Allegro Non Troppo (1976)

In 1940, Walt Disney released a movie entitled “Fantasia”. With this film, Walt Disney's animators combined simplistic art with that of classical music, and it worked beautifully. And even though Walt wanted to continue this idea even further, “Fantasia” unfortunately flopped at the box office, thank in part due to World War II. It wouldn't be for another 60 years until a proper continuation for “Fantasia” came around, that ultimately resulted in “Fantasia 2000”, which was generally received with mixed reception. But unbeknownst to the general public, there was another film that combined animation with classical music. And that film was 1976's “Allegro Non Troppo”, and Italian version of “Fantasia”. Not many people are aware of this movie's existence but this film is definitely worth watching mostly for curiosity's sake. “Allegro Non Troppo” is a unique film that somewhat rivals the Disney version by a very large margin, and offering viewer something original in return.

The plot of the movie is basically a parody of “Fantasia”, just done in a different style. There are six animated segments and each one is unique in their own right.

The first segment tells the story of an elder faun trying to find love again, but fails at every turn. Plus, this segment ends on one of the most bizarre and surreal endings ever.

Next, a caveman who hates his neighbors tries to get rid of them, but they eventually copy everything he does, leading to a pretty funny twist.

After that, we the march of the dinosaurs told through the music of Maurice Ravel's Bolero.

After that, we get a lonely kitten, who just lost his house, reflects on all the good times he had there.

Next, a female bee tries to have a perfect meal with a flower, but a couple interrupts her.

Finally, we have the serpent from the Adam and Eve story experiencing a hallucinogenic version of himself.

Once that is finished, we get a bunch of random shorts signaling the end of the movie.

“Allegro Non Troppo” is an interesting little film.

One thing that can definitely be said about it is the fact that it is definitely overlooked. This movie is not that bad. In fact, there are some great touches that make it stand out.

First of all, the movie is set in its own time period. It was made during the 1970s, so it showcases what that decade was all about, making the film not hinder in the slightest.

Second, the movie was mad on a low budget, meaning while the film looks cheap, it makes up with something incredibly good.

Finally, the animation is something you would not expect Disney would do. It's strange, bizarre, surreal, and it is beautiful to look at the exact same time. The timing on the animation is set perfectly to the music that is being played and it takes more of an adult approach as well. True, “Fantasia” did go for a more adult route as well, but it was a more tamer direction at the time. Here, there is a lot of adult imagery floating around; frontal nudity, and even some thematic elements that a lot of younger viewers might not fully understand. Perfect examples of this include the segments with the cat which can deliver an ending on an emotional level, and the serpent segment where everything is thrown out the window.

“Allegro Non Troppo” is definitely a movie aimed at adults, but it's not what you would expect from Disney.

Now the only negative criticism that plagues the movie are the live action sequences. It starts off good, but as the film progresses, it kind of gets old. What this means is that the narration scenes feel a bit forced by the end of the movie. But this is only a minor complaint as the rest of the film is quite excellent.

In conclusion, “Allegro Non Troppo” is somewhat of a sequel to “Fantasia”, yet it doesn't bear the Disney name. It's quite interesting to see what goes into it. And in the end, you'll find out that this movie is almost like the lost “Fantasia” Disney forgot to do if that movie hadn't been a box office flop.