title: Waterworld

text: The setting of the film is in the distant future. The polar ice cap has completely melted, and the sea level has risen over , covering nearly all of the land. The plot of the film centers on an otherwise nameless antihero, "The Mariner", a drifter who sails the Earth in his trimaran.


title: Waterworld

text: The most expensive film ever made at the time, "Waterworld" was released to mixed reviews from critics, who praised the futuristic setting and premise, but criticized the execution including the characterization and acting performances. The film also was unable to recoup its massive budget at the box office despite being one of the highest grossing films of 1995; however, the film did later become profitable owing to video and other post-cinema sales. The film was nominated for an Academy Award in the category Best Sound at the 68th Academy Awards.


title: Waterworld

text: The film's release was accompanied by a novelization, video game, and four themed attractions at Universal Studios Hollywood, Universal Studios Singapore, Universal Studios Japan, and Universal Studios Beijing called "", all of which are still running .


title: Waterworld

text: In 2500, as a result of the sea levels rising over , every continent on Earth is now underwater. The remains of human civilization live on rugged, floating communities known as atolls, having long forgotten about living on land. It is believed that a mythological "Dryland" exists somewhere in the endless ocean.


title: Waterworld

text: The Mariner, a lone drifter, arrives at an atoll on his trimaran to trade dirt, a rare commodity, for other supplies. When the atoll's residents see that the Mariner is a mutant, with gills and webbed feet, they decide to "recycle" him by drowning him in a pit of organic sludge.


title: Waterworld

text: Suddenly, the atoll is attacked by the Smokers, a gang of pirates seeking a girl named Enola. According to their leader the Deacon, she has a map to Dryland tattooed on her back. Enola's guardian, Helen, attempts to escape with her on a gas balloon dirigible created by inventor Gregor, but the balloon is released erroneously. Helen quickly frees the Mariner, insisting he take both of them with him.


title: Waterworld

text: The three escape to the open sea aboard the trimaran, pursued by the Smokers. Helen's escape results in damage to the Mariner's boat, and he angrily refuses to take her to Dryland. He then cuts her hair and then Enola's as punishment but decides to take them anyway.


title: Waterworld

text: During their quest to find Dryland, many other events happen to them, such as a drifter approaching them and being killed by the Mariner after a trade, coming across a trap by the Smokers, finding a large mutated shark, and discovering Enola's drawings of various Dryland objects that the Mariner recognizes from "National Geographic" magazines.


title: Waterworld

text: Later, Helen explains that she believes humans once lived on land and demands to know where the Mariner collected his dirt. He provides her with a homemade diving bell to show her the underwater remains of Denver, Colorado and the soil on the ocean's floor, seeming to disprove Helen's belief. When they surface, they find that the Smokers have caught up to them, threatening to kill them if they do not hand over Enola, who is hiding aboard the boat.


title: Waterworld

text: The Smokers abduct Enola and try to kill Helen and the Mariner. The Mariner takes Helen, diving underwater to avoid capture, with the Mariner's gills helping Helen breathe. When they resurface, they discover his boat has been destroyed. Gregor manages to find them and takes them to a new makeshift atoll inhabited by the survivors of the first attack using his gas balloon dirigible.


title: Waterworld

text: The Mariner takes a captured Smoker's jet ski to chase down the Deacon aboard the remains of the "Exxon Valdez". The Deacon sends the crew to start rowing the "Deez" after bluffingly announcing that he has decoded the map on Enola's back.


title: Waterworld

text: With all of the Smokers below deck to row the tanker, the Mariner confronts the Deacon, threatening to ignite the oil reserves below unless he returns Enola. The Deacon calls the Mariner's bluff, knowing that it would destroy the ship, but to his surprise, the Mariner drops a flare into the oil reservoir.


title: Waterworld

text: The ship is engulfed in flames, and begins to sink. The Mariner rescues Enola, escaping via a rope from Gregor's balloon with Helen and the Atoll Enforcer aboard. As the Mariner climbs with Enola, the Deacon grabs the rope to escape the sinking ship. He is kicked off into the water but climbs aboard a jet ski. Firing upon the balloon shakes Enola into the ocean. As the Deacon and some of his men converge on Enola, the Mariner makes an impromptu bungee jump from the balloon to grab Enola right before the Deacon and his men collide on their jet-skis, dying in an explosion.


title: Waterworld

text: Sometime later, Gregor identifies Enola's back tatoo as coordinates with reversed directions. Following the map, Gregor, the Mariner, the Atoll Enforcer, Helen, and Enola discover Dryland, which is revealed to be the top of Mount Everest, covered with vegetation and wildlife. They also find a crude hut with the remains of Enola's parents. The Mariner, feeling that he does not belong on Dryland, builds a new wooden trimaran and departs, as Helen and Enola bid him farewell.


title: Waterworld

text: Writer Peter Rader came up with the idea for "Waterworld" during a conversation with Brad Krevoy where they discussed creating a "Mad Max" rip-off. Rader wrote the initial script in 1986 but kept it shelved until 1989. Rader cited "Mad Max" as a direct inspiration for the film, while also citing various Old Testament stories and the story of Helen of Troy (with the main female character being named Helen in a direct reference). It is also widely believed that inspiration was taken from "Freakwave" by Peter Milligan and Brendan McCarthy, a "Mad Max goes surfing" comic strip first published by Pacific Comics in "Vanguard Illustrated" #1-3 (November 1983-March 1984), and continued by Eclipse Comics in "Strange Days" #1-3 (November 1984-April 1985). McCarthy himself had unsuccessfully tried to sell "Freakwave" as a movie in the early 1980s; he would go on to co-write "" (2015).


title: Waterworld

text: After several rewrites, Kevin Costner and Kevin Reynolds joined the "Waterworld" production team in 1992. The film marked the fourth collaboration between Costner and Reynolds, who had previously worked together on "Fandango" (1985), "" (1991), and "Rapa-Nui" (1994), the latter of which Costner co-produced but did not star in. "Waterworld" was co-written by David Twohy, who cited "Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior" as a major inspiration. Both films employed Dean Semler as director of photography.


title: Waterworld

text: During production, the film was plagued by a series of cost overruns and production setbacks. Universal initially authorized a budget of $100 million, which by mid-1994 had swollen to $135 million, with final costs reaching an estimated $175 million, a record sum for a film production at the time. Filming took place in a large artificial seawater enclosure similar to that used in the film "Titanic" two years later; it was located in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Hawaii. The final scene was filmed in Waipio Valley on the Big Island, also referred to as The Valley of Kings. The production was hampered by the collapse of the multimillion-dollar set during a hurricane. Additional filming took place in Los Angeles, Huntington Beach, and Santa Catalina Island, and the Channel Islands of California. Before filming began, Steven Spielberg had warned Costner and Reynolds not to film on open water owing to his own production difficulties with "Jaws".


title: Waterworld

text: The production featured different types of personal watercraft, especially Kawasaki jet skis. Kevin Costner was on the set for 157 days, working six days a week. At one point, he nearly died when he got caught in a squall while tied to the mast of his trimaran. Professional surfer Laird Hamilton was Kevin Costner's stunt double for many water scenes. Hamilton commuted to the set via jet ski.


title: Waterworld

text: Mark Isham's score, which was not recorded for approximately 25 percent of the film and had only demos completed, was reportedly rejected by Costner because it was "too ethnic and bleak", contrasting with the film's futuristic and adventurous tone; Isham offered to try again but was not given the chance. James Newton Howard was brought in to write the new score. Joss Whedon flew out to the set to do last minute script rewrites and later described it as "seven weeks of hell"; the work boiled down to editing in Costner's ideas without alteration.


title: Waterworld

text: The state of Hawaii had more than $35 million added to its economy as a result of the colossal film production. Despite their reported clashes, the director and star reunited almost two decades later for the History Channel miniseries "Hatfields & McCoys".


title: Waterworld

text: Inspired by racing trimarans built by Jeanneau Advanced Technologies' multi-hull division, Lagoon, a custom yacht was designed by Marc Van Peteghem and Vincent Lauriot-Prevost and built in France by Lagoon. Two versions were built, a relatively standard racing trimaran for distance shots, and an effects-laden transforming trimaran for closeup shots. The first trimaran was launched on 2 April 1994, and surpassed in September of that year. The transforming version was first seen in the film as a sort of raft with a three-bladed egg-beater windmill. When needed, levers could be triggered that would flatten the windmill blades while raising a hidden mast to full racing height. A boom emerged, previously hidden in the hull, and the two sails were automatically unfurled. Once the transformation was complete, this version could actually sail, although not as well as the dedicated racer. The transforming version is in private hands in San Diego, California. For many years, the racing version was kept in a lake at Universal Studios Florida, before being restored for use as a racing trimaran named "Loe Real", which was (as of 2012) being offered for sale in San Diego.


title: Waterworld

text: Kevin Reynolds quit the film before its release, owing to heated battles with Costner over his creative decisions. Reynolds still received full credit as director.


title: Waterworld

text: Because of the runaway costs of the production and its expensive price tag, some critics dubbed it "Fishtar" and "Kevin's Gate", alluding to the flops "Ishtar" and "Heaven's Gate", although the film debuted at the box office at No. 1. With a budget of $172 million (and a total outlay of $235 million once marketing and distribution costs are factored in), the film grossed $88 million at the North American box office. The film did better overseas, with $176 million at the foreign box office, for a worldwide total of $264 million. However, even though this figure surpasses the total costs spent by the studio, it does not take into account the percentage of box office gross that theaters retain, which is generally up to half; but after factoring in home video sales and TV broadcast rights among other revenue streams, "Waterworld" eventually became profitable.


title: Waterworld

text: Contemporary reviews for the film were mixed. Roger Ebert gave "Waterworld" 2.5 stars out of 4 and said: "The cost controversy aside, "Waterworld" is a decent futuristic action picture with some great sets, some intriguing ideas, and a few images that will stay with me. It could have been more, it could have been better, and it could have made me care about the characters. It's one of those marginal pictures you're not unhappy to have seen, but can't quite recommend." Owen Gleiberman gave it a B in "Entertainment Weekly". He commented that while its massive budget had paid off by genuinely creating the sensation of a world built on water, the film generally came off as a second-rate rip-off of "The Road Warrior", with weaker, slower-paced action sequences and less startling villains. He praised Costner's performance, but found the film's environmental message pretentious. James Berardinelli of Reelviews Movie Reviews was one of the film's few supporters, calling it "one of Hollywood's most lavish features to date". He wrote: "Although the storyline isn't all that invigorating, the action is, and that's what saves "Waterworld". In the tradition of the old Westerns and Mel Gibson's "Mad Max" flicks, this film provides good escapist fun. Everyone behind the scenes did their part with aplomb, and the result is a feast for the eyes and ears." Mick LaSalle, reviewing the film the week of its release on home video, argued that it did not deserve some of its more negative reviews, since "despite its confused impulses and occasional slow spots, "Waterworld"... has an elusive, appealing spirit that holds up for more than two hours. It's a genuine vault at greatness that misses the mark -- but survives." He commented that while the film succeeds at its high ambitions for isolated moments, the clash between its earnest ambition and intrusive flashiness makes it generally fall short of its reach.


title: Waterworld

text: On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds an approval rating of 45% based on 64 reviews, with an average rating of 5.5/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "Though it suffered from toxic buzz at the time of its release, "Waterworld" is ultimately an ambitious misfire: an extravagant sci-fi flick with some decent moments and a lot of silly ones." Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 56 out of 100, based on 17 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.


title: Waterworld

text: In a 2020 retrospective, Ben Child of "The Guardian" described it as "a perfectly watchable sci-fi cult classic" that deserves reappraisal. He acknowledged that much of the plot was illogical and absurd and some of the action set-pieces "preposterously ambitious", but argued that both of them offer excitement and B-movie charm.


title: Waterworld

text: Kevin Costner said he's very fond of the film: "It stands up as a really exotic, cool movie. I mean, it was flawed — for sure. But, overall, it's a very inventive, cool movie. It's pretty robust." Dennis Hopper also enjoyed it, saying "I thought "Waterworld" got a bad name for itself in the United States, but it did really well in Europe and Asia. I think the studio sort of shot themselves in the foot by announcing it was so over budget, blah blah blah, it's going to be a failure... All this came out before we released it in the States. But I enjoyed it."


title: Waterworld

text: "Waterworld" was released on VHS and LaserDisc on January 23, 1996. The film was then released on DVD on November 1, 1998, on Blu-ray on October 20, 2009, and on 4K Blu-ray on July 9, 2019.


title: Waterworld

text: A novelization was written by Max Allan Collins and published by Arrow Books. It goes into greater detail regarding the world of the film.


title: Waterworld

text: A sequel comic book four-issue mini-series entitled "Waterworld: Children of Leviathan", drawn by Kevin Kobasic, was released by Acclaim Comics in 1997. Kevin Costner did not permit his likeness to be used for the comics, so the Mariner looks different. The story reveals some of the Mariner's back-story as he gathers clues about where he came from and why he is different. The comic expands on the possible cause of the melting of the polar ice caps and worldwide flood, and introduces a new villain, "Leviathan", who supplied the Deacon's Smoker organization. The comic hints at the possibility that the Mariner's mutation may not be caused by evolution but by genetic engineering and that his origins may be linked to those of the "Sea Eater", the sea monster seen during the fishing scene in the film.


title: Waterworld

text: Video games based on the film were released for the Super NES, Game Boy, Virtual Boy, and PC. There was to be a release for the Genesis, but it was canceled and was only available on the Sega Channel. A Sega Saturn version of the game was also planned, and development was completed, but like its Genesis counterpart it was cancelled prior to release. The Super NES and Game Boy releases were only available in the United Kingdom and Australia. While the Super NES and Virtual Boy versions were released by Ocean Software, the PC version was released by Interplay. The Virtual Boy version of the game was the only movie licensed game for the system.


title: Waterworld

text: The film was released as a pinball machine in 1995 by Gottlieb Amusements (later Premier, both now defunct).


title: Waterworld

text: There are attractions at Universal Studios Hollywood, Universal Studios Japan, and Universal Studios Singapore based on the film. The show's plot takes place after the film, as Helen returns to the Atoll with proof of Dryland, only to find herself followed by the Deacon, who survived the events of the film. The Mariner arrives after him, defeats the Deacon and takes Helen back to Dryland.


title: Waterworld

text: In July 2021, it was announced Universal Cable Productions was in early development on a follow-up TV series to be directed by Dan Trachtenberg.


title: Christopher McDonald

text: Christopher McDonald (born February 15, 1955) is an American film, television, theatre and voice actor.


title: Christopher McDonald

text: McDonald is best known for playing the villainous professional golfer Shooter McGavin in the 1996 comedy "Happy Gilmore". Other notable starring roles for McDonald in film include "T-Birds" member Goose McKenzie in "Grease 2" (1982), Darryl Dickinson opposite his former fiance Geena Davis in "Thelma & Louise" (1991), Ward Cleaver in the film adaptation "Leave It to Beaver" (1997), and Tappy Tibbons in "Requiem for a Dream" (2000). Along with numerous independent and small-budget film roles, he played supporting characters in box-office hits "Grumpy Old Men" (1993), "Flubber" (1997), "Rumor Has It" (2005), "The House Bunny" (2008) and "About Last Night" (2014).


title: Christopher McDonald

text: Voice acting roles for McDonald include Jor-El on "" (1996), Kent Mansley in "The Iron Giant" (1999), Superman on "Batman Beyond" (2000) and Harvey Dent on "Beware the Batman" (2014). On television, McDonald was a series regular on network TV shows "Walter & Emily" (1991-1992, NBC), "Good Advice" (1993-1994, CBS), "Family Law" (1999-2002, NBC), "Cracking Up" (2004, FOX) and "Harry's Law", (2011-2012, NBC).


title: Christopher McDonald

text: McDonald has portrayed several notable real-life people, including game show host Jack Barry in "Quiz Show" (1994), mountaineer Jon Krakauer in "" on ABC (1997), sportscaster Mel Allen in the HBO film "61*" (2001), Yankee legend Joe DiMaggio in ESPN's "The Bronx Is Burning" (2007), U.S. Attorney General Harry M. Daugherty on HBO's "Boardwalk Empire" (2010-2012), Texas revolution soldier Henry Karnes in History Channel's "Texas Rising" (2015), and Clinton lawyer Robert S. Bennett on FX's "" (2021).


title: Christopher McDonald

text: In 2022, McDonald was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his role as casino CEO Marty Ghilain on the HBO Max show "Hacks.


title: Christopher McDonald

text: McDonald was born in New York City, to Patricia, a nursing professor and real estate agent, and James R. McDonald, an educator and high school principal.


title: Christopher McDonald

text: Of Irish descent and a practicing Catholic, he and his siblings were raised in Romulus, New York. He graduated from Romulus Central School in 1973 and later earned a degree from Hobart College in Geneva, New York where he played football and soccer. He was also a member of the Kappa Alpha Society. His younger brother, actor and singer Daniel McDonald, died of brain cancer in February 2007. He is a prominent fan of the Buffalo Bills and a friend of former Bills quarterback Jim Kelly.


title: Christopher McDonald

text: McDonald was engaged to future "Thelma and Louise" co-star Geena Davis for a period in the mid-80s until 1985, when she left him for Jeff Goldblum. McDonald met actress Lupe Gidley in 1989 when they performed together in a theatre production in New Mexico. They married in 1992 and have three daughters and one son.


title: Christopher McDonald

text: McDonald has numerous film and television roles, often as a supporting actor and often portraying villains. In addition to the above, his credits also include "Grease 2", "Breakin'", "Where the Boys Are '84", "The Boys Next Door", "Thelma & Louise", "Grumpy Old Men", "Celtic Pride", "Quiz Show", "Flubber", "The Faculty", "The Perfect Storm", "House Arrest", "Dirty Work", "", "Broken Flowers", and "". He was featured as Ward Cleaver in the movie version of "Leave It to Beaver" and famous baseball broadcaster Mel Allen in "61*". In 1994, he starred in the film "Terminal Velocity" as an aggressive Russian mafia villain.


title: Christopher McDonald

text: In television, along with a starring role on the TV series "Family Law", and recurring roles on "North Shore", "Veronica's Closet", "Good Advice", and "Harry's Law", McDonald has also made guest appearances on Matlock, "Cheers", "Riptide", "Knight Rider", "The Sopranos", "Psych", both the 1985 and the 2002 versions of "The Twilight Zone", "Home Improvement", "Las Vegas", the "Law & Order" franchise, "Stargate Universe", and "" as Lt. Richard Castillo in the season three episode "Yesterday's Enterprise".


title: Christopher McDonald

text: McDonald's voice work includes the determined government agent Kent Mansley in the animated film "The Iron Giant". He also voiced Jor-El in "" and subsequently an older version of Superman in "Batman Beyond". He has recalled great affection for these roles, saying that he enjoyed them because he was (and continues to be) such a fan of Superman and because they were in such contrast to the less than sympathetic onscreen roles for which he is known. He subbed for Burt Reynolds as Boss Hogg in "". In 2009, McDonald also lent his voice talents in the Thomas Nelson audio Bible production known as "The Word of Promise". In this dramatized audio, McDonald played the role of Luke.


title: Christopher McDonald

text: McDonald played the eponymous lead in Peter Gabriel's music video for the song "The Barry Williams Show". He also replaced Robert De Niro in the "Midnight Run" movie franchise, playing Jack Walsh in three films: "Another Midnight Run", "Midnight Runaround", and "Midnight Run for Your Life". He portrayed baseball player Joe DiMaggio in the ESPN original series "The Bronx Is Burning". In October 2013, McDonald started filming for "A Conspiracy on Jekyll Island". Under the title "The Crash", it was released direct-to-video in 2017.


title: Christopher McDonald

text: McDonald appeared as Murphy in the Broadway show "The Front Page" at the Broadhurst Theater, which opened in late 2016.


title: Christopher McDonald

text: In 2021, McDonald joined the cast of "Hacks" on HBO Max as Marty, a Las Vegas casino owner. In May 2021, McDonald was cast in the upcoming Disney+ series "Secret Invasion", set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The show is set to premiere in 2023.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its home games at M&T Bank Stadium and is headquartered in Owings Mills, Maryland.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: The Baltimore Ravens were established in 1996 after Art Modell, then owner of the Cleveland Browns, announced plans in 1995 to relocate the franchise from Cleveland, Ohio to Baltimore, Maryland. As part of a settlement between the league and the city of Cleveland, Ohio, Modell was required to leave the Browns' history, team colors, and records in Cleveland for a replacement team and replacement personnel that would resume play in 1999. In return, he was allowed to take his own personnel and team to Baltimore, where such personnel would then form an expansion team. The team is now owned by Steve Bisciotti and valued at $2.98 billion, making the Ravens the 33rd-most valuable sports franchise in the world.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: The Ravens have been one of the more successful franchises since their inception, compiling a record of . The team has qualified for the NFL playoffs 13 times since 2000 with two Super Bowl titles (Super Bowl XXXV and Super Bowl XLVII), two AFC Championship titles (2000 and 2012), four AFC Championship game appearances (2000, 2008, 2011 and 2012) and six AFC North division titles (2003, 2006, 2011, 2012, 2018, and 2019). They are one of two teams to be undefeated in multiple Super Bowl appearances, along with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Ravens organization was led by general manager Ozzie Newsome from 1996 until his retirement following the 2018 season, and has had three head coaches: Ted Marchibroda, Brian Billick, and since 2008, John Harbaugh. Starting with a record-breaking defensive performance in their 2000 season, the Ravens have established a reputation for strong defensive play throughout team history. Former players such as middle linebacker Ray Lewis, safety Ed Reed, and offensive tackle Jonathan Ogden have been enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: The name "Ravens" was inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's poem "The Raven". Chosen in a fan contest that drew 33,288 voters, the allusion honors Poe who spent the early part of his career in Baltimore and is buried there. As "The Baltimore Sun" reported at the time, fans also "liked the tie-in with the other birds in town, the Orioles, and found it easy to visualize a tough, menacing black bird". Edgar Allan Poe also had distant relatives who played football for the Princeton Tigers in the 1880s through the early 1900s. These brothers were famous players in the early days of American football.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: Before the football team, there was the Baltimore Ravens wheelchair basketball team — the original Baltimore Ravens. In 1972, the Ravens wheelchair basketball team was founded by Ralph Smith, long-term resident of Baltimore, second Vice President of the National Wheelchair Basketball Association (NWBA) and Member of the NWBA Hall of Fame. The name "Ravens" was inspired by Bob Ardinger, a member of the Ravens wheelchair basketball team. In the 1990s, the naming rights were later sold to the football team when they came to the city and the wheelchair basketball team became known as the Maryland Ravens, Inc.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: After the controversial relocation of the Colts to Indianapolis, several attempts were made to bring an NFL team back to Baltimore. In 1993, ahead of the 1995 league expansion, the city was considered a favorite, behind only St. Louis, to be granted one of two new franchises. League officials and team owners feared litigation due to conflicts between rival bidding groups if St. Louis was awarded a franchise. In October Charlotte, North Carolina was the first city chosen. Several weeks later, Baltimore's bid for a franchise—dubbed the Baltimore Bombers, in honor of the locally produced Martin B-26 Marauder bomber—had three ownership groups in place and a state financial package which included a proposed $200 million, rent-free stadium and permission to charge up to $80 million in personal seat license fees. Baltimore, however, was unexpectedly passed over in favor of Jacksonville, Florida, despite Jacksonville's minor TV market status and that the city had withdrawn from contention in the summer, only to return with then-Commissioner Paul Tagliabue's urging. Although league officials denied that any city had been favored, it was reported that Tagliabue and his longtime friend Washington Redskins owner Jack Kent Cooke had lobbied against Baltimore due to its proximity to Washington, D.C., and that Tagliabue had used the initial committee voting system to prevent the entire league ownership from voting on Baltimore's bid. This led to public outrage and "The Baltimore Sun" describing Tagliabue as having an "Anybody But Baltimore" policy. Maryland governor William Donald Schaefer said afterward that Tagliabue had led him on, praising Baltimore and the proposed owners while working behind-the-scenes to oppose Baltimore's bid.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: By May 1994, Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos had gathered a new group of investors, including author Tom Clancy, to bid on teams whose owners had expressed interest in relocating. Angelos found a potential partner in Georgia Frontiere, who was open to moving the Los Angeles Rams to Baltimore. Jack Kent Cooke opposed the move, intending to build the Redskins' new stadium in Laurel, Maryland, close enough to Baltimore to cool outside interest in bringing in a new franchise. This led to heated arguments between Cooke and Angelos, who accused Cooke of being a "carpetbagger." The league eventually persuaded Rams team president John Shaw to relocate to St. Louis instead, leading to a league-wide rumor that Tagliabue was again steering interest away from Baltimore, a claim which Tagliabue denied. In response to anger in Baltimore, including Governor Schaefer's threat to announce over the loudspeakers Tagliabue's exact location in Camden Yards any time he attended a Baltimore Orioles game, Tagliabue remarked of Baltimore's financial package: "Maybe (Baltimore) can open another museum with that money." Following this, Angelos made an unsuccessful $200 million bid to bring the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to Baltimore.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: Having failed to obtain a franchise via the expansion, the city, despite having "misgivings," turned to the possibility of obtaining the Cleveland Browns, whose owner Art Modell was financially struggling and at odds with the city of Cleveland over needed improvements to the team's stadium.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: Enticed by Baltimore's available funds for a first-class stadium and a promised yearly operating subsidy of $25 million, Modell announced on November 6, 1995, his intention to relocate the team from Cleveland to Baltimore the following year. The resulting controversy ended when representatives of Cleveland and the NFL reached a settlement on February 8, 1996. Tagliabue promised the city of Cleveland that an NFL team would be located in Cleveland, either through relocation or expansion, "no later than 1999". Additionally, the agreement stipulated that the Browns' name, colors, uniform design and franchise records would remain in Cleveland. The franchise history includes Browns club records and connections with Pro Football Hall of Fame players. Modell's Baltimore team, while retaining all current player contracts, would, for purposes of team history, appear as an expansion team, a new franchise. Not all players, staff or front office would make the move to Baltimore, however.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: After relocation, Modell hired Ted Marchibroda as the head coach for his new team in Baltimore. Marchibroda was already well known because of his work as head coach of the Baltimore Colts during the 1970s and the Indianapolis Colts during the early 1990s. Ozzie Newsome, the Browns' tight end for many seasons, joined Modell in Baltimore as director of football operations. He was later promoted to vice-president/general manager.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: The home stadium for the Ravens first two seasons was Baltimore's Memorial Stadium, previously home to the Baltimore Colts, the Baltimore Orioles, and the Canadian Football League’s Baltimore Stallions. The Ravens moved to their own new stadium, now known as M&T Bank Stadium, next to Camden Yards in 1998.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: In the 1996 NFL Draft, the Ravens, with two picks in the first round, drafted offensive tackle Jonathan Ogden at No. 4 overall and linebacker Ray Lewis at No. 26 overall. Both Ogden and Lewis went on to play for the Ravens for their entire professional careers and were both inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: The 1996 Ravens won their opening game against the Oakland Raiders, but finished the season 4–12 despite receiver Michael Jackson leading the league with 14 touchdown catches. The 1997 Ravens started 3–1. Peter Boulware, a rookie defender from Florida State, recorded 11.5 sacks and was named AFC Defensive Rookie of the Year. The team finished 6–9–1. On October 26, the team made its first trip to Landover, Maryland to play their new regional rivals, the Washington Redskins. The Ravens won the game 20–17. On December 14, 1997, the Ravens played the final professional sporting event at Baltimore’s historic Memorial Stadium, winning 21–19 over the Tennessee Oilers.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: 1998 marked the opening of a new stadium for the Ravens, currently known as M&T Bank Stadium, but originally named “PSINet Stadium” after the now-defunct internet service provider which purchased the original naming rights. Quarterback Vinny Testaverde left for the New York Jets before the season, and was replaced by former Indianapolis Colt Jim Harbaugh, and later Eric Zeier. Cornerback Rod Woodson joined the team after a successful stint with the Pittsburgh Steelers, and Priest Holmes started getting the first playing time of his career and ran for 1,000 yards. The Ravens finished 1998 with a 6–10 record. On November 29, the Ravens welcomed the Colts back to Baltimore for the first time in 15 years. Amidst a shower of negative cheers towards the Colts, the Ravens won 38–31.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: Three consecutive losing seasons under Marchibroda led to a change in the head coach. Brian Billick took over as head coach in 1999. Billick had been offensive coordinator for the record-setting Minnesota Vikings the season before. Quarterback Tony Banks came to Baltimore from the St. Louis Rams and had the best season of his career with 17 touchdown passes and an 81.2 pass rating. He was joined by receiver Qadry Ismail, who posted a 1,000-yard season. The Ravens initially struggled with a record of 4–7 but managed to finish with an 8–8 record.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: Due to continual financial hardships for the organization, the NFL took an unusual move and directed Modell to initiate the sale of his franchise. On March 27, 2000, NFL owners approved the sale of 49% of the Ravens to Steve Bisciotti. In the deal, Bisciotti had an option to purchase the remaining 51% for $325 million in 2004 from Art Modell. On April 9, 2004, the NFL approved Steve Bisciotti's purchase of the majority stake in the club.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: Banks shared playing time in the 2000 regular season with Trent Dilfer. Both players put up decent numbers (and a 1,364-yard rushing season by rookie Jamal Lewis helped too) but the defense became the team's hallmark and bailed a struggling offense out in many instances through the season. Ray Lewis was named Defensive Player of the Year. Two of his defensive teammates, Sam Adams and Rod Woodson, made the Pro Bowl. Baltimore's season started strong with a 5–1 record. But the team struggled through mid-season, at one point going five games without scoring an offensive touchdown. The team regrouped and won each of their last seven games, finishing 12–4 and making the playoffs for the first time.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: During the 2000 season, the Ravens' dominating defense broke two notable NFL records. They held opposing teams to 165 total points, surpassing the 1985 Chicago Bears mark of 198 points for a 16-game season as well as surpassing the 1986 Chicago Bears mark of 187 points for a 16-game season, which at that time was the current NFL record these things along with outstanding play by the defense places the 2000 Ravens in the discussion as one of the greatest NFL defenses of all time along with the 1985 Chicago Bears, 2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the 2015 Denver Broncos defenses.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: Since the divisional rival Tennessee Titans had a record of 13–3, the Ravens had to play in the wild card round. They dominated the Denver Broncos 21–3 in their first game. In the divisional playoff, they went on the road to Tennessee. With the score tied 10–10 in the fourth quarter, an Al Del Greco field goal attempt was blocked and returned for a touchdown by Anthony Mitchell, and a Ray Lewis interception return for a score put the game squarely in Baltimore's favor. The 24–10 win put the Ravens in the AFC Championship against the Oakland Raiders. The game was rarely in doubt. Shannon Sharpe's 96-yard touchdown catch early in the second quarter followed by an injury to Raiders quarterback Rich Gannon were crucial as the Ravens won easily, 16–3.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: Baltimore then went to Tampa for Super Bowl XXXV against the New York Giants. The Ravens’ defense carried them to a win. They recorded four sacks and forced five turnovers, one of which was a Kerry Collins interception returned for a touchdown by Duane Starks. The Giants' only score was a Ron Dixon kickoff return for a touchdown; however, the Ravens immediately countered with a touchdown return on the ensuing kickoff by Jermaine Lewis. The Ravens became champions with a 34–7 win.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: In 2001, the Ravens attempted to defend their title with Elvis Grbac as their new starting quarterback, but a season-ending injury to Jamal Lewis on the first day of training camp and poor offensive performances stymied the team. After a 3–3 start, the Ravens defeated the Minnesota Vikings in the final week to clinch a wild card berth at 10–6. In the first round the Ravens showed flashes of their previous year with a 20–3 win over the Miami Dolphins, in which the team forced three turnovers and out-gained the Dolphins 347 yards to 151. In the divisional playoff the Ravens played the Pittsburgh Steelers. Three interceptions by Grbac ended the Ravens' season, as they lost 27–10.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: Baltimore ran into salary cap problems entering the 2002 season and was forced to part with a number of impact players. In the NFL Draft, the team selected Ed Reed with the 24th overall pick. Reed would go on to become one of the best safeties in NFL history, making nine Pro Bowls until leaving the Ravens for the Houston Texans in 2013. Despite low expectations, the Ravens stayed somewhat competitive in 2002 until a losing streak in December eliminated any chances of a post-season berth and a 7–9 finish.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: In 2003, the Ravens drafted their new quarterback, Kyle Boller, but he was injured midway through the season and was replaced by Anthony Wright. Jamal Lewis ran for 2,066 yards (including a then-NFL record 295 yards in one game against the Cleveland Browns on September 14). With a 10–6 record, Baltimore won their first AFC North division title. Their first playoff game, at home against the Tennessee Titans, went back and forth, with the Ravens being held to only 54 yards total rushing. The Titans won 20–17 on a late field goal, and Baltimore's season ended early.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: In April 2003, Art Modell sold 49% of the team to Steve Bisciotti, a local businessman who had made his fortune in the temporary staffing field. After the season, Art Modell sold his remaining 51% ownership to Bisciotti, ending over 40 years of tenure as an NFL franchise owner.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: The Ravens did not make the playoffs in 2004 and finished the season with a record of 9–7 with Boller spending the season at QB. They did get good play from veteran corner Deion Sanders and third-year safety Ed Reed, who won the NFL Defensive Player of the Year award. They were also the only team to defeat the 15–1 Pittsburgh Steelers in the regular season.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: The next offseason, the Ravens looked to augment their receiving corps (which was second-worst in the NFL in 2004) by signing Derrick Mason from the Titans and drafting Oklahoma wide receiver Mark Clayton in the first round of the 2005 NFL Draft. However, the Ravens ended their season 6–10.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: The 2006 Baltimore Ravens season began with the team trying to improve on their 6–10 record of 2005. The Ravens, for the first time in franchise history, started 4–0, under the leadership of former Titans quarterback Steve McNair.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: In 2006, The Ravens lost two straight games mid-season on offensive troubles, prompting coach Billick to drop their offensive coordinator Jim Fassel in their week seven bye. After the bye, and with Billick calling the offense, Baltimore would record a five-game win streak before losing to the Cincinnati Bengals in week 13. Still ranked second overall to first-place San Diego Chargers, the Ravens continued on. They defeated the Kansas City Chiefs, and held the defending Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers to only one touchdown at Heinz Field, allowing the Ravens to clinch the AFC North.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: The Ravens ended the regular season with a franchise-best 13–3 record. Baltimore had secured the AFC North title, the No. 2 AFC playoff seed, and clinched a 1st-round bye by season's end. The Ravens were slated to face the Indianapolis Colts in the second round of the playoffs, in the first meeting of the two teams in the playoffs. Many Baltimore and Indianapolis fans saw this historic meeting as a sort of "Judgment Day" with the new team of Baltimore facing the old team of Baltimore (the former Baltimore Colts having left Baltimore under questionable circumstances in 1984). Both Indianapolis and Baltimore were held to scoring only field goals as the two defenses slugged it out all over M&T Bank Stadium. McNair threw two costly interceptions, including one at the 1-yard line. The eventual Super Bowl champion Colts won 15–6, ending Baltimore's season.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: The Ravens hoped to improve upon their 13–3 record but injuries and poor play plagued the team. The Ravens finished the 2007 season in the AFC North cellar with a disappointing 5–11 record. A humiliating 22–16 overtime loss to the previously winless Miami Dolphins on December 16 ultimately led to Billick's dismissal after the end of the regular season. He was replaced by John Harbaugh, the special teams coach of the Philadelphia Eagles and the older brother of former Ravens quarterback Jim Harbaugh (1998).


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: With rookies at head coach (John Harbaugh) and quarterback (Joe Flacco), the Ravens entered the 2008 campaign with much uncertainty. Baltimore smartly recovered in 2008, winning eleven games and achieving a wild card spot in the postseason. On the strength of four interceptions, one resulting in an Ed Reed touchdown, the Ravens began its postseason run by winning a rematch over Miami 27–9 at Dolphin Stadium on January 4, 2009 in a wild-card game. Six days later, they advanced to the AFC Championship Game by avenging a Week 5 loss to the Titans 13–10 at LP Field on a Matt Stover field goal with 53 seconds left in regulation time. The Ravens fell one victory short of Super Bowl XLIII by losing to the Steelers 23–14 at Heinz Field on January 18, 2009.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: In 2009, the Ravens won their first three matches, then lost the next three, including a close match in Minnesota. The rest of the season was an uneven string of wins and losses, which included a home victory over Pittsburgh in overtime followed by a Monday Night loss in Green Bay. That game was notable for the number of penalties committed, costing a total of 310 yards, and almost tying with the record set by Tampa Bay and Seattle in 1976. Afterwards, the Ravens easily crushed the Lions and Bears, giving up less than ten points in both games. The next match was against the Steelers, where Baltimore lost a close one before beating the Raiders to end the season. With a record of 9–7, the team finished second in the division and gained another wild card. Moving into the playoffs, they overwhelmed the Patriots; nevertheless they did not reach the AFC Championship because they were routed 20–3 by the Colts in the Divisional Round a week later.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: Baltimore managed to beat the Jets 10–9 on the 2010 opener, but then lost a poorly played game against Cincinnati the following week. The Ravens rebounded against the other two division teams, beating Cleveland 24–17 in Week 3 and then . The Ravens scored a fine win (31–17) at home against Denver in Week 5. The Ravens finished the season 12–4, second in the division due to a tiebreaker with Pittsburgh, and earning a wild card spot. Baltimore headed to Kansas City and defeated the Chiefs 30–7, but once again were knocked from the playoffs by Pittsburgh in a hard-fought game.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: The Ravens hosted their arch-enemy in Week 1 of the 2011 season. On a hot, humid day in M&T Bank Stadium, crowd noise and multiple Steelers mistakes allowed Baltimore to crush them with three touchdowns 35–7. The frustrated Pittsburgh players also committed several costly penalties. Thus, the Ravens had gained their first-ever victory over the Steelers with Ben Roethlisberger playing and avenged themselves of repeated regular and postseason losses in the series.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: But in Week 2, the Ravens collapsed in Tennessee and lost 26–13. They rebounded by routing the Rams in Week 3 and then overpowering the Jets 34–17 in Week 4.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: Week 5, the Ravens had a bye week, following a game against the Texans. But in Week 7, Baltimore had a stunning MNF upset loss in Jacksonville as they were held to one touchdown in a 12–7 loss. Their final scoring drive failed as Joe Flacco threw an interception in the closing seconds of the game.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: After beating the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 17 of the regular season, the Ravens advanced to the playoffs as the Number 2 seed in the AFC with a record of 12–4. They gained the distinction of AFC North Champions over Pittsburgh (12-4) due to a tie-breaker.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: Ravens' Lee Evans was stripped of a 14-yard touchdown pass by the Patriots Sterling Moore with 22 seconds left and Ravens kicker Billy Cundiff pushed a 32-yard field goal attempt wide left on fourth down as the Patriots held on to beat the Ravens 23-20 during the AFC championship game and advance to Super Bowl XLVI.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: The Ravens' attempt to convert Joe Flacco into a pocket passer remained a work in progress as the 2012 season began. Terrell Suggs suffered a tendon injury during an off-season basketball game and was unable to play for at least several weeks. In the opener on September 10, Baltimore routed Cincinnati 44–13. After this easy win, the team headed to Philadelphia, but lost 24–23.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: Returning home for a primetime rematch of the AFC Championship, another bizarre game ensued. New England picked apart the Baltimore defense (which was considerably weakened without Terrell Suggs and some other players lost over the off-season) for the first half. Trouble began early in the game when a streaker ran out onto the field and had to be tackled by security, and accelerated when, at 2:18 in the 4th quarter, the referees made a holding call on RG Marshal Yanda. Enraged fans repeatedly chanted an obscenity at this penalty. The Ravens finally drove downfield and on the last play of the game, Justin Tucker kicked a 27-yard field goal to win the game 31–30, capping off a second intense and controversially officiated game in a row for the Ravens.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: The Ravens would win the AFC North with a 10–6 record, but finished 4th in the AFC playoff seeding, and thus had to play a wild-card game. After defeating the Indianapolis Colts 24–9 at home (the final home game of Ray Lewis), the Ravens traveled to Denver to play against the top-seeded Broncos. In a very back-and-forth contest, the Ravens pulled out a 38-35 victory in two overtimes. They then won their 2nd AFC championship by coming back from a 13-7 halftime deficit to defeat the Patriots once again, 28–13.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: The Ravens played the Super Bowl XLVII against the San Francisco 49ers. Baltimore built a 28–6 lead early in the third quarter before a partial power outage in the Superdome suspended play for 34 minutes (earning the game the added nickname of the Blackout Bowl). After play resumed, San Francisco scored 17 unanswered third-quarter points to cut the Ravens' lead, 28–23, and continued to chip away in the fourth quarter. With the Ravens leading late in the game, 34–29, the 49ers advanced to the Baltimore 7-yard line just before the two-minute warning but turned the ball over on downs. The Ravens then took an intentional safety in the waning moments of the game to preserve the victory. Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco, who completed 22 of 33 passes for 287 yards and three touchdowns, was named Super Bowl MVP.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: Coming off as the defending Super Bowl champions, this was the first year in franchise history for the team without Ray Lewis. The Ravens started out 3–2, and started the 2-0 Houston Texans 14-loss streak by shutting them 30–9 in Week 3. However, the Ravens lost their next 3 games, losing to the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers in last-minute field goals and were shut out in an attempt to tie the game against the Cleveland Browns 24–18.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: After winning and losing their next game, the Ravens came out 4–6, but managed winning their next four games in dominating the Jets 19–3, a Steelers win 22-20 during Thanksgiving, a booming ending in Baltimore against the Vikings 29–26, and an 18–16 win at Detroit, including Justin Tucker's 61-yard game-winning field goal. The Ravens were 8–6, with the 6th seed, but after losing their next two games, and the San Diego Chargers winning their next two to clinch the 6th seed, the Ravens finished 8-8 and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2007.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: On January 27, 2014, the Ravens hired former Houston Texans head coach Gary Kubiak to be their new offensive coordinator after Jim Caldwell accepted the new available head coaching job with the Detroit Lions. On February 15, 2014, star running back Ray Rice and his fiancée Janay Palmer were arrested and charged with assault after a physical altercation at Revel Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Celebrity news website TMZ posted a video of Rice dragging Palmer's body out of an elevator after apparently knocking her out. For the incident, Rice was initially suspended for the first two games of the 2014 NFL season on July 25, 2014, which led to widespread criticism of the NFL.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: In Week 1, on September 7, the Baltimore Ravens lost to the Cincinnati Bengals, 23–16. The next day, on September 8, 2014, TMZ released additional footage from an elevator camera showing Rice punching Palmer. The Baltimore Ravens terminated Rice's contract as a result, and was later indefinitely suspended by the NFL, although a judge later vacated this indefinite suspension. In Week 12, the Ravens traveled down for an interconference battle with the New Orleans Saints, which the Ravens won. In Week 16, the Ravens traveled to Houston to take on the Texans. In one of Flacco's worst performances, the offense sputtered against the Houston defense and Flacco threw three interceptions, falling to the Texans 25–13. With their playoff chances and season hanging in the balance, the Ravens took on the Browns in Week 17 at home. After three quarters had gone by and down 10–3, Joe Flacco led the Ravens on a comeback scoring 17 unanswered points, winning 20–10. With the win, and the Kansas City Chiefs defeating the San Diego Chargers, the Ravens clinched their sixth playoff berth in seven seasons.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: In the wild card round, the Ravens won 30–17 against their divisional rivals, the Pittsburgh Steelers, at Heinz Field. In the next game in the Divisional round, the Ravens faced the New England Patriots. Despite a strong offensive effort and having a 14-point lead twice in the game, the Ravens were defeated by the Patriots 35–31, ending their season.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: The 2015 season marked 20 seasons of the franchise's existence competing in the NFL, which the franchise recognized with a special badge being worn on their uniforms during the 2015 NFL season.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: The Ravens lost key players such as Joe Flacco, Justin Forsett, Terrell Suggs, Steve Smith Sr., and Eugene Monroe to season-ending injuries. Injuries and their inability to win close games early in the season led to the first losing season in the Harbaugh-Flacco era. The 2016 Ravens finished 8–8, but failed to qualify the playoffs for the second straight year. They were eliminated from playoff contention after their Week 16 loss to their division rivals, the Steelers. This was the first time the Ravens missed the playoffs in consecutive seasons since 2004–2005, as well as the first in the Harbaugh/Flacco era.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: During the 2017 season, the Ravens improved upon their 8–8 record from 2016 by one win, finishing the season 9-7 and missing the playoffs for the third year in a row. This marked the first time the Ravens failed to make the playoffs in three straight seasons since the team's first three years of existence (1996-1998). The Ravens suffered a loss at home to the Cincinnati Bengals in the final game of the season that prevented them from earning a playoff berth.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: The Ravens drafted QB Lamar Jackson with the 32nd pick in the 2018 draft. After the team started the season with a 4–5 record, Jackson took over as the starting QB in Week 11 when Joe Flacco was sidelined with a hip injury. The team won six of its next seven games, finishing the 2018 season with a 10–6 record and winning the AFC North, giving them their first playoff appearance since 2014 and their first division title since 2012. The Ravens lost to the Los Angeles Chargers in the Wild Card round with Jackson at quarterback, making him the youngest QB in NFL history to start a playoff game. At the conclusion of the season, Ozzie Newsome stepped down as the team's general manager. He was replaced by longtime assistant Eric DeCosta.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: On March 13, 2019, the Ravens traded Joe Flacco to the Denver Broncos in exchange for a fourth-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. That season, Lamar Jackson led the Ravens to a franchise-best 14–2 record, including a 12-game winning streak to finish the regular season. On December 22, they clinched home-field advantage for the first time in franchise history following a win over the Cleveland Browns. On December 8, Jackson became only the second player in NFL history to rush for over 1,000 yards from the quarterback position. Four days later, Jackson broke Michael Vick's single-season quarterback rushing record of 1,037 yards. Thirteen Ravens were selected to the 2019 Pro Bowl, matching the all-time NFL record.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: The Ravens finished the 2019 regular season with 3,296 rushing yards, the most rushing yards by any team in NFL history during a season and they became the first team in NFL history to average at least 200 passing yards and 200 rushing yards per game in the same season.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: Despite earning the number-one seed in the playoffs, the Ravens were eliminated by the sixth-seeded Tennessee Titans in the Divisional Round of the playoffs, 28–12. Lamar Jackson was unanimously voted AP NFL MVP, becoming only the second player in NFL history to do so, after Tom Brady in 2010.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: In 2020, the Ravens went 6–5 in their first 11 games, but rebounded and finished the season 11–5, taking second place in the AFC North and earning a Wild Card playoff berth with the fifth seed. They also led the NFL in rushing yards for the second year in a row during the regular season, with 3,071 yards. In the Wild Card round, they defeated the fourth-seeded Tennessee Titans in Nashville, 20–13. In the Divisional Round, they fell to the second-seeded Buffalo Bills, 17–3.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: In 2021, the Ravens claimed the record of consecutive preseason wins with 20, overtaking Vince Lombardi’s Green Bay Packers record. In Week 3 of the 2021 season against the Detroit Lions, Justin Tucker put his name in the NFL record books by kicking the longest field goal in the history of the National Football League, 66 yards, which also was the field goal that won the game and 5 yards longer than his previous career long of 61 yards that was also kicked in Detroit. The following week, the Ravens tied the NFL record of consecutive 100 yard rushing games by a team with 43 in a win over the Denver Broncos, equaling the 1974 to ‘77 Pittsburgh Steelers record. The team reached an 8–3 record by Week 12, but ended the season on a six game losing streak to finish 8–9, missing the playoffs and coming in last in the AFC North. Jackson sustained an ankle injury during the Week 14 loss to the Browns and did not appear in any subsequent games.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: By far the team's biggest rival is the Pittsburgh Steelers. Pittsburgh and Baltimore are separated by a less-than-5-hour drive along Interstate 70. Both teams are known for their hard-hitting physical style of play. They play twice a year in the AFC North, and have met four times in the playoffs. Pittsburgh leads the all-time series, 30–24, and holds a 3–1 advantage in the four matchups in the postseason. Games between these two teams usually come down to the wire as most within the last 5 years have come down to under 4 points.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: The Ravens also have divisional rivalries with the Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals. The rivalry with the Browns has been very one-sided; Baltimore holds an advantage of 33–11 against Cleveland. The rivalry with Cincinnati has been closer, with the Ravens slightly holding the edge in the all-time series 27-24.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: The Ravens first met the New England Patriots in 1996, but the rivalry truly started in 2007 when the Ravens suffered a bitter 27–24 loss in the Patriots' quest for perfection. The rivalry began to escalate in 2009 when the Patriots beat the Ravens 27–21 in a game that involved a confrontation between Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs. Both players would go on to take verbal shots at each other through the media after the game.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: While the Patriots lead the overall series, 11–4, the teams have split four postseason meetings, 2–2. The Ravens won the , 33–14, and the , 28–13. The Patriots won the 23–20 and the , 35–31.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: Reemerging in the late 2010s, the rivalry actually started in the early 2000s when both teams were in the AFC Central, with both teams having tough and bitter games, Ravens gave the Titans their first ever loss at the new Adelphia Coliseum in the 2000 season and the Ravens eliminated Tennessee during the playoffs later on. Fans and analysts have noted an emerging rivalry between the Baltimore Ravens and the Tennessee Titans of the AFC South. While there is no known animosity between the cities of Baltimore and Nashville, games between their respective teams have become heated and included fiery verbal exchanges between coaches and players.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: The team's first helmet logo, used from 1996 through the 1999 Pro Bowl, featured raven wings outspread from a shield displaying a letter "B" framed by the word "Ravens" overhead and a cross bottony underneath. The US Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a jury verdict that the logo infringed on a copyright retained by Frederick E. Bouchat, an amateur artist and security guard in Maryland, but that he was entitled to only three dollars in damages from the NFL.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: Bouchat had submitted his design to the Maryland Stadium Authority by fax after learning that Baltimore was to acquire an NFL team. He was not credited for the design when the logo was announced. Bouchat sued the team, claiming to be the designer of the emblem; representatives of the team asserted that the image had been designed independently. The court ruled in favor of Bouchat, noting that team owner Modell had access to Bouchat's work. Bouchat's fax had gone to John Moag, the Maryland Stadium Authority chairman, whose office was located in the same building as Modell's. Bouchat ultimately was not awarded monetary compensation in the damages phase of the case.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: "The Baltimore Sun" ran a poll showing three designs for new helmet logos. Fans participating in the poll expressed a preference for a raven's head in profile over other designs. Art Modell announced that he would honor this preference but still wanted a letter "B" to appear somewhere in the design. The new Ravens logo, introduced in 1999, featured a raven's head in profile with the letter B superimposed. The secondary logo is a shield that honors Baltimore's history of heraldry. Alternating Calvert and Crossland emblems (seen also in the flag of Maryland and the flag of Baltimore) are interlocked with stylized letters "B" and "R".


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: The design of the Ravens uniform has remained essentially unchanged since the team's inaugural season in 1996. Art Modell admitted to ESPN's Roy Firestone that the Ravens' colors, introduced in early 1996, were inspired by the Northwestern Wildcats 1995 dream season. Helmets are black with purple "talon" stripes rising from the facemask to the crown. Players normally wear purple jerseys at home and white jerseys on the road. In 1996 the team wore black pants with a single large white stripe for all games.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: In 1997 the Ravens opted for a more classic NFL look with white pants sporting stripes in purple and black, along with the jerseys sporting a different font for the uniform numbers. The white pants were worn with both home and road jerseys. The road uniform (white pants with white jerseys) was worn by the Ravens in Super Bowl XXXV, at the end of the 2000 NFL season.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: In the 2002 season the Ravens began the practice of wearing white jerseys for the home opener that has a 1:00 kickoff. In recent seasons, the practice has come when the home game is played in week one. Since John Harbaugh became the head coach in 2008, the Ravens have also worn their white jerseys at home for preseason games.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: In November 2004 the team introduced an alternate uniform design featuring black jerseys and solid black pants with black socks. The all-black uniform was first worn for a home game against the Cleveland Browns, entitled "Pitch Black" night, that resulted in a Ravens win. The uniform has since been worn for select prime-time national game broadcasts and other games of significance.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: The Ravens began wearing black pants again with the white jersey in 2008. On December 7, 2008, during a Sunday Night Football game against the Washington Redskins, the Ravens introduced a new combination of black jersey with white pants. It was believed to be due to the fact that John Harbaugh doesn't like the "blackout" look. However, on December 19, 2010, the Ravens wore their black jerseys and black pants in a 30–24 victory over the New Orleans Saints.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: Since 2010, the Ravens have worn their black jerseys at least twice each season. From 2011 to 2013 and again in 2015, they wore the all blacks once and the black on white once. In 2014 and 2016, they wore all black both times they wore alternate uniforms. In 2017, they wore all black twice and black on white once (although the league is supposed to limit teams to wearing alternate jerseys a maximum of two times a season).


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: On December 5, 2010, the Ravens reverted to the black pants with the purple jerseys versus the Pittsburgh Steelers during NBC's "Sunday Night Football" telecast. The Ravens lost to the Steelers 13–10. They wore the same look again for their game against the Cleveland Browns on December 24, 2011, and they won, 20–14. They wore this combination a third time against the Houston Texans on January 15, 2012 in the AFC Divisional playoff. They won 20–13. They would again wear this combination on January 6, 2013, during the AFC Wild Card playoff and what turned out to be Ray Lewis' final home game, where they defeated the Indianapolis Colts 24–9.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: From their inaugural season until 2006, the Ravens wore white cleats with their uniforms; they switched to black cleats in 2007.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: On December 20, 2015, the team unexpectedly debuted gold pants for the first time, wearing them with their regular purple jerseys against the Kansas City Chiefs. Although gold is an official accent color of the Ravens, the pants got an overwhelmingly negative response on social media by both Ravens fans and fans of other NFL teams, with some comparisons being made to the rival Pittsburgh Steelers' pants, and mustard.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: During the 2015 season, the NFL announced a jersey promotion called Color Rush in which teams would wear uniforms typically of one color head-to-toe during select prime-time games. The promotion was used three times that season; all the games that featured them were on Thursday Night and had both teams wear them in each. The following season, the league released uniforms for all 32 teams and announced they would be worn during all Thursday Night games that year, as well as on Christmas. The Ravens had one Thursday Night game in 2016; they wore their all-purple Color Rush uniforms and won 28–7 over the division rival Cleveland Browns. They had one other Thursday Night game the following season, in which they again wore the jerseys and won 40–0 over the Miami Dolphins. In their Christmas 2016 game against the Steelers, the Ravens wore their regular all-white uniforms while their rivals wore their Color Rush uniforms.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: On September 13, 2018, the Ravens debuted a new combination in a road game against the Cincinnati Bengals, wearing white jerseys with purple pants. The purple pants are similar to the ones used for Color Rush except that it has side stripes of black and white; the Color Rush purple pants have gold and white stripes. Then on October 21 against the New Orleans Saints, the Ravens paired their new purple pants with their regular purple uniforms. Black socks were originally worn with this combination, but on January 2, 2022, the Ravens wore purple socks with the regular all-purple combination against the Los Angeles Rams, essentially replicating their Color Rush uniforms but with minimal gold elements.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: For the regular-season finale against the Browns on December 30, the Ravens wore their black uniforms with purple pants. The Ravens wore this combination again October 11, 2021, against the Indianapolis Colts on "Monday Night Football" in a 31–25 overtime win.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: The team marching band is called Baltimore's Marching Ravens. They began as the Colts' marching band and have operated continuously from September 7, 1947, to the present. They helped campaign for football to return to Baltimore after the Colts moved. Because they stayed in Baltimore after the Colts left, the band is nicknamed "the band that would not die" and were the subject of an episode of ESPN's "30 for 30". The Washington Commanders are the only other NFL team that currently has a marching band.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: Note: The following lists players who officially played for the Ravens. For other Hall of Famers, players whose numbers were retired, and players who played for the Baltimore Colts, see Indianapolis Colts. Bold number notes player inducted as a member of the Ravens. For Cleveland Browns players, including those in the Hall of Fame and those whose numbers were retired, see Cleveland Browns.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: The Ravens do not have officially retired numbers. However, the number 19 has not been issued out of respect for Baltimore Colts quarterback Johnny Unitas, except for quarterback Scott Mitchell in his lone season in Baltimore in 1999. In addition, numbers 75, 52, and 20, in honor of Jonathan Ogden, Ray Lewis, and Ed Reed respectively, have not been issued since those players' retirements from football.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: The Ravens have a "Ring of Honor" which is on permanent display encircling the field of M&T Bank Stadium. The ring currently honors 20 members, including eight former members of the Baltimore Colts.


title: Baltimore Ravens

text: The team's first draft was the 1996 NFL Draft, where they selected UCLA offensive tackle Jonathan Ogden fourth overall and University of Miami linebacker Ray Lewis 24th overall. Both players won a Super Bowl with the team, earned numerous Pro Bowl and All-Pro selections, and are members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Along with their pick in the next year's draft, this was the highest first-round draft pick that the Ravens have had. In 1996, 2000, 2018 and 2020, the Ravens had two first-round draft picks (2018 was the only year in the Ravens traded up during the draft). However, in 2004 they had none. Two of their first round picks have made at least ten Pro Bowls.


title: Fantasia (1940 film)

text: Fantasia is a 1940 American animated musical anthology film produced and released by Walt Disney Productions, with story direction by Joe Grant and Dick Huemer and production supervision by Walt Disney and Ben Sharpsteen. The third Disney animated feature film, it consists of eight animated segments set to pieces of classical music conducted by Leopold Stokowski, seven of which are performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra. Music critic and composer Deems Taylor acts as the film's Master of Ceremonies who introduces each segment in live action.


title: Fantasia (1940 film)

text: Disney settled on the film's concept in 1938 as work neared completion on "The Sorcerer's Apprentice", originally an elaborate "Silly Symphony" cartoon designed as a comeback role for Mickey Mouse, who had declined in popularity. As production costs surpassed what the short could earn, Disney decided to include it in a feature-length film of multiple segments set to classical pieces with Stokowski and Taylor as collaborators. The soundtrack was recorded using multiple audio channels and reproduced with Fantasound, a pioneering sound system developed by Disney and RCA that made "Fantasia" the first commercial film shown in stereo and a precursor to surround sound.


title: Fantasia (1940 film)

text: "Fantasia" was first released as a theatrical roadshow that was held in 13 cities across the U.S. between 1940 and 1941; the first began at the Broadway Theatre in New York City on November 13, 1940. While acclaimed by critics, it failed to make a profit owing to World War II's cutting off distribution to the European market, the film's high production costs, and the expense of building Fantasound equipment and leasing theatres for the roadshow presentations. Since 1942, the film has been reissued multiple times by RKO Radio Pictures and Buena Vista Distribution with its original footage and audio being deleted, modified, or restored in each version. When adjusted for inflation, "Fantasia" is the 23rd highest-grossing film of all time in the U.S.


title: Fantasia (1940 film)

text: The "Fantasia" franchise has grown to include video games, Disneyland attractions, and a live concert series. A sequel, "Fantasia 2000", co-produced by Walt's nephew Roy E. Disney, was released in 1999. "Fantasia" has grown in reputation over the years and is now widely acclaimed as one of the greatest animated films of all time; in 1998, the American Film Institute ranked it as the 58th greatest American film in their 100 Years...100 Movies and the fifth greatest animated film in their 10 Top 10 list. In 1990, "Fantasia" was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".


title: Fantasia (1940 film)

text: "Fantasia" opens with live action scenes of members of an orchestra gathering against a blue background and tuning their instruments in half-light, half-shadow. Master of ceremonies Deems Taylor enters the stage (also in half-light, half-shadow) and introduces the program.


title: Fantasia (1940 film)

text: In 1936, Walt Disney felt that the Disney studio's star character Mickey Mouse needed a boost in popularity. He decided to feature the mouse in "The Sorcerer's Apprentice", a deluxe cartoon short based on the 1797 poem written by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and set to the 1897 orchestral piece by Paul Dukas inspired by the original tale. The concept of matching animation to classical music was used as early as 1928 in Disney's cartoon series, the "Silly Symphonies", but he wanted to go beyond the usual slapstick, and produce shorts where "sheer fantasy unfolds ... action controlled by a musical pattern has great charm in the realm of unreality." Upon receiving the rights to use the music by the end of July 1937, Disney considered using a well-known conductor to record the music for added prestige. He happened to meet Leopold Stokowski, conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra since 1912, at Chasen's restaurant in Hollywood, and talked about his plans for the short. Stokowski recalled that he did "like the music"; was happy to collaborate on the project, and offered to conduct the piece at no cost.


title: Fantasia (1940 film)

text: Following their meeting, Disney's New York representative ran into Stokowski on a train headed for the East Coast. In writing to Disney, he reported that Stokowski was "really serious in his offer to do the music for nothing. He had some very interesting ideas on instrumental coloring, which would be perfect for an animation medium". In his excited response dated October 26, 1937, Disney wrote that he felt "all steamed up over the idea of Stokowski working with us ... The union of Stokowski and his music, together with the best of our medium, would be the means of a success and should lead to a new style of motion picture presentation." He had already begun working on a story outline, and wished to use "the finest men ... from color ... down to animators" on the short. "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" was to be promoted as a "special" and rented to theatres as a unique film, outside of the Mickey Mouse cartoon series.


title: Fantasia (1940 film)

text: An agreement signed by Disney and Stokowski on December 16, 1937, allowed the conductor to "select and employ a complete symphony orchestra" for the recording. Stokowski was paid $5,000 for his work. Disney hired a stage at the Culver Studios in California for the session. It began at midnight on January 9, 1938, and lasted for three hours using eighty-five Hollywood musicians.


title: Fantasia (1940 film)

text: As production costs of "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" climbed to $125,000, it became clearer to Disney and his brother Roy, who managed the studio's finances, that the short could never earn such a sum back on its own. Roy wanted his brother to keep any additional costs on the film to a minimum. He said, "because of its very experimental and unprecedented nature ... we have no idea what can be expected from such a production." Ben Sharpsteen, a production supervisor on "Fantasia", noted that its budget was three to four times greater than the usual "Silly Symphony", but Disney "saw this trouble in the form of an opportunity. This was the birth of a new concept, a group of separate numbers—regardless of their running time—put together in a single presentation. It turned out to be a concert—something novel and of high quality."


title: Fantasia (1940 film)

text: Ideas to produce a complete feature film were pursued in February 1938, when inquiries were made to extend Stokowski's contract. In August, Disney asked Stokowski's representative to have him return to the studios to select material for the new film, which was initially titled "The Concert Feature". Disney agreed to pay Stokowski $80,000 plus royalties for his services. The pair further thought of presenting the film with an on-screen host to introduce each number in the program. Both had heard composer and music critic Deems Taylor provide intermission commentary during radio broadcasts of the New York Philharmonic, and agreed he would be most suitable for the role. Disney did contact Taylor about the project, but by then work on "Pinocchio", "Bambi", and development on his new Burbank studio kept him too busy to work on the new feature. In a change of plans, Taylor was asked during a call on September 3, 1938, leave to come to the studios as soon as possible. He left New York City for Los Angeles by train two days later for a month's visit.


title: Fantasia (1940 film)

text: Taylor arrived at the studio one day after a series of meetings began to select the musical pieces for "The Concert Feature". Disney made story writers Joe Grant and Dick Huemer gather a preliminary selection of music and along with Stokowski, Taylor, and the heads of various departments, discussed their ideas. Each meeting was recorded verbatim by stenographers with participants being given a copy of the entire conversation for review. As selections were considered, a recording of the piece was located and played back at the next gathering. Disney did not contribute much to early discussions; he admitted that his knowledge of music was instinctive and untrained. In one meeting, he inquired about a piece "on which we might build something of a prehistoric theme ... with animals". The group was considering "The Firebird" by Igor Stravinsky, but Taylor noted that his ""Le Sacre du printemps" would be something on that order", to which Disney replied upon hearing a recording, "This is marvelous! It would be perfect for prehistoric animals. There would be something terrific in dinosaurs, flying lizards, and prehistoric monsters. There could be beauty in the settings."


title: Fantasia (1940 film)

text: Numerous choices were discarded as talks continued, including "Moto Perpetuo" by Niccolò Paganini with "shots of dynamos, cogs, pistons" and "whirling wheels" to show the production of a collar button. Other deleted material included "Prelude in G minor" and "Troika" by Sergei Rachmaninoff, and a rendition of "The Song of the Flea" by Mussorgsky, which was to be sung by Lawrence Tibbett. On September 29, 1938, around sixty of Disney's artists gathered for a two-and-a-half hour piano concert while he provided a running commentary about the new musical feature. A rough version of "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" was also shown that, according to one attendee, had the crowd applauding and cheering "until their hands were red". The final pieces were chosen the following morning, which included Toccata and Fugue in D minor, "Cydalise et le Chèvre-pied" by Gabriel Pierné, "The Nutcracker Suite", "Night on Bald Mountain", "Ave Maria", "Dance of the Hours", "Clair de Lune" by Claude Debussy, "The Rite of Spring" and "The Sorcerer's Apprentice". Disney had already begun working out the details for the segments, and showed greater enthusiasm and eagerness as opposed to his anxiety while starting on "Pinocchio".


title: Fantasia (1940 film)

text: "Clair de Lune" was soon removed from the "Fantasia" program, but Disney and his writers encountered problems of setting a concrete story to "Cydalise". Its opening march, "The Entry of the Little Fauns", attracted Disney to the piece which at first provided suitable depictions of fauns he wanted. On January 5, 1939, following a search for a stronger piece to fit the mythological theme, the piece was replaced with sections of Beethoven's sixth symphony. Stokowski disagreed with the switch, believing that Disney's "idea of mythology ... is not quite what this symphony is about". He was also concerned about the reception from classical music enthusiasts who would criticize Disney for venturing too far from the composer's intent. Taylor on the other hand welcomed the change, describing it as "a stunning one", and saw "no possible objection to it".


title: Fantasia (1940 film)

text: The new feature continued to be known as "The Concert Feature" or "Musical Feature" as late as November 1938. Hal Horne, a publicist for Disney's film distributor RKO Radio Pictures, wished for a different title, and gave the suggestion "Filmharmonic Concert". Stuart Buchanan then held a contest at the studio for a title that produced almost 1,800 suggestions including "Bach to Stravinsky and Bach" and "Highbrowski by Stokowski". Still, the favorite among the film's supervisors was "Fantasia", an early working title that had even grown on Horne, "It isn't the word alone but the meaning we read into it." From the beginning of its development, Disney expressed the greater importance of music in "Fantasia" compared to his past work: "In our ordinary stuff, our music is always under action, but on this ... we're supposed to be picturing this music—not the music fitting our story." Disney had hoped that the film would bring classical music to people who, like himself, had previously "walked out on this kind of stuff".


title: Fantasia (1940 film)

text: Over 1,000 artists and technicians were used in the making of "Fantasia", which features more than 500 animated characters. Segments were color-keyed scene by scene so the colors in a single shot would harmonize between preceding and following ones. Before a segment's narrative pattern was complete, an overall color scheme was designed to the general mood of the music, and patterned to correspond with the development of the subject matter The studio's character model department would also sculpt three-dimensional clay models so the animators could view their subject from all angles. The live action scenes were filmed using the three-strip Technicolor process, while the animated segments were shot in successive yellow, cyan and magenta-exposed frames. The different pieces of film were then spliced together to form a complete print. A multiplane camera that could handle seven levels, three more than the old multiplane camera, was built.


title: Fantasia (1940 film)

text: Disney had been interested in producing abstract animation since he saw "A Colour Box" by Len Lye from 1935. He explained the work done in the "Toccata and Fugue" was "no sudden idea ... they were something we had nursed along several years but we never had a chance to try". Preliminary designs included those from effects animator Cy Young, who produced drawings influenced by the patterns on the edge of a piece of sound film. In late 1938, Disney hired Oskar Fischinger, a German artist who had produced numerous abstract animated films, including some with classical music, to work with Young. Upon review of three leica reels produced by the two, Disney rejected all three. According to Huemer all Fishinger "did was little triangles and designs ... it didn't come off at all. Too dinky, Walt said." Fischinger, like Disney, was used to having full control over his work and not used to working in a group. Feeling his designs were too abstract for a mass audience, Fishinger left the studio in apparent despair, before the segment was completed, in October 1939. Disney had plans to make the "Toccata and Fugue" an experimental three-dimensional film, with audiences being given cardboard stereoscopic frames with their souvenir programs, but this idea was abandoned.


title: Fantasia (1940 film)

text: In "The Nutcracker Suite", animator Art Babbitt is said to have credited The Three Stooges as a guide for animating the dancing mushrooms in the "Chinese Dance" routine. He drew with a music score pinned to his desk to work out the choreography so he could relate the action to the melody and the counterpoint, "those nasty little notes underneath ... so something has to be related to that". The studio filmed professional dancers Joyce Coles and Marjorie Belcher wearing ballet skirts that resembled shapes of blossoms that were to sit above water for "Dance of the Flutes". An Arabian dancer was also brought in to study the movements for the goldfish in "Arab Dance". Jules Engel also worked on the choreography and color-keying for this sequence.


title: Fantasia (1940 film)

text: Animation on "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" began on January 21, 1938, when James Algar, the director of the segment, assigned animator Preston Blair to work on the scene when Mickey Mouse wakes from his dream. Each of the seven hundred members of staff at the time received a synopsis of Goethe's 1797 poem "Der Zauberlehrling", and were encouraged to complete a twenty-question form that requested their ideas on what action might take place. Layout artist Tom Codrick created what Dick Huemer described as "brilliantly colored thumbnails" from preliminary storyboard sketches using gouache paints, which featured bolder use of color and lighting than any previous Disney short. Mickey was redesigned by animator Fred Moore who added pupils to his eyes for the first time to achieve greater ranges of expression. Most of the segment was shot in live action, including a scene where a UCLA athlete was asked to run and jump across one of the studio's sound stages with barrels in the way, which was used for reference when Mickey traverses through water.


title: Fantasia (1940 film)

text: An early concept for "Rite of Spring" was to extend the story to the age of mammals and the first humans and the discovery of fire and man's triumph. John Hubley, the segment's art director, explained that it was later curtailed by Disney to avoid controversy from creationists, who promised to make trouble should he connect evolution with humans. To gain a better understanding of the history of the planet the studio received guidance from Roy Chapman Andrews, the director of the American Museum of Natural History, English biologist Julian Huxley, paleontologist Barnum Brown, and astronomer Edwin Hubble. Animators studied comets and nebulae at the Mount Wilson Observatory, and observed a herd of iguanas and a baby alligator that were brought into the studio. The viewpoint was kept low throughout the segment to heighten the immensity of the dinosaurs.


title: Fantasia (1940 film)

text: According to Ward Kimball, the animators were "extremely specific on touchy issues". In the making of "The Pastoral Symphony" Greek mythological segment, the female centaurs were originally drawn bare-breasted, but the Hays office enforcing the Motion Picture Production Code insisted that they discreetly hung garlands around the necks. The male centaurs were also toned down to appear less intimidating to the audience. Originally, the segment included a pair of black centaurs who tended to the others, but these were cut from the film in later releases for sensitivity reasons (see ).


title: Fantasia (1940 film)

text: "Dance of the Hours" was directed by Norman Ferguson and Thornton Hee and was completed by eleven animators. Most of the story was outlined in a meeting in October 1938, including the creation of the main alligator character, Ben Ali Gator. Its story, direction, layout, and animation underwent several rewrites, yet Disney wanted to present animals perform a legitimate caricature ballet sequence with comedic "slips". The design of the elephants and alligators were based on those by German illustrator Heinrich Kley, while the hippos and ostriches were based on those by cartoonist T. S. Sullivant. To gain a better idea on the animals' movements, the crew visited Griffith Park Zoo in Los Angeles. Animator John Hench was assigned to work on the segment, but resisted as he knew little about ballet. Disney then gave Hench season tickets to the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo with backstage access so he could learn more about it.


title: Fantasia (1940 film)

text: The studio filmed several people in live action to help with the animation of the characters. The lead ostrich, Madmoiselle Upanova, is based on Irina Baronova. Hyacinth Hippo, the prima ballerina, was inspired by dancers Marge Champion and Tatiana Riabouchinska and actress Hattie Noel who weighed over , the animators studying the "least quiver of her flesh, noticing those parts of her anatomy that were subjected to the greatest stress and strain". Riabouchinska's husband David Lichine was used for Ben Ali Gator's movements.


title: Fantasia (1940 film)

text: "Night on Bald Mountain" was directed by Wilfred Jackson. Its story closely follows the descriptions that Mussorgsky had written on his original score of the tone poem. Chernabog was animated by Vladimir "Bill" Tytla, his design inspired from a pencil sketch by Swiss artist Albert Hurter of a demon sitting atop a mountain unfolding its wings. Despite Hurter never producing animation for Disney, the studio temporarily hired him to produce pencil sketches for the animators to gain inspiration from. Chernabog and parts of the segment were developed further by Danish-born illustrator Kay Nielsen. Tytla conducted research on all the characters he had animated and being Ukrainian, was familiar with the folklore that the story detailed. Actor Béla Lugosi, best known for his role in "Dracula" (1931), was brought in to provide reference poses for Chernabog, but Tytla disliked the results. He then got Jackson to pose shirtless which gave him the images he needed. At one point in its development, the idea of using black cats to represent evil was considered, but Disney rejected it as he thought cats had always been used.


title: Fantasia (1940 film)

text: The film's program reads that "Ave Maria" provides "an emotional relief to audiences tense from the shock" of "Night on Bald Mountain". Disney did not want much animated movement, but wanted the segment to bring the background artwork to the forefront. An early story outline had the segment end with a Madonna presented on the screen with the clouds, but Disney decided against this as he did not want to suggest overly religious imagery. There were ideas of releasing scents throughout the theater during "Fantasia", including the smell of incense during "Ave Maria".


title: Fantasia (1940 film)

text: The lyrics to Ave Maria were sung by Julietta Novis. On the sleeve notes of the LP version of the sound track, Disney acknowledged the original words, as written by Sir Walter Scott, but said that it had been decided to use words specially written for "Fantasia" by the distinguished American author Rachel Field.


title: Fantasia (1940 film)

text: Disney wanted to experiment in more sophisticated sound recording and reproduction techniques for "Fantasia". "Music emerging from one speaker behind the screen sounds thin, tinkly and strainy. We wanted to reproduce such beautiful masterpieces ... so that audiences would feel as though they were standing at the podium with Stokowski". For the recording of "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" in January 1938, engineers at Disney collaborated with RCA Corporation for using multiple audio channels which allowed any desired dynamic balance to be achieved upon playback. The stage was altered acoustically with double plywood semi-circular partitions that separated the orchestra into five sections to increase reverberation. Though as the production of "Fantasia" developed, the setup used for "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" was abandoned for different multi-channel recording arrangements.


title: Fantasia (1940 film)

text: On January 18, 1939, Stokowski signed an eighteen-month contract with Disney to conduct the remaining pieces with the Philadelphia Orchestra. Recording began that April and lasted for seven weeks at the Academy of Music, the orchestra's home which was chosen for its excellent acoustics. In the recording sessions, thirty-three microphones were placed around the orchestra that captured the music onto eight optical sound recording machines placed in the hall's basement. Each one represented an audio channel that focused on a different section of instruments: cellos and basses, violins, brass, violas, and woodwinds and tympani. The seventh channel was a combination of the first six while the eighth provided an overall sound of the orchestra at a distance. A ninth channel provided a click track function for the animators to time their drawings to the music. In the forty-two days of recording of film was used. Disney paid all the expenses which included the musician's wages, stage personnel, a music librarian, and the orchestra's manager that cost almost $18,000. When the finished recordings arrived at the studio, a meeting was held on July 14, 1939, to allow the artists working on each segment to listen to Stokowski's arrangements, and suggest alterations in the sound to work more effectively with their designs.


title: Fantasia (1940 film)

text: The Disney brothers contacted David Sarnoff of RCA regarding the manufacture of a new system that would "create the illusion that the actual symphony orchestra is playing in the theater." Sarnoff backed out at first for financial reasons, but agreed in July 1939 to make the equipment so long as the Disneys could hold down the estimated $200,000 in costs (equivalent to about $million in ). Though it was not exactly known how to achieve their goal, engineers at Disney and RCA investigated many ideas and tests made with various equipment setups. The collaboration led to the development of Fantasound, a pioneering stereophonic surround sound system which innovated some processes widely used today, including simultaneous multitrack recording, overdubbing, and noise reduction.


title: Fantasia (1940 film)

text: Fantasound, developed in part by Disney engineer William Garity, employed two projectors running at the same time. With one containing the picture film with a mono soundtrack for backup purposes, the other ran a sound film that was mixed from the nine tracks recorded at the Academy to four: three of which contained the audio for the left, center, and right stage speakers respectively, while the fourth became a control track with amplitude and frequency tones that drove variable-gain amplifiers to control the volume of the three audio tracks. In addition were three "house" speakers placed on the left, right, and center of the auditorium that derived from the left and right stage channels which acted as surround channels. As the original recording was captured at almost peak modulation to increase signal-to-noise ratio, the control track was used to restore the dynamics to where Stokowski thought they should be. For this, a tone-operated gain-adjusting device was built to control the levels of each of the three audio tracks through the amplifiers.


title: Fantasia (1940 film)

text: The illusion of sound traveling across the speakers was achieved with a device named the "pan pot", which directed the predetermined movement of each audio channel with the control track. Mixing of the soundtrack required six people to operate the various pan pots in real time, while Stokowski directed each level and pan change which was marked on his musical score. To monitor recording levels, Disney used oscilloscopes with color differentiation to minimize eye fatigue. To test recording equipment and speaker systems, Disney ordered eight electronic oscillators from the newly established Hewlett-Packard company. Between the individual takes, prints, and remakes, approximately three million feet of sound film was used in the production of "Fantasia". Almost a fifth of the film's budget was spent on its recording techniques.


title: Fantasia (1940 film)

text: RKO balked at the idea of distributing "Fantasia", which it described as a "longhair musical", and believed its duration of two hours and five minutes plus intermission was too long for a general release. It relaxed its exclusive distribution contract with Disney, who wanted a more prestigious exhibit in the form of a limited-run roadshow attraction. A total of thirteen roadshows were held across the United States; each involving two daily screenings with seat reservations booked in advance at higher prices and a fifteen-minute intermission. Disney hired film salesman Irving Ludwig to manage the first eleven engagements, who was given specific instructions regarding each aspect of the film's presentation, including the setup of outside theater marquees and curtain and lighting cues. Patrons were taken to their seats by staff hired and trained by Disney, and were given a program booklet illustrated by Gyo Fujikawa.


title: Fantasia (1940 film)

text: The first roadshow opened at the Broadway Theatre in New York City on November 13, 1940. The Disneys had secured a year's lease with the venue that was fully equipped with Fantasound, which took personnel a week working around the clock to install. Proceeds made on the night went to the British War Relief Society following the Battle of Britain. Ticket demand was so great that eight telephone operators were employed to handle the extra calls while the adjoining store was rented out to cater the box office bookings. "Fantasia" ran at the Broadway for forty-nine consecutive weeks, the longest run achieved by a film at the time. Its run continued for a total of fifty-seven weeks until February 28, 1942.


title: Fantasia (1940 film)

text: The remaining twelve roadshows were held throughout 1941, which included a 39-week run at the Carthay Circle Theatre in Los Angeles from January 29. "Fantasia" broke the long-run record at the venue in its twenty-eighth week; a record previously held by "Gone with the Wind". Its eight-week run at the Fulton Theatre in Pittsburgh attracted over 50,000 people with reservations being made from cities located one hundred miles from the venue. Engagements were also held at the Geary Theatre in San Francisco for eight months, the Hanna Theatre in Cleveland for nine weeks, the Majestic Theatre in Boston, the Apollo Theater in Chicago, and also in Philadelphia, Detroit, Buffalo, Minneapolis, Washington, D.C., and Baltimore.