Disney met conductor Leopold Stokowski in late 1937 at Chasen's, a noted Hollywood restaurant, and Stokowski agreed to conduct the piece at no cost. Disney devised a comeback appearance for Mickey in 1936 with The Sorcerer's Apprentice, a more elaborate edition of the animated Silly Symphonies series set to the music of The Sorcerer's Apprentice by Paul Dukas. Walt Disney's cartoon character Mickey Mouse entered a decline in popularity in the mid-1930s.

2 Recording the Fantasia soundtrack, 1938–39.