“Fantasia” (ファンタジア), Original Japanese First-Release Movie Poster 1955, Ultra Rare, B2 Size (51.5 × 72.8 cm / approx. 51 × 73 cm) - R19

A magnificent 1955 first-release Japanese B2 for Walt Disney’s Fantasia—one of the most ambitious, influential and visually extraordinary achievements in the history of animation.

Created for the film’s long-awaited first Japanese theatrical release, this exceptionally rare design draws principally upon the mythological imagery of Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony sequence. Winged horses sweep across a deep-blue sky above an Arcadian landscape, while a small cherub plays a pipe beneath a flowering tree and a delicate mythological figure appears silhouetted within the moon.

The composition is unmistakably Japanese in its presentation. A monumental coral-red ファンタジア title dominates the lower black field, while dramatic vertical promotional copy, classical programme notes, institutional endorsements and technical exhibition details surround the illustration.

For collectors, this is a genuine post-war Japanese Disney trophy: an original first-release poster combining rare Japan-specific artwork, Daiei distribution, SuperScope exhibition, stereophonic sound promotion and unusually detailed classical-music credits.

The poster is unbacked and entirely unrestored, retaining the character and historical integrity of a sheet displayed in a Japanese cinema approximately seven decades ago.

Date & Japanese Theatrical Release

Fantasia received its world premiere in New York on 13 November 1940.

Japanese audiences had to wait almost fifteen years for the film’s first theatrical release, which took place on 23 September 1955, with distribution handled through Walt Disney Films and Daiei’s foreign-film division.

The Daiei distribution credit remains visible at the lower right of this poster:

大映配給 — “Distributed by Daiei”

The sheet also promotes the film as a technically advanced theatrical event through the prominent wording:

スーパースコープ拡大映写 — “SuperScope enlarged projection”

and:

ステレオフォニック立体音響 — “Stereophonic dimensional sound”

These declarations identify the poster directly with the prestigious widescreen-and-stereo presentation prepared for the film’s Japanese debut.

The Film & Its Place in Disney’s Legacy

Produced by Walt Disney, Fantasia was the studio’s third animated feature and represented an unprecedented attempt to unite classical music, experimental animation and motion-picture technology within a single feature-length presentation.

Rather than following one conventional narrative, the film is constructed around eight individual musical movements:

• Johann Sebastian Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D Minor

• Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker Suite

• Paul Dukas’s The Sorcerer’s Apprentice

• Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring

• Ludwig van Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony

• Amilcare Ponchielli’s Dance of the Hours

• Modest Mussorgsky’s Night on Bald Mountain

• Franz Schubert’s Ave Maria

The music was conducted by Leopold Stokowski and performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra, both of whom are prominently credited on the poster.

The original production also pioneered Fantasound, an early multichannel stereophonic system developed to create the spatial impression of a live orchestra within the cinema. This technological ambition is reflected directly in the Japanese campaign’s emphasis on stereophonic “three-dimensional” sound.

At the 14th Academy Awards ceremony, Fantasia received two Special Awards: one recognising Stokowski and his associates for creating a new form of visualised music, and another recognising Walt Disney, William Garity, J. N. A. Hawkins and RCA for advancing motion-picture sound.

The poster itself declares:

三つのアカデミー賞受賞 — “Winner of three Academy Awards”

This contemporary Japanese publicity wording is best understood in the context of those two Fantasia-specific Special Awards together with the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award presented to Walt Disney at the same ceremony.

The film’s lasting cultural importance was further recognised in 1990, when it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.

Disney, Daiei, and Post-War Reception in Japan

By the mid-1950s, Disney’s feature-length animated films were being presented in Japan as important imported cultural events rather than merely children’s entertainment.

Daiei’s campaign for Fantasia positioned the film simultaneously as:

• a major work of animation,

• a classical concert experience,

• a technological spectacle,

• an educational film, and

• a prestigious example of international cinema.

This status is made particularly clear by the institutional recommendations printed across the lower portion of the poster:

文部省選定映画 — “Selected by the Ministry of Education”

青少年映画委員会推薦 — “Recommended by the Youth Film Committee”

優秀映画鑑賞会推薦 — “Recommended by the Association for the Appreciation of Outstanding Films”

The combination of government selection, youth-film endorsement, Academy recognition, SuperScope presentation and stereophonic sound gave the Japanese release an unusually elevated cultural position.

The campaign’s description of the film as a:

総天然色長篇音楽絵巻

is also particularly evocative. Literally translated as a “full-colour, feature-length musical picture scroll,” the phrase connects Disney’s animated concert film with the Japanese tradition of the illustrated narrative scroll, or emaki.

Design Notes

A Japanese interpretation of the Pastoral Symphony: rather than placing Mickey Mouse and The Sorcerer’s Apprentice at the centre of the campaign, this poster focuses on the mythological world of Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony. Black, cream and golden winged horses descend through the sky above an idyllic landscape populated by a piping cherub and a moonlit mythological figure.

Exceptional mid-century colour: the design combines deep midnight blue, turquoise, coral, cream, rose and dense black. The softly modelled landscape contrasts beautifully with the crisp graphic outlines of the flying horses.

Monumental Japanese typography: the enormous coral-red ファンタジア title stretches across the dark lower field, giving the poster tremendous impact when viewed from a distance.

Vertical promotional copy: the right-hand column reads like a theatrical fanfare, while the contrasting cream panel at left promises “two hours of rapture and emotion.”

The complete musical programme: all eight compositions are printed directly on the artwork beside the English Fantasia title, making the sheet unusually informative as well as visually striking.

Technical exhibition as a selling point: the separate cream-and-blue box advertising SuperScope enlarged projection and stereophonic dimensional sound reflects the importance of large-format spectacle and advanced sound reproduction to the 1955 campaign.

Prestige English branding retained: the central credit reads:

WALT DISNEY’S Full Length Feature Production
FANTASIA
Color by Technicolor

This international branding is integrated into the distinctly Japanese promotional composition.

Daiei campaign identity: the Daiei distribution emblem and the company’s foreign-film slogan appear at the lower right, firmly anchoring the sheet to the original Japanese theatrical campaign.

Text Translations

Key poster text (Japanese → English):

• 八つの名曲！すばらしいロマンス！楽しいユーモア！誰もがうっとりとするディズニー生涯の名作！
  “Eight celebrated compositions! Splendid romance! Delightful humour! The masterpiece of Disney’s career—enchanting everyone!”

• 陶酔と感動の二時間！
  “Two hours of rapture and emotion!”

• スーパースコープ拡大映写
  “SuperScope enlarged projection”

• 名演奏を生の音で再現する ステレオフォニック立体音響
  “Stereophonic dimensional sound—reproducing the celebrated performance with the immediacy of live sound”

• 三つのアカデミー賞受賞
  “Winner of three Academy Awards”

• 文部省選定映画
  “Selected by the Ministry of Education”

• 青少年映画委員会推薦
  “Recommended by the Youth Film Committee”

• 優秀映画鑑賞会推薦
  “Recommended by the Association for the Appreciation of Outstanding Films”

• レオポルド・ストコフスキー指揮
  “Conducted by Leopold Stokowski”

• フィラデルフィア交響管絃楽団演奏
  “Performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra”

• ウォルト・ディズニー製作・総天然色長篇音楽絵巻
  “Produced by Walt Disney — a full-colour, feature-length musical picture scroll”

• 大映配給
  “Distributed by Daiei”

• 量よりも質　大映の洋画
  “Quality over quantity — Daiei’s foreign pictures”

Condition Report

Overall condition: Excellent+ for its age and format — unbacked and entirely unrestored.

This is an exceptionally attractive original 1955 Japanese theatrical poster that has survived without linen backing, paper infill, colour retouching or other restoration.

Historic display marks: small pinholes are present at each corner from the poster’s original theatrical display approximately seven decades ago. There is minor associated corner and edge wear, including very small nicks and handling marks consistent with period use.

Colour: the colours remain remarkably rich and well balanced. The midnight-blue sky, turquoise landscape, coral title and black Pegasus figures retain excellent depth and contrast.

Verso: the reverse displays normal age toning and natural show-through from the printed image, as expected for Japanese poster paper of this period. 

Provenance and storage: following its historic display, the poster was carefully preserved within a private collection for many decades prior to its acquisition by Japan Poster Shop.

Considering its age, rarity and completely unrestored state, this is an outstanding surviving example. Once professionally framed, the poster will display exceptionally.

Please review all provided photographs, including the detailed front and reverse imagery—they show the exact poster offered.