“Wonder, enchantment, awe”: the Disney movie Nicolas Cage called totally inspiring
For many of us, watching Disney movies becomes our first proper introduction to the magic of cinema. The memory of watching old classics and being blown away by the animations of princess dresses and singing animals likely defines many of our childhoods, and the thought of these films brings heavy doses of nostalgia.
The company’s first feature film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs remains a staple of the Disney canon, introducing viewers to a world of evil queens, life-saving princes, and outcasted princesses, where true love and magic save the day. Of course, many Disney movies are now considered dated due to their reliance on men saving the female characters, but in recent years, the company has expanded their approach to include more diverse and empowering stories.
That doesn’t mean we can’t still revisit these earlier films and admire the innovative animation and charming characters, like Cinderella’s friendly mice or Sleeping Beauty’s good fairies. Of course, not all Disney films concern princesses; it took the studio 13 years following Snow White to introduce another in the form of Cinderella. Between then, they made many other iconic movies, like Pinocchio, Dumbo and Fantasia, although they all struggled to find as much commercial success because of distribution issues during World War Two.
Still, these movies now endure as some of Disney’s finest works. For Hollywood actor Nicolas Cage, watching Fantasia as a kid is a huge cinematic memory for him. The film is a little different than a typical Disney movie as it is split into eight sections and features sequences set to various pieces of classical music. Fantasia is known for its gorgeous imagery, telling magical stories and alluding to mythology and classic tales.
The eventual success of the film allowed it to become a franchise, and in 2010, Cage starred in The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, which takes inspiration from a segment of Fantasia set to a piece of music of the same name by Paul Dukas. In Fantasia, the short sequence features Mickey Mouse as a sorcerer who finds himself out of his depth, with the image of the character wearing a blue hat decorated with a moon and stars, as well as a red robe, becoming an enduring symbol of the film.
Cage was delighted to star in a movie that paid homage to a childhood favourite – one that allowed him to indulge in a world of pure fantasy and spectacle from a young age. Discussing how Fantasia made him feel as a kid, he told Collider, “Wonder, enchantment, awe. It was my first real introduction into classical music and it was married to these beautiful, lifelike animated sequences with dinosaurs and ogres and gargoyles. It was just totally inspiring to me. So it’s kind of a big moment for me to be able to play that part.”
Cage’s character, Balthazar Blake, was inspired by Mickey Mouse’s magical master, Yen Sid, from whom the character learns his tricks. Like Fantasia, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice was a box office failure, but while the former remains beloved and critically heralded, Cage’s film has sadly faded into forgotten territory.
