BONUS: Because of wartime restrictions, this 1940 film didn't go into general release until 1942. At first a financial disaster, today this musical is a classic for children and adults alike, combining high art with pop culture. Which film?

Walt Disney's ambitious 1940 animated feature, Fantasia, fits these clues perfectly. With World War II cutting off the lucrative European market, the film's distribution was severely hampered. This, combined with its enormous production cost, meant it initially lost a significant amount of money. It was first shown in a limited "roadshow" tour before finally getting a wider, general release in 1942.

The film was a groundbreaking experiment, intended to bring classical music to the masses by setting it to imaginative animation. It famously paired high-art compositions, like Bach's "Toccata and Fugue in D Minor" and Stravinsky's "The Rite of Spring," with accessible, family-friendly visuals. The most iconic segment, "The Sorcerer's Apprentice," was created specifically to revive the career of Disney's biggest star, Mickey Mouse.

A major reason for its initial financial trouble was also technical: Fantasia was released with a pioneering stereophonic sound system called Fantasound. The expensive installation required meant very few theaters could show the film as intended. Decades of re-releases, however, allowed new generations to discover the film's unique power. It is now celebrated as a landmark achievement, proving animation could be a venue for breathtaking artistic expression.