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 also be seen reading Donald Duck comics while traveling on tour.
Pete is an anthropomorphic cartoon character created in 1925 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. He is a character of The Walt Disney Company and often appears as a nemesis and the main antagonist in Mickey Mouse universe stories. He was originally an anthropomorphic bear but with the advent of Mickey Mouse in 1928, he was defined as a cat. Pete is the oldest continuing Disney character, having debuted three years before Mickey Mouse in the cartoon Alice Solves the Puzzle (1925). Pete was not named in the first year of Mickey Mouse cartoons but was given the name Peg-Leg Pete in 1930.
Nightwish is a symphonic metal band from Kitee, Finland. The band was formed in 1996 by lead songwriter and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen, guitarist Emppu Vuorinen, and former lead singer Tarja Turunen. The band soon picked up drummer Jukka Nevalainen, and then bassist Sami Vänskä after the release of their debut album, Angels Fall First (1997). In 2001, Vänskä was replaced by Marco Hietala, who also took over the male vocalist role previously filled by Holopainen or guest singers.
Disney Comics is currently a label of Disney Publishing Worldwide and was a comic book publishing company operated by The Walt Disney Company from 1990 to 1993. It was connected with W. D. Publications, Inc., which was a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company that published "Disney Comics" during that time span. W. D. Publications, Inc. created Disney Comics in 1990 so that The Walt Disney Company would not have to rely on outside publishers such as Gladstone Publishing. In the US, Disney only licensed Disney comic books to other publishers prior to 1990.
Wishmaster is the third studio album by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. It was released on 8 May 2000 through Spinefarm Records in Finland. The album was released in the rest of Europe by Drakkar Entertainment on 29 May, and in Japan by Toy's Factory on 19 July. In the US, it was released by Century Media on 6 February 2001.
Tuomas Lauri Johannes Holopainen is a Finnish songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer, best known as the founder, leader, keyboardist and songwriter of symphonic metal band Nightwish. He has also studied jazz and classical styles, but prefers to be influenced by harmonic film music.
Fantasmic! is a nighttime show at Disneyland Park at the Disneyland Resort, Disney's Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World Resort, and previously at Tokyo DisneySea at Tokyo Disney Resort. It features fireworks, characters, live actors, water effects, pyrotechnics, lasers, music, audio-animatronics, searchlights, decorated boat floats, and mist screen projections. The narrative of Fantasmic!—although there are differences between the three versions—centers on a voyage through Mickey Mouse's imagination that culminates in a battle against the Disney Villains.
From Wishes to Eternity - Live is a live DVD/VHS/CD by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. It was recorded in Tampere, Finland on 29 December 2000. The CD was released as a limited edition of 10.000 copies, available only in Finland. In late 2005, Spinefarm managed to release it in Europe. In addition to a show of Nightwish material, the band also performed a medley, "Crimson Tide, Deep Blue Sea", which borrowed melodies from Hans Zimmer's music in the 1995 film Crimson Tide and Trevor Rabin's music in the 1999 film Deep Blue Sea.
End of Innocence is the second official DVD release of Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. It features numerous clips of the band performing livetracks, including a recording of the band performing one of their first songs, "Beauty and the Beast", with bassist Marco Hietala performing the male vocal part.
Disney Sing-Along Songs is a series of videos on VHS, betamaxs, laserdiscs and DVDs with musical moments from various Disney films, TV shows and attractions. Lyrics for the songs are displayed on-screen with the Mickey Mouse icon as a "bouncing ball". Early releases open with a theme song introduction containing footage featuring Professor Owl and his class, seen originally in 1953 in two Disney shorts, Melody and Toot, Whistle, Plunk, and Boom. Professor Owl hosts some of the videos, while either Ludwig Von Drake or Jiminy Cricket host others, and later volumes, as well as the two Christmas videos, did not have a host at all. The footage of Von Drake and Jiminy Cricket were taken from several television programs featuring the characters in the 1950s and 1960s.
Disney in the Stars was the nightly fireworks performance at the Hong Kong Disneyland theme park in Lantau, Hong Kong.
The Golden Mickeys (Chinese:米奇金獎音樂劇) is a musical, revue-style stage show presented in the style of an awards ceremony with characters from Disney films being nominated for awards including heroism, villainy, friendship, adventurousness, and romance. The show originated on the Disney Cruise Line as a replacement for Morty the Magician's show, premiering in September 2003 aboard the Disney Wonder. Later in the fall of 2004, the show was brought to the Disney Dream while in dry dock. The show is performed in the premiere theater on the ship, the Walt Disney Theater on Deck 4. The show made its land debut in Hong Kong Disneyland, and it took its final bow on July 26, 2015 preparing for the brand new show "Mickey and the Wondrous Book", premiering November 2015 to celebrate the park's 10th anniversary.
World of Color is a nighttime show at Disney California Adventure, part of the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. Conceived by Vice President of Parades and Spectaculars, Steve Davison, and designed by Walt Disney Creative Entertainment, the show has nearly 1,200 musical water fountains and includes lights, fire, lasers, and fog, with high-definition projections on mist screens. The show is inspired by Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color anthology television series, as evidenced by the use of its eponymous theme song written by the Sherman Brothers.
Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created in 1931 at Walt Disney Productions. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor shirt and cap with a bow tie. Donald is known for his semi-intelligible speech and his mischievous and temperamental personality. Along with his friend Mickey Mouse, Donald was included in TV Guide's list of the 50 greatest cartoon characters of all time in 2002. He has appeared in more films than any other Disney character, and is the most published comic book character in the world outside of the superhero genre.
Halloween Screams: A Villainous Surprise in the Skies is a Halloween-themed fireworks show that is presented at Disneyland during the seasonal Mickey's Halloween Party event. Based on the similarly-themed, former fireworks show HalloWishes at Magic Kingdom, Halloween Screams is hosted by Jack Skellington and features appearances from Disney Villains and music from Disney animated features.
Lokikirja is the fifth box set by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. It was released on 18 November 2009. This box set contains the remastered edition of Angels Fall First, the regular editions of the other six Nightwish studio albums and the special edition of Over the Hills and Far Away. The album was in pre-order at the Nightwish-Shop website. "Lokikirja" is Finnish for "logbook".
Wishmaster World Tour was the first world tour by Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, from May 15, 2000 to September 15, 2001, with the album Wishmaster as the base. Though the tour itself was very successful, by its end in 2001, it had left the band exhausted and led to a break for the rest of the year before the band started their next tour, World Tour of the Century, in 2002; the tour comprised 97 gigs in 20 countries.
World Tour of the Century was a concert tour by Nightwish in 2002 and 2003 to promote their fourth album, Century Child, released on June 24, 2002. The tour was the debut of Marco Hietala, who replaced Sami Vänskä as bassist in 2001. A subsequent tour DVD was released, End of Innocence, with a limited release of a live CD made during a concert at Summer Breeze Open Air Festival, in Germany.
Mickey's PhilharMagic is a 4-D film attraction found at the Magic Kingdom theme park in the Walt Disney World Resort, Hong Kong Disneyland, Tokyo Disneyland, Disneyland Park (Paris), and Disney California Adventure. The film was directed by George Scribner, who is best known for directing Disney's 1988 animated film, Oliver & Company. Mickey's PhilharMagic is a 12-minute-long show featuring 3D effects, scents, and water, as well as a number of characters from Disney movies. Despite Mickey Mouse being the title-bearing character, it is Donald Duck who stars in the show. It is shown on the largest purpose-built 3D screen ever made, at 150 feet wide.
