It just completely astonishes me how we aren't the only generation to have had the pleasure of hearing this beautiful work of art, just knowing that people as far as the 17th century danced to this... send chills down my spine. I LOVE THIS SO MUCH!
This song is so magical it gives me so many emotions. Every time I hear it I am more convinced that it is indeed one of my favorite songs ever composed.
I love this! I wish it had been kept in the orginal Fantasia. Nowadays, animination is all about the shock value. Thanks for putting this great masterpiece up for all of us to enjoy.
My earliest exposure decades ago to Claire de Lune was this particular Disney animation. I'm sure of it. In fact, I came here specifically anxious to see the moonlight dancing upon the ripples once again, so strong was the impression it made. So if the segment wasn't included in one of Fantasia's re-releases, it must have aired as a stand-alone on Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color or its incarnations long before 1996.
wow, thank you SO much for posting this! Like the earlier reviewer, I saw this many, many years ago, on black & white tv (must have been late 1960s/early 70s) and had never forgotten the way the ripples in the water from the bird's movement echoed the music. Every time I have heard Clair de lune since it always brings this clip back to me. It was lovely to see it again and find it is just as haunting and beautiful as I remembered. Thank you again!
They really shouldn't have deleted this! It's only 6 more minutes and in my opinion, it's simply one of the most beautiful scene (and music) there could have been in Fantasia.
@CometGules Originally Fantasia was to be a recurring show with a different set list every year. This and The Swan of Tuonela were to be the first two replacements; Clair de Lune was finished while there are only still pictures of Swan of Tuonela. Both are on the Fantasia Legacy disc of the Fantasia Collection box set released in 2000 or 2001.
@disneyfan81 This was actually cut for time because Fantasia was too long already. They had planned for it in another version with different sequences replaced with new ones every so often; too bad it didn't work out. This animation did end up in Make Mine Music, with a different song (Blue Bayou) and slightly shorter. I do prefer this version, however.
Then take comfort, because in spite of Walt's frustrations with the production and reception of Fantasia, he was rarely if *ever* remembered for outright hating it. John Culhane, a film historian fortunate enough to have met Walt when he was only 17, quoted him as saying "You know, it still hasn't made any money... but I don't regret making it, because this is what I should have been doing with the medium when I made it." Can't say much for "Alice". Don't know enough about its history. :x
I'm with thespacewriter, I can see why this one was cut; since they already had a calming/reflective piece with "Ave Maria". Still, it's still a beautiful little segment.
I wish they would of left this in. Mostly just because when I was little I would always get so sad when Fantasia ended. I always wanted just one more segment.
@tope2828 Well my only thought to why they deleted it, was, as beautiful as it is, both musically and visually, there isn't really anything that grabs your attention, like the other segments in "Fantasia" that stayed in the movie. That's just my opinion, I could be wrong .I'm just glad, however, they preserved both the animation and the music.
And I'll go further: Why did they STOP doing these? I can think of so many songs they could use, and imagine what they could do with modern technology...
Carolina Gonçalves Well, sadly, Fantasia failed at the box office during it's original release because audiences knew Disney as funny cartoons and fairytale films, so a feature-length animated film with classical music and very little dialogue was seen as un-Disney-like and too pretentious. Walt Disney himself intended to release a new Fantasia every year, with rotating animated sequences like the changing annual programs at theater houses. This idea had to be scrapped since he lost a lot of money after releasing Fantasia. The development of Disneyland and Disney World and his eventual death stopped any chances of reviving Fantasia. During the 80s, a sort-of sequel named "Musicana" with world folk music and folktales was planned but never finished. After the Disney Renaissance in the 90s, the company finally had a big enough budget to make Fantasia 2000. So far no one knows if Fantasia will be revived a third time.
Supposedly Disney planned on making more of these films and also planned to add old scenes with the new just as they did with Fantasia 2000. So if they ever get around to making another Fantasia they ought to add this one in it.
Wow, I never knew this existed! The arrangement and the imagery are haunting. I'm guessing Walt had to draw the line somewhere and admittedly this doesn't have much of a plot. However I would have preferred this to the dancing hippos ... ;-) Are there any more deleted gems?
Fantasia was supposed to be ever changing,a new number every year&new release.guess it never worked.this was the first replac ement number scheduled to go in.They used the imagery¬ the Debussy music in anothe Disney music film,called the number Blue Bayou but the images were created for this piece of music Claire de Lune[moonlight in french]
@sigursiggi Don't be ashamed of it....being so moved by this piece shows that you have a true appreciation for beautiful art and music, which can't be said for most people.
Its so sad and disheartening that Disney does not produce such art anymore because they have chosen to degrade themselves by creating movies like "Camp Rock" and "High School Musical" to suit the deteriorating tastes of kids and teenagers nowadays. Fortunately, I am proud to say that I'm not one of these teenagers who get scammed by Disney's materialistic products nowadays...
@lmo61210 So true. Some Twilight fans are intelligent (like my sister) but others probably think of it as an original composition {vomits at thought} seeing as they think nothing bad can be made out of Twilight {vomits again} I heard Bella's Lullaby (is she a baby or something?) on my sister's ipod and it was so boring. This piece was the best thing about any of those movies, no the only good thing about them.
oops, i stand corrected. herons do come in white, but you have to special order them. i was drunk when i wrote that, i thought i knew everything. i still think they are egrets, they have a crest on their head. oh well it matters not. beautiful song and animation. peace, lardo. p.s. pay no attention to any future information i give.
Wow, why don't we focus on other movies it was in - besides Twilight. Like Frankie and Johnny with Michelle Pfeiffer and Al Pacino. Or the great Ocean's 11 & Ocean's 13. Or Seven Years in Tibet, Atonement, Man On Fire, The Darjeeling Limited, Ficció, El próximo oriente, The First Day of My Life, The Right Stuff, Antonieta, Casino Royale, Gran Turismo 4, The Game.... Or just watch it being played by one man on the piano. That's the most powerful of all
@shatros I suppose I see your point, and I suppose it is technology. But why can't technology be art? Why must the creation of art be confined to only an exclusive group (artists with canvas and paintbrushes, as you seem to define it)? Even though CGI does not require the amount of work as animated films, it does not lessen the fact that the finished product is capable of capturing life and emotion with the same intensity as animated films, which, in my opinion, is the sole purpose of art.
Too bad it was cut from the film. I would have placed it in between the Nutcracker and Sorcerer's Apprentice. I am glad l was able to find the deleted clip though.
I really miss this kind of animation and filmography, back when the cinematography got its message across artistically by linking just a few motives, as does the music it represents.
my gosh... i spent this whole thing in tears xD the way the artists used the moonlight is just amazing, I have such a deep respect for the artists of Fantasia
Despite both Walt Disney, and De Bussey both being jerks in their private lives, they somehow "clicked" at a mysterious artistic level here!...I think most of us can agree, that the level of hand-made, truly gorgeous animation displayed here, will never be matched by CGI effects!...and the level of humanistic, touching chordal structures created by De Bussey move most of us to emotional tears of joy, just to be alive in this era...Why are we humans so blessed with creativity, and also cursed with such negative qualities?
This is strange to watch. I had seen Fantasia as a child, and fell in love with it. To watch this now, knowing it's deleted, stirs something in me, as if I am reliving my childhood in a way, bringing back a piece of it that I didn't even know it was missing. Clair de Lune is a magical piece in and of itself, and to see Disney bring it to life really inspires me. I can see why they cut it; they had a time frame and this isn't the most lively piece of music, but it has a mystical beauty to it.
Oh, wow! I never knew there was a deleted scene! It's like discovering a secret compartment in a treasure chest! It was so beautiful, the music, the scenery, everything. You can tell it's from a time when animation was an art form, and Disney was its Da Vinci. *sigh* they don't make 'em like this anymore
if you cant be moved by either music . theatre . or any part of the arts you have no soul.. this is simply divine and moving to me gods good music enters the ear with the greatest of ease and leaves with the greatest of difficulty
