You probably already know that "Allegro non troppo" could be crudely described as an Italian version of "Fantasia". It even begins with a humourous sequence in which the filmmaker, in live action, is interrupted in his introduction of the movie by someone from Walt Disney studios is threatening litigation!
They are selling themselves short, though. "Allegro non troppo" is in fact a very different beast, closer to "Pink Floyd The Wall" than the earlier Disney pic. For one thing, it's much more adult in tone, and even gets a bit trippy at moments.
I was unimpressed by the first couple of animated sequences, where the animation is poor and doesn't seem to respond to the music in an interesting way. The next ones are much better, especially the one set to Ravel's Bolero, which made the movie for me.
Throughout there are live action sequences in black and white showing the zany antics going on behind the scenes. These bits aren't as interesting, or as successful. I wish they'd just let the animation speak for itself.
They are selling themselves short, though. "Allegro non troppo" is in fact a very different beast, closer to "Pink Floyd The Wall" than the earlier Disney pic. For one thing, it's much more adult in tone, and even gets a bit trippy at moments.
I was unimpressed by the first couple of animated sequences, where the animation is poor and doesn't seem to respond to the music in an interesting way. The next ones are much better, especially the one set to Ravel's Bolero, which made the movie for me.
Throughout there are live action sequences in black and white showing the zany antics going on behind the scenes. These bits aren't as interesting, or as successful. I wish they'd just let the animation speak for itself.