Allegro Non Troppo
Ward Kimball once called the "Bolero" sequence one of the greatest pieces of animation he had ever seen and would recommend it to students learning about the medium.,Since this film is a parody AND a cartoon, it's arguable whether anything can be legitimately considered a goof. However, at the end of the film, when the director sends Franceschini down to the archives, each time he pulls a finale off the pile the same animation is reused all three times. The effect is that Franceschini takes the same stage each time, only to have it reappear when he goes back for the next.,[last lines]
The Orchestra Master: We're unemployed, then.
The Presenter: Unemployed...until the next movie. I've already got an idea. A brand-new idea. We could do a love story.
The Orchestra Master: A love story?
The Presenter: But not the usual kind about men and women. Lots of men and lots of women.,L'orchestra rappresentata nel film non ha alcuna connessione con le orchestre sinfoniche che hanno realmente eseguito i brani musicali. [The orchestra represented in the film has no connection with the symphony orchestras who actually performed the music.],There are two cuts to be found on home video. A 1985 release by RCA/Columbia Home Video on VHS and LD is English dubbed and edited for content. These edits appear only within the live-action interludes, a full 10 minutes worth though - this version is 75min run time. Interesting what they chose to remove, considering that much of the animation itself could be seen by some as rather risqué and probably intended for an adult audience. The removed bits generally are those containing abuse by the conductor upon the orchestra and animator. This is the version that was theatrically released in the U.S.. The video transfer (both tape and LD) is somewhat green throughout, unlike the current version available from HomeVision on DVD and VHS which is the original Italian w/English subtitles and appears to be uncensored.,Featured in Le ciné-club de Radio-Canada: Film présenté: Allegro non troppo (1983),Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune
Written by Claude Debussy
Performed by the Berliner Philharmoniker (as Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra) conducted by Herbert von Karajan,"Allegro non troppo" is the Italian answer to Disney's Fantasia. The movie is a parody of the well-known American counterpart, featuring a lousy orchestra (filmed in black and white), a slave animator (the Italian comedian Maurizio Nichetti) and an angry director. The live action part is filled with humor in the tradition of silent-movie comedy, relying mostly on visual gags and on the exceptional mimic of Nichetti. It is in stark contrast with Disney's pedantic and boring intermissions. But it's the animation that makes this movie a masterpiece. Every piece is animated with a different style, showing the best work of Italian animators.

Guido Manuli interprets Debussy's Prelude to an Afternoon of a Faun, presenting us the sad story of an ageing satyr that desperately tries to attract some nymphs. The tragi-comic character is a perfect match for the music's mood.

Ravel's Bolero is used for a piece on the origin of life on earth. In this stunning and imaginative sequence, life is born from a Coke bottle! Strange creatures crawl, swim, fly and metamorphose in dinosaurs, finally succumbing to the meanest creature of them all: man. The story of evolution from lowest forms to complex ones is seen as a violent tale of survival, as obsessive as Ravel music. The visuals are superb, with expressionistic colors and weird creature design reminiscent of Bosch.

Another powerful metaphor is the Slavonic dance by Dvorak, a satire of the sheep mentality of modern masses. The cartoony style is appropriate for the fast paced and goofy music.

One of the best pieces is probably the incredibly sad Valtzer Triste, about a kitty remembering his better days. This is technically the most impressive piece, with a mix of techniques used at the best to tell this tale through the cat's wide and moving eyes. Again, the music is powerfully brought to life, with such a precise timing and great emotional impact that you won't be able to hear this Vatzer without recalling the image of the poor animal.

On a brighter note is the Concerto in C Minor by Vivaldi, starring a cute bee that has to survive two lovers rolling over her lawn. There is a subtle message here, when we see the supposedly romantic love play of the couple transformed in a deadly menace... is love not so innocent after all?

Finally, Stravinsky's Firebird is the soundtrack for another satirical piece about an ideal world where Adam and Eve resist the snake temptation, and the snake himself has to suffer all the consequences of the original sin.

Allegro non troppo is to Fantasia what Van Gogh is to Wyland. Ten times more imaginative and mature, it manages to be technically as impressive as Disney's masterpiece. There is more "fantasia" in each of the single pieces of this movie than in all Fantasia. Bozzetto shows how imagination can achieve results that no amount of money can buy. This is animation at its best.

If you liked Fantasia, you'll love this movie.,