FantasMic (song)

"FantasMic" is a song by the Finnish power metal band Nightwish from their album Wishmaster. It was written by Tuomas Holopainen, the keyboardist and main songwriter of the band, and it is considered a tribute to Walt Disney and the movies and characters of the Walt Disney Studios. The song features a flute solo by Esa Lehtinen.

Disney references

The entire song is a dedication to Walt Disney himself, to his iconic characters, and to various Disney animated feature films.

The song's title and part of its main chorus are both references to the water-and-lights show entitled Fantasmic! that is shown at Disney's Hollywood Studios in Orlando, Florida and at Disneyland in Anaheim, California. The lines "Where the Warrior's heart is pure. Where the stories will come true" reference the theme of Fantasmic!, which takes place in Mickey's dreamworld.

References to Walt Disney are heard in the lines "Wishmaster's will - Join him in the quest for dream", "The realm of the king of fantasy", and "the master of the tale-like lore". Further, the line "The way to kingdom I adore" is a reference to the castle that leads into Fantasyland at the Disney theme parks.

The chorus line "Wish upon a star" is taken from a song from Pinocchio while referring to the star as "the second star to the right" is a reference to Peter Pan.

Other films that are referenced are:

The references to famous Disney comic characters include:

On Nightwish's second full-length DVD End of Innocence, Holopainen can be seen talking in a room in his home entirely staffed with Disney toys, among them many of Donald Duck. On Nightwish's third full-length DVD End of an Era, Holopainen can be also seen reading Donald Duck comics while traveling on tour.

Live performances

The song has never been played in full live. Only the third, final part (starting from the flute solo until the end) of this song was performed during the band's Wishmaster tour in 2000/2001. It is also included on Nightwish's first DVD From Wishes to Eternity. The performances of this song, while brief, have generally been very spectacular. During instrumental parts, Holopainen was known to jump out from behind the keyboards and play "air guitar" while headbanging alongside singer Tarja Turunen and the rest of the bandmates, to much applause and cheering from fans. This is the only time he would leave his post.

"FantasMic" was not performed on subsequent tours. It has not been, as yet, sung by current Nightwish singer Anette Olzon.