted broom and bucket to Mickey. The wizard turns away with a look of amusement on his face.

In the scene of The Great Movie Ride, there is very little to this sequence. Originally planned as the tornado sequence to “The Wizard of Oz,” the Fantasia sequence takes place in the middle of a swirl of wind as Sorcerer Mickey raises the waters for the enchanted brooms to continue working. Guests feel the magical gusts of winds as Mickey stands high atop a monolith.

On to "The Wizard of Oz" >>