Tchaikovsky

When it comes to the animation of sound, one of the films that have stayed with me since my childhood is Disney's Fantasia. I have heard mixed opinions about this production but I was obsessed with it when I was younger and am now at an age where I can appreciate the animation of the music in a different way. One of the most terrifying parts of this film was, The Night on Bald Mountain. It frightened me more because of the music than the actual visual side of it, but the way the animation has been placed around the music is brilliant and that is what I think made it so frightening.

(The music used in this clip above is not the original music used in the 1941 release) but it is still the same. For me the most memorable part of this was the very beginning when it starts to pan inwards on the mountain which is then followed by the devil awakening. It is animated at brilliant timing to fit with the dramatic build up of the music. It is awesome. Later on in the animation when the music the devil picks is holding 3 dancers in his hand which seem to be made of fire, he suddenly changed them into animals and at this point the music goes from being quite bouncy and soft to suddenly louder and more threatening. Another thing to note is that at the very end, as morning comes the music sounds much more hopeful and contrasts hugely to the start. The animation that has been placed with this music really helps tell the story and still does a good job of scaring me!