Walt Disney imagined that Fantasia would herald a new age of classical cartoons, with film fans welcoming the marriage of music and animation in an ever-changing program. He foresaw that they would queue to see regularly updated prints of the movie in theatres featuring the new 'Fantasound' state of the art sound system.

Sadly, it was to be one of the rare occasions that Walt badly misjudged public opinion. Fantasia was a critical and financial flop. The regular concert-goers who were part of Walt's target audience found it too twee and obvious, while the Disney animation fans were put off by the lack of story. Worst of all, some complained it was boring. This and the uncertainty brought on by the escalating war in Europe spelled the end for Disney's plans of an evolving movie. All work on future updates was suspended.

Some of Fantasia's planned replacement segments were already being designed. Invitation to the Dance by Weber was to have featured a return of the dancing Chinese mushrooms. Another favourite character planned to return in this section was Peter, the young black Pegasus, from the original movie. He would be seen having fun with some ducks before being pestered by a troublesome bee. Another possibility for backing music for the flying foal was Tchaikovsky's Humeresque.

There was a lengthy piece entitled The Insect Ballet, which was to have been made up of four individual sections
1. Butterflies by Grieg
2. Rimsky-Korsakov's Flight of the Bumble Bee, which was to eventually appear in Melody Time
3. Mosquito Dance, set to a section of Paul White's Five Miniatures for Piano
4. Dragonflies, backed by Chopin's Minute Waltz

Two works by Saint-Saëns, Danse Macabre and Carnival of the Animals were also considered segments to be added to the ever-evolving Fantasia, as was Ravel's Bolero. Paganini's Moto Perpetuo could have been another one of the inserted segments. Walt also had the idea that there could be short biographical sections in future Fantasias, briefly telling the life of a conductor before presenting one of their works.

All these plans would remain unseen, as they were all abandoned when work on updating the feature ceased. But the studio always remembered Walt's Fantasia dream, and its staff kept revisiting the idea over the decades.

After the war the package features Make Mine Music (1946), Fun and Fancy Free (1947) and Melody Time (1948) all contained musical sections that could have been included in possible updates of Fantasia, but it wasn't until years later that the studio seriously began to reconsider making a full length feature in the same mould. One intriguing spin on the concept was a version to be titled Musicana. Not only would this 1980's movie have followed the structure of Fantasia, with classical sections being accompanied by suitable animation, but each piece would have represented a different region of the world.

Finlandia by Sibelius was to show how a battle between the Sun Goddess and the Ice God had provided enough molten ice to create all of Scandinavia's lakes. A planned Mickey Mouse version of The Emperor's Nightingale would have represented China, and the astounding voice of Peruvian Yma Sumac was to feature in a section depicting a beautiful girl / bird figure from the South American Andes. A telling of the classic Eastern tale of Ali Baba would have been included, with all the characters cast as pigeons and other birds, and there was to have been an American jazz piece sung by a choir of bullfrogs. But the Musicana idea too was eventually discarded.

It wasn't until Walt's nephew, Roy E. Disney returned to the company in 1991 that the Fantasia story was resurrected. Roy had been instrumental in bringing Michael Eisner to Disney and they discussed how Roy might best benefit the studio. It had long been a dream of Roy to continue his uncle's failed masterpiece, and the massive success of the video release of Fantasia provided the catalyst – along with the finance – to take the project forwards.

Roy immediately started work on Fantasia Continued, which would have included the Sorcerer's Apprentice, Dance of the Hours and Nutcracker Suite sections from the original movie alongside newly animated pieces. Walt and the first film's conductor Leopold Stokowski themselves contributed greatly to the choice of music, as transcripts of many of their discussions had been retained and Roy referred to them when selecting the new movie's music. The Firebird Suite, for example, was something that Walt & Leopold had considered for inclusion in the original version of Fantasia and would make it this time round.

Roy goy a massive stroke of luck in the making of Fantasia Continued (which wasn't renamed Fantasia 2000 until it became apparent that it would be released in that year). He was looking for a musical piece by an American composer, someone world famous, and preferably a recognisable tune. He discovered that Disney artists were already working on a short film based on George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue; indeed, it was almost finished. Roy took one look at it and knew that, just as with the Sorcerer's Apprentice some sixty years previously, the new Fantasia would have one of its segments delivered up front.

One of the highlights of Fantasia 2000 for many people is the Carnival of the Animals portion, featuring the flamingo with the yo-yo. This piece of the movie was delivered almost exactly as originally conceived but with one crucial change. The original idea had come from story man Joe Grant, who wanted to showcase his favourite characters from the 1940 movie, the dancing ostriches. He gave one ostrich a yo-yo and designed a short scene where the other dancing girls get jealous.

A further instalment of Fantasia has been announced for release in 2006. This version is supposedly to include a musical number by Lebo M, who you'll remember for his wonderful work on The Lion King. The song One By One from The Lion King stage show has been suggested for this. Another piece apparently in the frame for Fantasia 2006 is The Little Match Girl by Hans Christian Andersen. However, as we're fast approaching that year and there is currently no work being officially done on the project, I think it's safe to say that it'll be late, if it's ever delivered at all.

Walt's basic vision was for Fantasia to continue, and that dream was realised with the release of Fantasia 2000. Whether or not the dream will continue is debatable.

The last word has to go to the dreamer himself, Walt Disney. The ongoing Fantasia project didn't quite work out as he'd foreseen, but today stands as one of his greatest achievements.

"Perhaps Bach and Beethoven are strange bedfellows for Mickey mouse, but it's all been a lot of fun".