Featuring the work of the Disney studio's artists at the height of their
powers, and coupled with conductor Leopold Stokowski's musical
arrangements, Fantasia's fanciful interpretations include a
semi-abstract rendition of Bach's
Toccata and Fugue in D Minor; water sprites, dancing mushrooms, and
other creatures in Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker Suite; Mickey Mouse as
the title character in Paul Dukas' The Sorcerer's Apprentice; dinosaurs
roaming a primordial Earth in Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring;
frolicking mythical creatures in Beethoven's The Pastoral Symphony;
ballet-dancing ostriches, hippopotamuses, and alligators in Ponchielli's
Dance of the Hours; and the rise and fall of the dark demon Chernobog
in Mussorgsky's Night on Bald Mountain and Schubert's "Ave Maria." Deems
Taylor's narration (and brief words by Stokowski and Mickey) provide
the only spoken words in the film.