"Allegro non Troppo", Favorite Episode?

~ Grettings, Folks!
One of my all-time favorite adult animated films is "Allegro non Troppo". The animation in this film is truly amazing. I saw it when it was originally released and located a VHS copy in 1985. Now I have it on DVD so it's never really been out of my playlist.

Allegro Non Troppo is a 1976 Italian animated film directed by Bruno Bozzetto. Featuring six pieces of classical music, the film is a parody of Disney’s Fantasia, two of its episodes being arguably derived from the earlier film. The classical pieces are set to color animation, ranging from comedy to deep tragedy. At the beginning, in between the animation, and at the end are black and white live-action sequences, displaying the fictional animator, orchestra, conductor and filmmaker, with many humorous scenes about the fictional production of the film. Some of these sections mix animation and live action.

The film has been released in two versions, the first includes live action sequences in between the classical pieces. The second version of the film omits these, replacing them with animated plasticine letters spelling out the title of the next piece of music.

My favorite episode is Sibelius’s Valse triste, where a cat wanders in the ruins of a large house. The cat remembers the life that used to fill the house when it was occupied. Eventually all of these images fade away, as does the ghost cat, just before the ruins are demolished. This one gets me every time. The music is so sad!

Here's a YouTube link for viewing Valse triste;



Anyone else out there have a favorite episode from Allegro Non Troppo?

I remember seeing this in the late 70s, but I haven't seen it since. The live-action scenes were a sort of running gag about the captive animator being let out by the orchestra leader to do each segment as they played, or something like that - it seems a pity to have removed it.

I recall the segment that equated to the Rite of Spring from Fantasia - An astronaut leaves an empty Coke bottle on a barren planet, and to Ravel's Bolero a stream of weird and fantastic organisms evolve from the dregs!

The equivalent to the Beethoven Pastoral symphony was Debussey's Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un faun in which a middle-aged satyr unsuccessfully pursues younger nymphs.

Those, and the Valse Triste, are the only ones that remain in my memory, although I know there were more segments.

~ Hey, Peter!

In addition to the Valse triste segment, you've mentioned a couple of my favorite episodes from Allegro non Troppo. Ravel's Bolero and the Debussy selection are amazing bits of animation. My dvd disk has the original italian soundtrack, but more importantly the original 1970's english dub. The translation and vocal execution is sometimes unintentionally hilarious! Another segment in the film that is quite good is set to Vivaldi’s “Concerto in C major for 2 Oboes, 2 Clarinets, Strings and Continuo RV 559”, wherein a female bee attempts to eat a small meal, but is continually interrupted by two lovers sitting down and then becoming romantically involved in the grass. Finally the bee decides enough is enough and the male lover gets stung in the end.

Much to my chagrin, I still haven't seen Allegro Non Troppo . I think I shall have to rectify that at the first opportunity I have.