Worlds to Conquer: The Art & Making of Walt Disney's Fantasia

The third in the Disney “Making of” series is the story of Disney’s most ambitious, monumental work. The concept: the world’s greatest music, presented according to the highest acoustic standard, and illustrated by the brilliance of the Disney studio at the height of its powers. The journey of how Fantasia came to be, beset with almost insurmountable challenges, is one of the most breathtaking in movie history.

In 1940, Walt Disney released his third feature film: Fantasia, consisting of eight animated segments set to music by Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra. The film was groundbreaking: it was the first to be presented with multiple audio channels in a process called Fantasound, the precursor to surround sound.

Apart from its technical achievements, Fantasia broadened the scope of Disney’s appeal. Adults had always comprised a large percentage of Disney’s audience, but Fantasia—while suitable for children—was designed specifically to appeal to audiences with a mature appreciation of the arts.

To celebrate The Walt Disney Company’s 100th Anniversary, author J.B. Kaufman presents the definitive history of the making of Fantasia, from source material to hundreds of photographs documenting the film’s production. In Worlds to Conquer, become a part of the wild ride that was the making of a Disney classic.

• CELEBRATE THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY of The Walt Disney Company with a behind-the-scenes look at a Disney epic.
• LEGENDARY AUTHOR: From Snow White to Donald Duck, J.B. Kaufman has been chronicling the history and making of Disney’s classics for decades, becoming one of the preeminent voices in cartoon animation.
• A DEFINITIVE LOOK at the making of Fantasia, featuring hundreds of photographs, pieces of script, and notes and commentary from the creators of the film.
• EXPLORE THE HISTORY OF A BELOVED CLASSIC: Worlds to Conquer delves into the complexities of the film’s development and production and the use of new animation techniques
• PERFECT GIFT: Worlds to Conquer is the must-have gift for the Disney enthusiast or film historian in your life.

J.B. Kaufman is an author and film historian who has published and lectured extensively on Disney animation, American silent film history, and related topics. His books include The Fairest One of All, South of the Border with Disney, and Pinocchio: The Making of the Disney Epic. He is also coauthor, with Russell Merritt, of Walt Disney’s Silly Symphonies: A Companion to the Classic Cartoon Series and the award-winning Walt in Wonderland: The Silent Films of Walt Disney, and collaborated with David Gerstein on Taschen’s Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse: The Ultimate History. Kaufman has also presented programs at festivals including the TCM Classic Film Festival; the San Francisco Silent Film Festival; and Le Giornate del Cinema Muto in Pordenone, Italy, where he was a 2020 recipient of the Jean Mitry Award.