FantasMic (song)

"FantasMic" is a song by the Finnish symphonic 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 Disneyland in Anaheim, California and at Disney's Hollywood Studios in Orlando, Florida. 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 beauties sleeping awaiting deep in a dream for true love's first kiss" references both Snow White and Princess Aurora from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Sleeping Beauty, respectively.
• Fantasia - The song mentions Chernabog and Yen Sid from the animation shorts Night on Bald Mountain/Ave Maria and The Sorcerer's Apprentice, respectively. Just before the first chorus is also the line "Blossom ballet in the great wide somewhere". The "blossom ballet" is a Fantasia reference to the segment Nutcracker Suite, while "in the great wide somewhere" is a Beauty and the Beast reference to a song Belle sings.
• Sleeping Beauty - "A Dragonslayer, The Awakener" is a reference to Prince Philip, "Maleficent's fury/The spindle so luring" references the villain Maleficent and the spindle that Aurora pricks her finger on, and "Dragon fight, dying night, dooming might" is referring to Philip's battle with Maleficent.
• The Black Cauldron - "Black Cauldron born, Gurgi's heart forlorn. Pig keeper or hero on a quest of augury."
• The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast - "Enchantress, A mermaid in a tale as old as time." Both "Enchantress" and "a tale as old as time" are references to Beauty and the Beast while the "mermaid" refers to Ariel from The Little Mermaid. Even further, the line "Belle, the last sight for the dying gruesome" is another direct reference to Beauty and the Beast. The song also has a moment where a line of dialogue from the Beast, "...because, I love her," is heard.
• Mulan - "A girl in the rain swearing to her father's name", referring to Mulan's decision to take her father's place in the Chinese army.
• The Lion King - "A cub of the king betrayed by the usurper". This refers to Simba and Mufasa, the latter of whom is murdered by his brother Scar in order to become king.

The references to famous Disney comic characters include:

• Scrooge McDuck - "The Phoenix of White Agony Creek" refers to White Agony Creek where Scrooge McDuck found gold in his youth.
• Mickey Mouse - The title takes the name of the performance Fantasmic!, and capitalizes the "m" for "Mic", short for "Mickey". There is also a reference to Mickey in the lines "Apprentice of Yen Sid conducting the galaxy. Dreamer on mountaintop, spellbound masquerade." This refers to his iconic role as the title character in The Sorcerer's Apprentice.
• Donald Duck - "The Sailor an idol for the six-year-old in me" refers to Donald Duck with his famous sailor uniform, who is supposed to be Tuomas Holopainen's favorite Disney character.

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, and was not sung by neither subsequent Nightwish singers Anette Olzon or Floor Jansen.