Madame Upanova is a character in the 1940 film Fantasia. She is an ostrich ballerina who represents the dawn.
Background[]
Physical appearance[]
Madame Upanova is a black ostrich with feminine features. She always loves pink as her favorite color, so she wears a pink bow with matching ballet slippers and has a thin black ribbon around her neck.
Appearances[]
Fantasia[]
Madame Upanova is in a segment called "Dance of the Hours". She appears in the beginning with all her Ostrich students. She wakes herself and all of them up as the curtains open. Her pirouette is caused by their reach over her as it is thrust up high with lots of feathers shed. As she feeds some Ostriches some fruit from the conch, she tries to eat the purple grapes she holds in her beak and get away from the squabbling of all her students. As the Ostriches pursue her, one of them makes her drop the grapes, causing them to fall into the water, and they all flee from the bubbles coming from the fountain.
Who Framed Roger Rabbit[]
Madame Upanova makes two cameo appearances in Who Framed Roger Rabbit. First, she walks to the Maroon Cartoons Studio door, giving Eddie Valiant the cold shoulder as she passes him. Her second appearance is among a group of toons in the finale.
Aladdin[]
Madame Upanova makes a cameo in one of the episodes conjured by Genie, where she is shown holding an egg.
House of Mouse[]
In the episode "Donald's Pumbaa Prank", she is seen ducking her head into a three-layered cake with a cherry on top of it when Pumbaa is about to stink up the club.
Princess Academy[]
Her role is unknown due to this program being canceled.
Disney Parks[]
Madame Upanova at Disney Parks
Ostriches resembling Madame Upanova (possibly her students in her colors) are walkaround characters that appear in parades. Upanova also appears in the Disneyland Hotel's Fantasia Store as a statue. A statue also appears outside the pool area at the Disneyland Hotel at Disneyland Paris.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Despite being referred to as female by the development staff, Madame Upanova's feather colors are of a male's. Much like peacocks where males are bright and colorful, and females are shades of brown and grey, only male ostriches have black and white feathers, while females are varying shades of brown like female peacocks.
- In production, Madame Upanova was referred to as Mademoiselle Upanova; however, she is marketed as Madame Upanova.
References[]
| Fantasia |
|---|
 Shorts: Toccata and Fugue in D Minor | Nutcracker Suite | The Sorcerer's Apprentice | The Rite of Spring | The Pastoral Symphony | Dance of the Hours | Night on Bald Mountain/Ave Maria | Symphony No. 5 | Pines of Rome | Rhapsody in Blue | Piano Concerto No. 2 | The Carnival of the Animals | Pomp and Circumstance | The Firebird Suite Shorts from the Unfinished Third Fantasia: Destino | The Little Matchgirl Characters: Mickey Mouse | Donald Duck | Daisy Duck | Yen Sid | Chernabog | Chernabog's minions | Magic Brooms | Tyrannosaurus Rex | Stegosaurus | Triceratops | Pteranodon | Bacchus | Jacchus | Centaurs | Centaurettes | Melinda | Brudus | Iris | Zeus | Vulcan | Madame Upanova and her ostriches | Hyacinth Hippo and her hippos | Elephanchine and her elephants | Ben Ali Gator and his alligators | Colorful Triangles | Black Triangles | Humpback Whales | Duke | Rachel | Flying John | Killjoy Margaret | Jobless Joe | Tin Soldier | Ballerina | Jack-in-the-Box | Yo Yo Flamingo | Snooty Flamingos | Noah | Spring Sprite | The Elk | Firebird | Mother Pegasus | Sunflower | Boreas | Artemis | Nyx Interstitial Hosts: Steve Martin | Bette Midler | James Earl Jones | Angela Lansbury Locations: Yen Sid's tower | Bald Mountain | New York City Songs: Ave Maria |