 The orchestral interlude Flight of the Bumblebee was composed ( c . 1900 ) by Nikolai Rimsky @-@ Korsakov . It represents the turning of Prince Guidon into a bumblebee so he can fly away to visit his father , Tsar Saltan , in the opera The Tale of Tsar Saltan , although the music may reflect the flight of a <unk> rather than a bumblebee . The music inspired Walt Disney to feature a bumblebee in his 1940 animated musical Fantasia and have it sound as if it were flying in all parts of the theater . This early attempt at " surround sound " was unsuccessful , and the music was excluded from the film 's release . 
