Allegro Non Troppo (1976)

Really Surprised!

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Some people describe it, as an Italian rip-off of Walt Disney classic: Fantasia. Okay, that might be true in. But what if, the "plagium" is WAY better, than the original???? Becuose that is true again. Disney released Fantasia in 1940, when it was a really big hit, and a revolutionary attempt to queue up these dialogue-less, and sometimes totally abstract flicks into a whole movie. A very good movie, and a surprisingly successful attempt it was indeed. Fantasia had a GREAT influence on the young Bozzetti back then, who decided, to make a film like that once, as a revelation of his crush on music and animation. 37 years later, "Allegro non Troppo" has been made. Again it was a great success, only this time the place was Italy, instead of the USA... But everyone should be aware for another all-time classic of animation masterwork's been born. The film starts with a pronouncer talking about that its not a Fantasia rip-off, he never even seen that Disney-stuff, and this is going to be much more fun anyway (yes, i agree). There's a live-action film that puts the animations in a frame, which is about a live production with orchestra (a bunch of old ladies, and their conductor), and a cartoonist, who designs the movie real-time onto the musical base. These parts are black and white, and since its an Italian film, its a series of hilarious jokes, and total chaos between them. The musical pieces running under animations, are Bozzettis personal favorites, and is a widely variated set, from Ravel's "Bolero", to Debussey's "The Fauns's afternoon". In this move you don't have to sit through several minutes of non-figurative mayhem (which is interesting for a limited period, but afterward...), which you had to do on fantasia, those tasteless, finicking centaurs been replaced by a sexy story of a faun, and the forever-marching dinos, with the famous "evolution from the coke-bottle" scene. This move is full of LIFE. Sometimes calm, other times teeming, but It is always funny and lyric, and things it has to say, it says them VERY loud. One of the greatest classics for you, who love animation and music.

This very hard-to-find mix of animation, music and comedy is a real treat for those who can appreciate it. I recorded it from TV some years ago, and it's still one of the most valuable articles in my archive. Very clever use of in-between b/w passages, great classical music and animations of totally different styles, concepts and attitudes, but each so well-blended with the music and the whole picture that you hardly get distracted. I don't agree with the comparisons to Fantasia, this is something different. It deals with things (and uses imagery) that a Disney product would never dare, let alone in the days Fantasia was made. If you have the slightest admiration for art, and can stand movies without the standard hollywood cliches, grab this one (though that won't be easy) and you'll not be sorry. 10 / 10

I first saw Allegro non Troppo around 1985 in a VHS copy. I truly loved the film, since it was so different from standard Disney fare. Even the B&W interludes seemed wacky and added to the overall viewing pleasure.Specially great clips were the Sibelius Valse Triste and the Firebird Suite.Well, I recently bought the DVD version from this movie (after joining a list in Amazon, so they would edit a DVD version of the film) and I must say that this version is GREAT. Not only is the original film complete and in an excellent version, but there's also 10 additional Bruno Bozzetto shorts plus a documentary about him and his filmmaking.So I really got a wonderful deal and would truly reccommend this DVD to all animation fans.9/10!

Surely not all of you know the Italian version of Coca Cola... it is called Chinotto, it has better (healthier) ingredients, got more flavour, a bitter-sweet taste, less sparkling effects... in a few words it is pretty good. (Un-)fortunately it cannot challenge the American giant, but for those who know... In a very similar way Allegro Non Troppo stands compared to Fantasia. Fantastic and funny animations, clever and never vulgar, made without a big budget, but with lot of thinking and skills, it creates something quite different from its original model. Obviously the music choice is also very good and both animations and movie (it is not only animation) work fantastically well with the musical selection...You may like it or not, but it surely is a very good and enjoyable effort. Try it once, and you might change your (mass-production) habits...