In George Lucas, Disney Finds Even More Magic

                                        

Disney's announcement today on it's acquisition of Lucasfilms (LucasArts, Industrial Light and Magic, Skywalker Sound, etc., etc.) should come as no surprise. Uncle Walt did a fine job of creating and sustaining an entertainment empire during his lifetime. His successors have done very well for the most part. The purchase of the Star Wars franchise and the production of future films should keep Disney in the money for a long time. In the same manner, George Lucas will now have about 40,000,000 shares of Disney and $2,000,000,000 to fund his future.


Lucas isn't the first magician to make waves in the Disney empire. There's a long list, but two of the most memorable are the sorcerer and his over-ambitious apprentice in Fantasia (1940), the company's third major animated feature. What better way to honor the merger of magic as practiced by Lucas and Disney
than through the film's depiction of  The Sorcerer's Apprentice. And it's Halloween!

Over 700 artists created the animation for this classic, a must-see for film buffs. It took years for this forward-thinking film to make a profit, but its frequent editing and re-release over the years fulfilled Walt Disney's intention that Fantasia should always be a work in progress. Another fine aspect of the film is its wonderful soundtrack featuring the Philadelphia Orchestra performing under the baton of arranger and conductor, Leopold Stokowski.

N.B. Some fans say that Lucas's tinkering with the re-release of his Star Wars films has characterized him more as an apprentice rather than a master. We note that he wrote and directed a masterpiece, American Graffiti,  when he was 29, and followed with his first Star Wars film three years later.

Photo: Nicolas Genin