Allegro Non Troppo
1977, Bruno Bozetto
How odd that I should review stoned movies this long without getting around to this one- especially being the fantasia fan that I am. Allegro non Troppo is apparently Bruno Bozetto's tribute to the Disney Classic, keeping to the same formula of animation set to orchestral music.
I can't really say I liked this movie more than I liked Fantasia: I think Fantasia's musical/animated coincidences were much more inspired. Allegro, however, has a much greater sense of storytelling in their animated segments. Each segment tells a story. There's a humorous story of a man who lives on a frontier, and is a trendsetter, until he finds a way to lose his followers. There's a wrenching segment involving a lost housecat after the nazis' invasion of italy. There's a new twist on evolution, with life coming around from a discarded Coke bottle that I GREATLY enjoyed.
Another credit to the film is that its live-action pieces (the filler material in-between the animation) are so much more enjoyable than fantasia's "this next piece is..." claptrap. There's a nice slapstick situation involving the animator and the composer getting into ego wars. at one point the animator really gets even by smothering the composer's table with ink. It's hilarious.
Everything here is so wonderful, but I still rate fantasia as being the master for one reason: its opening musical sequence, "Toccata and Fugue", is one of the best things on film. It begins with playing with light and color, then moves on to abstract animated impressions the music leaves on you... well, you know the sequence. Allegro doesn't have anything like that, and it's a shame. Nevertheless, I think this film is a wonderful thing to stone to. Play it and love it.
GRADE: A+
wonderful, magical, imperative.