According to Maltin, which factor contributed to the uncertainty surrounding Disney after Fantasia?

• A. World War II cut off profits from foreign markets
• B. Fantasia was a commercial failure
• C. Color film stock was not available due to wartime shortages
• D. The Studio expanded to factory proportions, increasing productivity

Answer: (B)

When a studio pours enormous resources into a bold, untested idea, the real test is whether audiences and markets reward it. Fantasia, despite its artistry and technical daring, did not deliver the expected profits at release. That financial shortfall left Disney and his backers feeling uncertain about funding and sustaining similarly ambitious projects in the near future. Wartime conditions and market shifts mattered, but Maltin frames the decisive factor as Fantasia’s lack of immediate profitability, which cast long shadows over the studio’s plans after that film.