It’s Film
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Atlantis:
The Lost Empire
Release
Date June 15th, 2001
SYNOPSIS:
The world's most highly qualified crew of archaeologists and explorers are led by historian Milo Thatch as they board the incredible 1,000-foot submarine Ulysses and head deep into the mysteries of the sea. The underwater expedition takes an unexpected turn when the team's mission must switch from exploring Atlantis to protecting it. Filled with stunning visual effects, this captivating story is loaded with laughs and messages of friendship and teamwork.
FUN FACTS:
Atlantis: The Lost Empire is a 2001 American animated
film created by Walt Disney Feature Animation – the first science fiction film
in Disney’s animated features canon and the 41st overall. Written by Tab
Murphy, directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, and produced by Don Hahn, the
film features an ensemble cast with the voices of Michael J. Fox, Cree Summer,
James Garner, Leonard Nimoy, Dan Novello, and Jim Varney in his final role
before his death. Set in 1914, the film tells the story of a young man who
gains possession of a sacred book, which he believes will guide him and a crew
of adventurers to the lost city of Atlantis.
Development of the film began after production had
finished on The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996). Instead of another musical, the
production team decided to do an action-adventure film inspired by the works of
Jules Verne. Atlantis was notable for adopting the distinctive visual
style of comic book creator Mike Mignola. At the time of its release, the film
had made greater use of computer-generated imagery (CGI) than any of Disney's
previous animated features; it remains one of the few to have been shot in anamorphic
format. Linguist Marc Okrand created a language specifically for use in Atlantis,
while James Newton Howard provided the score. The film was released at a time
when audience interest in animated films was shifting away from hand-drawn
animation toward films with full CGI.
Atlantis: The Lost Empire premiered at the El
Caapitan theatre on June 3, 2001, and went into general release on June 15.
Distributed by Walt Disney Pictures, Atlantis performed modestly at the
box office. Budgeted at $100 million, the film
grossed $186 million worldwide, $84
million of which was earned in North America. Due to the film's
poorer-than-expected box-office performance, Disney quietly canceled both a
spin-off television series and an underwater attraction at its Disneyland theme
park. Some critics praised it as a unique departure from typical Disney
animated features, while others disliked it due to the unclear target audience
and absence of songs. Atlantis was nominated for a number of awards,
including seven Annie Awards, and won Best Sound Editing at the 2002 Golden
Reel Awards. The film was released on VHS and DVD on January 29, 2002; a
direct-to-video sequel, Atlantis: Milo’s Return, was released in 2003. Atlantis
is considered to be a cult favorite, due in part to Mignola's unique artistic
influence.
Plot
The film begins with a large tidal wave, triggered by a
distant explosion, which threatens to drown the island of Atlantis. In the
midst of an evacuation from the capital city, the Queen of Atlantis is caught
by a strange, hypnotic blue light and lifted up into the "Heart of
Atlantis", a powerful crystal protecting the city. The crystal consumes
her and creates a dome barrier that protects the city's innermost district. She
leaves behind a young daughter, Princess Kida (Cree Summer), as the island
sinks beneath the ocean.
Several thousand years later, in 1914, Milo Thatch
(Michael J. Fox)—a cartographer and linguist at the Smithsonian Institution who
is marginalized for his research on Atlantis—believes that he has found The
Shepherd's Journal, an ancient manuscript allegedly containing directions
to the lost island. After his proposal to search for the Journal is
rejected by the museum board, a mysterious woman, Helga Sinclair (Claudia
Christian), introduces Milo to Preston B. Whitmore (John Mahoney), an eccentric
millionaire. Whitmore has already funded a successful effort to retrieve the Journal
as repayment of a debt to Milo's grandfather, and recruits Milo to lead an
expedition to Atlantis as soon as he deciphers it.
The expedition departs with a team of specialists led by
Commander Rourke (James Garner), who also led the Journal recovery
expedition. The crew includes Vinny (Don Novello), a demolitions expert; Mole
(Corey Burton), a geologist; Dr. Sweet (Phil Morris), a medical officer; Audrey
(Jacqueline Obradors), a mechanic; Mrs. Packard (Florence Stanley), a radio
operator; and Cookie (Jim Varney), a mess cook. They set out in the Ulysses,
a massive submarine, but are soon attacked by the monstrous Leviathan, a
robotic lobster-like creature that guards Atlantis' entrance. The Ulysses
is destroyed but Milo, Rourke, and part of the crew escape and make their way
to an underground cavern, described in the Journal as the entrance to
Atlantis.
After traveling through a network of caves and a dormant
volcano, the team reaches Atlantis. They are greeted by Kida—who, despite her
age, resembles a young woman—and discover that the Atlantean language is the
basis of many existing languages (which allows the Atlanteans to understand
English). Kida enlists Milo's aid in deciphering the Atlantean written
language, long forgotten by the natives. By swimming deep within the city's
submerged ruins and translating underwater murals, Milo helps Kida uncover the
nature of the Heart of Atlantis: it supplies the Atlanteans with power and
longevity through the crystals worn around their necks. He is surprised this is
not mentioned in the Journal, but upon examination realizes a page is
missing.
Returning to the surface with Kida, Milo discovers Rourke
has the missing page. Rourke and the crew betray Milo, intending to bring the
crystal to the surface and sell it. Rourke mortally wounds the King of Atlantis
(Leonard Nimoy) while trying to extract information about the crystal's
location, but finds its location for himself hidden beneath the King's throne
room. The crystal detects a threat and merges with Kida. Rourke and the
mercenaries lock Kida in a crate and prepare to leave the city, knowing that
when the crystal is gone the Atlanteans will die. Milo berates his friends for
betraying their consciences and ultimately convinces them to leave Rourke and
remain in Atlantis. The King explains to Milo that the crystal has developed a
consciousness; it will find a royal host when Atlantis is in danger. As he dies
he gives his crystal to Milo, telling him to save Atlantis and Kida. Encouraged
by Sweet, Milo rallies the crew and the Atlanteans to stop Rourke.
In a battle inside the volcano, Helga and the other
mercenaries are defeated, including Rourke, killed when Milo slashes his arm
with a crystal shard. As Milo and the others fly the crystal back to the city,
the volcano erupts. With lava flowing towards the city, Kida (in her crystal
form) rises into the air and creates a protective shield. The lava breaks away
harmlessly, showing a restored Atlantis, and the crystal returns Kida to Milo.
The surviving crew members return to the surface and promise to keep the
discovery of Atlantis a secret. Milo, in love with Kida, stays behind to help
her rebuild the lost empire.
Cast
- Michael
J. Fox as Milo James Thatch, a linguist and cartographer who was recruited
to decipher The Shepherd's Journal while directing an expedition to
Atlantis. Kirk Wise, one of the directors, said that they chose Fox for
the role because they felt he gave his characters his own personality and
made them more believable on screen. Fox said that voice acting was much
easier than his past experience with live action because he did not have
to worry about what he looked like in front of a camera while delivering
his lines. The directors mentioned that Fox was also offered a role for Titan
A.E.; he allowed his son to choose which film he would work on, and he
chose Atlantis. Viewers have noted similarities between Milo and
the film's language consultant, Marc Okrand, who developed the Atlantean
language used in the film. Okrand stated that Milo's supervising animator,
John Pomeroy, sketched him, claiming not to know how a linguist looked or
acted.
- Cree
Summer as Kidagakash "Kida" Nedakh, the Princess of Atlantis.
Kida's supervising animator, Randy Haycock, stated that Summer was very
"intimidating" when he first met her; this influenced how he
wanted Kida to look and act on screen when she meets Milo.
- James
Garner as Commander Lyle Tiberius Rourke, the leader of the band of
mercenaries who are hired for the Atlantean expedition and the main
antagonist of the film. Wise chose Garner because of his previous
experience with actin films, especially war and Western films, and said
the role "fits him like a glove". When asked if he would be
interested in the role, Garner replied, "I'd do it in a
heartbeat."
- Corey
Burton as Gaëtan "Mole" Molière, a French geologist who acts
like a mole. Burton mentioned that finding his performance as Mole was by
allowing the character to "leap out" of him while making funny
voices. To get into character during his recording sessions, he stated
that he would "throw myself into the scene and feel like I'm in this
make-believe world".
- Claudia
Christian as Lieutenant Helga Katrina Sinclair, Rourke's
second-in-command. Christian described her character as
"sensual" and "striking". She was relieved when she
finally saw what her character looked like, joking, "I'd hate to, you
know, go through all this and find out my character is a toad."
- John
Mahoney as Preston B. Whitmore, a wealthy eccentric who funds the expedition
to Atlantis. Lloyd Bridges was originally cast and recorded as Whitmore,
but he died before completing the film. Mahoney's zest and vigor led to
Whitmore's personality being reworked for the film. Mahoney stated that
doing voice work was "freeing" and allowed him to be
"big" and "outrageous" with his character.
- Phil
Morris as Doctor Joshua Strongbear Sweet, a medic of African American and Native
American descent. Sweet's supervising animator, Ron Husband, indicated
that one of the challenges was animating Sweet in sync with Morris' rapid
line delivery while keeping him believable. Morris stated that his
character was extreme, with "no middle ground"; he mentioned,
"When he was happy, he was really happy, and when he's solemn,
he's real solemn."
- Leonard
Nimoy as Kashekim Nedakh, the King of Atlantis and Kida's father. Michael
Cedeno, supervising animator for King Nedakh, was astounded at Nimoy's
voice talent, stating that he had "so much rich character" in
his performance. As he spoke his lines, Cadeno said the crew would sit
there and watch Nimoy in astonishment.
- Don
Novello as Vincenzo "Vinny" Santorini, an Italian demolitions
expert. Kirk Wise and Russ Edmonds, Vinny's supervising animator, noted
Novello's unique ability to improvise dialogue. Edmonds recalled,
"[Novello] would look at the sheet, and he would read the line that
was written once, and he would never read it again! And we never used a
written line, it was improvs, the whole movie."
- Jacqueline
Obradors as Audrey Rocio Ramirez, a teenage female Puerto Rican
mechanic and the youngest member of the expedition. Obradors
said her character made her "feel like a little kid again" and
she always hoped her sessions would last longer.
- Florence
Stanley as Wilhelmina Bertha Packard: an elderly, sarcastic, chain-smoking
radio operator. Stanley felt that Packard was very "cynical" and
"secure": "She does her job and when she is not busy she
does anything she wants."
- David
Ogden Stiers as Fenton Q. Harcourt, a board member of the Smithsonian
Institution who dismisses Milo's belief in the existence of Atlantis.
Stiers previously worked with Michael J. Fox in Doc Hollywood.
- Jim
Varney as Jebidiah Allerdyce "Cookie" Farnsworth, a
Western-style chuckwagon chef. Varney died of lung cancer in February
2000, before production ended, and the film was dedicated to his memory.
Producer Don Hahn was saddened that Varney never saw the finished film,
but mentioned that he was shown clips of his character's performance
during his sessions and said, "He loved it." Shawn Keller,
supervising animator for Cookie, stated, "It was kind of a sad fact
that [Varney] knew that he was not going to be able to see this film
before he passed away. He did a bang-up job doing the voice work, knowing
the fact the he was never gonna see his last performance."
Production
Development
The idea for Atlantis: The Lost Empire was
conceived in October 1996 when Don Hahn, Gary Trousdale, Kirk Wise, and Tab
Murphy lunched at a Mexican restaurant in Burbank, California. Having recently
completed The Hunchback of Notre Dame the producer and directors wanted to keep
the Hunchback crew together for another film with an Adventureland
setting. Drawing inspiration from Jules Verne's A Journey to the Center of the
Earth (1864),[nb 2] they set out to make a film
which would fully explore Atlantis (compared to the brief visit depicted in
Verne's novel). While primarily utilizing the Internet to research the
mythology of Atlantis, the filmmakers became interested in the clairvoyant
readings of Edgar Cayce and decided to incorporate some of his ideas—notably
that of a mother-crystal which provides power, healing, and longevity to the
Atlanteans—into the story. They also visited museums and old army installations
to study the technology of the early 20th century (the film's time period), and
traveled 800 feet underground in New Mexico's Carlsbad Caverns to view the
subterranean trails which would serve as a model for the approach to Atlantis
in the film.
The filmmakers wanted to avoid the common depiction of
Atlantis as "crumbled Greek columns underwater", said Wise.
"From the get-go, we were committed to designing it top to bottom. Let's
get the architectural style, clothing, heritage, customs, how they would sleep,
and how they would speak. So we brought people on board who would help us
develop those ideas." Art director David Goetz stated, "We looked at Mayan
architecture, styles of ancient, unusual architecture from around the world,
and the directors really liked the look of Southeast Asia architecture."
The team later took ideas from other architectural forms, including Cambodian, Indian,
and Tibetan works. Hahn added, "If you take and deconstruct architecture
from around the world into one architectural vocabulary, that's what our
Atlantis looks like." The overall design and circular layout of Atlantis
were also based on the writings of Plato, and his quote "in a single day
and night of misfortune, the island of Atlantis disappeared into the depths of
the sea" was influential from the beginning of production. The crew wore T-shirts
which read "ATLANTIS—Fewer songs, more explosions" due the film's
plan as an action-adventure (unlike previous Disney animated features, which
were musicals).
Language
Marc Okrand, who developed the Klingon language for the Star
Trek films, was hired to devise the Atlantean language for Atlantis: The
Lost Empire. Guided by the directors' initial concept for it to be a "mother-language",
Okrand employed an Indo-European word stock with its own grammatical structure.
He would change the words if they began to sound too much like an actual,
spoken language. John Emerson designed the written component, making hundreds
of random sketches of individual letters from among which the directors chose
the best to represent the Atlantean alphabet. The written language was boustrophedon:
designed to be read left-to-right on the first line, then right-to-left on the
second, continuing in a zigzag pattern to simulate the flow of water.
The Atlantean [A] is a shape developed by
John Emerson. It is a miniature map of the city of Atlantis (i.e., the outside
of the swirl is the cave, the inside shape is the silhouette of the city, and
the dot is the location of the crystal). It's a treasure map.
—Kirk Wise, director
Writing
Joss Whedon was the first writer to be involved with the
film, but soon left to work on other Disney projects. Tab Murphy completed the
screenplay, stating that the time from initially discussing the story to
producing a script that satisfied the film crew was "about three to four
months". The initial draft was 155 pages, much longer than a typical
Disney film script (which usually runs 90 pages). When the first two acts were
timed at 120 minutes, the director's cut characters and sequences and focused
more on Milo. Murphy said that he created the centuries-old Shepherd's
Journal because he needed a map for the characters to follow throughout
their journey.
A revised version of the script eliminated the trials encountered by the
explorers as they navigated the underground caves to Atlantis. This gave the
film a faster pace, because Atlantis is discovered earlier in the story.
The directors often
described the Atlanteans using Egypt as an example. When Napoleon wandered into
Egypt, the people had lost track of their once-great civilization. They were
surrounded by artifacts of their former greatness but somehow unaware of what
they meant.
—Don
Hahn, producer
The character of Milo Thatch was originally supposed to
be a descendant of Edward Teach, otherwise known as Blackbeard the pirate. The
directors later related him to an explorer so he would discover his inner
talent for exploration. The character of Molière was originally intended to be
"professorial" but Chris Ure, a story artist, changed the concept to
that of a "horrible little burrowing creature with a wacky coat and
strange headgear with extending eyeballs", said Wise. Don Hahn pointed out
that the absence of songs presented a challenge for a team accustomed to
animating musicals, as solely action scenes would have to carry the film. Kirk
Wise said it gave the team an opportunity for more on-screen character
development: "We had more screen time available to do a scene like where
Milo and the explorers are camping out and learning about one another's
histories. An entire sequence is devoted to having dinner and going to bed.
That is not typically something we would have the luxury of doing."
Hahn stated that the first animated sequence completed
during production was the film's prologue. The original version featured a Viking
war party using The Shepherd's Journal to find Atlantis and being
swiftly dispatched by the Leviathan. Near the end of production, story
supervisor Jon Sanford told the directors that he felt this prologue did not
give viewers enough emotional involvement with the Atlanteans. Despite knowing
that the Viking prologue was finished and it would cost additional time and
money to alter the scene, the directors agreed with Sanford. Trousdale went
home and completed the storyboards later that evening. The opening was replaced
by a sequence depicting the destruction of Atlantis, which introduced the film
from the perspective of the Atlanteans and Princess Kida. The Viking prologue
is included as an extra feature on the DVD release.
Animation
At the peak of its production, 350 animators, artists and
technicians were working on Atlantis at all three Disney animation
studios: Burbank, California, Orlando, Florida and Paris, France. The film was
one of the few Disney animated features produced and shot in anamorphic format
(2.35:1). The directors felt that a wide-screen image was crucial, as a
nostalgic reference to old action-adventure films presented in the Cinemascope
format, noting Raiders of the Lost Ark as an inspiration. Because switching to
the format would require animation desks and equipment designed for wide-screen
to be purchased, Disney executives were at first reluctant of the idea. The
production team found a simple solution by drawing within a smaller frame on
the same paper and equipment used for standard aspect ratio (1.66:1)
Disney-animated films. Layout supervisor Ed Chertner wrote a guide to the
wide-screen format for use by the layout artists and mentioned that one
advantage of wide-screen was that he could keep characters in scenes longer
because of additional space to walk within the frame. Wise drew further
inspiration for the format from filmmakers David Lean and Akira Kurosawa.
The film's visual style was strongly based upon that of Mike
Mignola, the comic book artist behind Hellboy. Mignola was one of four
production designers (along with Matt Codd, Jim Martin, and Ricardo Delgado)
hired by the Disney studio for the film. Accordingly, he provided style guides,
preliminary character and background designs, and story ideas. "Mignola's
graphic, angular style was a key influence on the 'look' of the characters,"
stated Wise. Mignola was surprised when first contacted by the studio to work
on Atlantis. His artistic influence on the film would later contribute
to a cult following.
I remember watching a rough cut of the
film and these characters have these big, square, weird hands. I said to the
guy next to me, "Those are cool hands." And he says to me,
"Yeah, they're your hands. We had a whole meeting about how to do your
hands." It was so weird I couldn't wrap my brain around it.
—Mike Mignola
The final pull-out scene of the movie, immediately before
the end-title card, was described by the directors as the most difficult scene
in the history of Disney animation. They said that the pullout attempt on their
prior film, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, "struggled" and
"lacked depth"; however, after making advances in the process of multiplaning,
they tried the technique again in Atlantis. The scene begins with one
16-inch piece of paper showing a close-up of Milo and Kida. As the camera pulls
away from them to reveal the newly restored Atlantis, it reaches the equivalent
of an 18,000-inch piece of paper composed of many individual pieces of paper
(24 inches or smaller). Each piece was carefully drawn and combined with
animated vehicles simultaneously flying across the scene to make the viewer see
a complete, integrated image.
At the time of its release, Atlantis: The Lost Empire
was notable for using more computer-generated imagery (CGI) than any other
Disney-animated feature. To increase productivity, the directors had the
digital artists work with the traditional animators throughout the production.
Several important scenes required heavy use of digital animation: the
Leviathan, the Ulysses submarine and sub-pods, the Heart of Atlantis,
and the Stone Giants. During production, after Matt Codd and Jim Martin
designed the Ulysses on paper, Greg Aronowitz was hired to build a scale
model of the submarine, to be used as a reference for drawing the 3D Ulysses.
The final film included 362 digital-effects shots, and computer programs were
used to seamlessly join the 2D and 3D artwork. One scene that took advantage of
this was the "sub-drop" scene, where the 3D Ulysses was
dropped from its docking bay into the water. As the camera floated toward it, a
2D Milo was drawn to appear inside, tracking the camera. The crew noted that it
was challenging to keep the audience from noticing the difference between the
2D and 3D drawings when they were merged. The digital production also gave the
directors a unique "virtual camera" for complicated shots within the
film. With the ability to operate in the z-plane, this camera moved through a
digital wire-frame set; the background and details were later hand-drawn over
the wire frames. This was used in the opening flight scene through Atlantis and
the submarine chase through the undersea cavern with the Leviathan in pursuit.
Music and sound
Since the film would not feature any musical interludes,
the directors hired James Newton Howard to compose the score. Approaching it as
a live-action film, Howard decided to have different musical themes for the
cultures of the surface world and Atlantis. In the case of Atlantis, Howard
chose an Indonesian orchestral sound incorporating chimes, bells, and gongs.
The directors told Howard that the film would have a number of key scenes
without dialogue; the score would need to convey emotionally what the viewer
was seeing on screen.
Gary Rydstrom and his team at Skywalker Sound were hired
for the film's sound production. Like Howard, Rydstrom employed different
sounds for the two cultures. Focusing on the machine and mechanical sounds of
the early industrial era for the explorers, he felt that the Atlanteans should
have a "more organic" sound utilizing ceramics and pottery. The sound
made by the Atlantean flying-fish vehicles posed a particular challenge.
Rydstrom revealed that he was sitting at the side of a highway recording one
day when a semi-truck drove by at high speed. When the recording was sped up on
his computer he felt it sounded very organic, and that is what is heard within
the film. Rydstrom created the jarmonic chiming of the Heart of Atlantis by
rubbing his finger along the edge of a champagne flute, and the sound of
sub-pods moving through water with a water pick.
Release
Promotion
Atlantis was among Disney's first major attempts to utilize internet
marketing. The film was promoted through Kellogg’s, which created a website
with mini-games and a movie-based video game give-away for UPC labels from
specially marked packages of Atlantis breakfast cereal. The film was one
of Disney's first marketing attempts through mobile network operators, and
allowed users to download games based on the film. McDonald’s (which has an
exclusive licensing agreement on all Disney releases) promoted the film with Happy
Meal toys, food packaging and in-store decor. The McDonald's advertising
campaign involved television, radio, and print advertisements beginning on the
film's release date. Frito-Lay offered free admission tickets for the film on
specially marked snack packages.
Box office
Before the film's release, reporters speculated that it
would have a difficult run due to competition from Dream Works’ Shrek (a wholly
CGI feature) and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (an action-adventure film from Paramount
Pictures). Regarding the market's shift from traditional animation and
competition with CGI films, Kirk Wise said, "Any traditional animator,
including myself, can't help but feel a twinge. I think it always comes down to
story and character, and one form won't replace the other. Just like
photography didn't replace painting. But maybe I'm blind to it." Jeff
Jensen of Entertainment Weekly noted that CGI films (such as Shrek) were
more likely to attract the teenage demographic typically not interested in
animation, and called Atlantis a "marketing and creative
gamble".
Atlantis: The Lost Empire had its world
premiere at Disney's El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, California on June 3,
2001 and a limited release in New York City and Los Angeles on June 8; a wider release
followed on June 15. At the premiere, Destination: Atlantis was on
display, featuring behind-the-scenes props from the film and information on the
legend of Atlantis with video games, displays, laser tag, and other
attractions. The Aquarium of the Pacific also loaned a variety of fish for
display within the attraction. With a budget of $100 million, the film opened
at #2 on its debut weekend, earning $20.3 million in 3,011 theaters. The film's
international release began September 20 in Australia and other markets
followed suit. During its 25-week theatrical run, Atlantis: The Lost Empire
grossed over $186 million worldwide ($84 million from the United States and
Canada). Responding to its disappointing box-office performance, Thomas
Schumacher, president of Walt Disney Feature Animation, said, "It seemed
like a good idea at the time to not do a sweet fairy tale, but we missed."
Home media
Atlantis: The Lost Empire was released on VHS
and DVD January 29, 2002. During the first month of its home release, the film
led in VHS sales and was third in VHS and DVD sales combined. Sales and rentals
of the VHS and DVD combined would eventually accumulate $157 million in revenue
by summer 2003. Both a single-disc DVD edition and a two-disc collector's
edition (with bonus features) were released. The single-disc DVD gave the
viewer the option of viewing the film either in its original theatrical 2.35:1
aspect ratio or a modified 1.33:1 ratio (utilizing pan and scan). Bonus
features available on the DVD version included audio and visual commentary from
the film team, a virtual tour of the CGI models, an Atlantean-language
tutorial, an encyclopedia on the myth of Atlantis, and the deleted Viking
prologue scene. The two-disc collector's edition DVD contained all the
single-disc features and a disc with supplemental material detailing all
aspects of the film's production. The collector's-edition film could only be
viewed in its original theatrical ratio, and also featured an optional DTS
track. Both DVD versions, however, contained a Dolby Digital 5.1 track and were
THX certified. In March 2012, Disney announced that Atlantis would be
digitally remastered and released on Blu-ray in late 2012.
Reception
Critical response
Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 49 percent
of 140 professional critics have given Atlantis: The Lost Empire a
positive review, with a rating average of 5.5 out of 10. Among Rotten Tomatoes'
"Top Critics" (which only considers the views of mainstream film
critics), the film holds an overall approval rating of 41 percent (based on 32
reviews).
The site's consensus is that "Atlantis provides a fast-paced spectacle,
but stints on such things as character development and a coherent plot". Metacritic
assigned the film a weighted average score of 52 out of 100 based on 29 reviews
from mainstream critics; this was considered "mixed or average
reviews". CinemaScore polls conducted during the opening weekend revealed
the average grade cinema-goers gave Atlantis: The Lost Empire was an A
on an A+-to-F scale.
While critics had mixed reactions to the film in general,
some praised it for its visuals, action-adventure elements, and its attempt to
appeal to an older audience. Roger Ebert gave Atlantis three-and-half
stars out of four. He praised the animation's "clean bright visual
look" and the "classic energy of the comic book style",
crediting this to the work of Mike Mignola. Ebert gave particular praise to the
story and the final battle scene and wrote, "The story of Atlantis
is rousing in an old pulp science fiction sort of way, but the climactic scene
transcends the rest, and stands by itself as one of the great animated action
sequences." In The New York Times, Elvis Mitchell gave high praise to the
film, calling it "a monumental treat", and wrote, "Atlantis
is also one of the most eye-catching Disney cartoons since Uncle Walt
institutionalized the four-fingered glove." James Berardinelli, film
critic for ReelViews, wrote a positive review of the film, giving it three out
of four stars. He wrote, "On the whole, Atlantis offers 90 minutes
of solid entertainment, once again proving that while Disney may be clueless
when it comes to producing good live-action movies, they are exactly the
opposite when it comes to their animated division." Wesley Morris of the San
Francisco Chronicle wrote positively of the film's approach for an older
audience: "But just beneath the surface, Atlantis brims with adult
possibility."
Other critics felt that the film was mediocre in regards
to its story and characters, and that it failed to deliver as a non-musical to
Disney's traditional audience. Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly
gave the film a C+ rating, writing that the movie had "gee-whiz formulaic
character" and was "the essence of craft without dream". Kenneth
Turan of the Los Aneles Times noted the storyline and characterizations were
"old-fashioned" and the film had the retrograde look of a Saturday-morning
cartoon, but these deficiencies were offset by its "brisk action" and
frantic pace. Todd McCarthy of Variety wrote, "Disney pushes into
all-talking, no-singing, no-dancing and, in the end, no-fun animated
territory." Stephanie Zacharek of Salon loathed the film, specifically
Disney's attempt to make the film for an adult audience, of which she wrote,
"The big problem with Disney's latest animated feature, Atlantis: The
Lost Empire, is that it doesn't seem geared to kids at all: It's so adult
that it's massively boring." Rita Kempley of The Washington Post panned
the film, calling it a "new-fashioned but old-fangled hash" and
wrote, "Ironically Disney had hoped to update its image with this mildly
diverting adventure, yet the picture hasn't really broken away from the
tried-and-true format spoofed in the far superior Shrek."
Themes and interpretations
Several critics and scholars have noted that Atlantis
plays strongly on themes of anti-capitalism and anti-imperialism. M. Keith
Booker, academic and author of studies about the implicit messages conveyed by
media, views the character of Rourke as motivated by "capitalist
greed" when he pursues "his own financial gain" in spite of the
knowledge that "his theft [of the crystal] will lead to the destruction of
[Atlantis]". Religion journalist Mark Pinsky, in his exploration of moral
and spiritual themes in popular Disney films, asserts that "it is
impossible to read the movie ... any other way" than as "a
devastating, unrelenting attack on capitalism and American imperialism".
Max Messier of FilmCritic.com observes, "Disney even manages to lambast
the capitalist lifestyle of the adventurers' intent on uncovering the lost
city. Damn the imperialists!" According to Booker, the film also
"delivers a rather segregationist moral" by concluding with the
discovery of the Atlanteans kept secret from other surface-dwellers to maintain
a separation between the two highly divergent cultures. Others saw Atlantis
as an interesting look at utopian philosophy found in the works of classic
science fiction by H. G. Wells and Jules Verne.
When the film was released, some viewers noticed that Atlantis:
The Lost Empire bore similarities to the 1990s Japanese anime television
show Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water and the 1986 film Castle in the Sky from Studio
Ghibli. Noted similarities included character designs, background settings, and
story flow. Although Disney never responded formally to claims of plagiarism,
co-director Kirk Wise posted on a Disney animation news group in May 2001,
"Never heard of Nadia till it was mentioned in this [news group].
Long after we'd finished production, I might add." Both Atlantis
and Nadia were inspired, in part, by the 1870 Jules Verne novel Twenty
Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, of which Lee Zion (for Anime News Network)
wrote, "There are too many similarities not connected with 20,000 Leagues
for the whole thing to be coincidence." Critics also noticed plot
similarities to the 1994 film Stargate. Milo's characteristics were said to
resemble those of Daniel Jackson, the protagonist of Stargate and the
main character of the spinoff series Stargate SG-1—which, coincidentally,
launched its own spinoff entitled Stargate Atlantis.
Accolades
|
Award
|
Category
|
Name
|
Outcome
|
|
29th
Annie Awards
|
Individual
Achievement in Directing
|
Gary Trousdale
and Kirk Wise
|
Nominated
|
|
Individual
Achievement in Storyboarding
|
Chris Ure
|
Nominated
|
|
|
Individual
Achievement in Production Design
|
David Goetz
|
Nominated
|
|
|
Individual
Achievement in Effects Animation
|
Marlon West
|
Nominated
|
|
|
Individual Achievement
in Voice Acting – Female
|
Florence Stanley
|
Nominated
|
|
|
Individual
Achievement in Voice Acting – Male
|
Leonard Nimoy
|
Nominated
|
|
|
Individual
Achievement for Music Score
|
James Newton
Howard
|
Nominated
|
|
|
2002 DVD
Exclusive Awards
|
Original
Retrospective Documentary
|
Michael Pellerin
|
Nominated
|
|
2002 Golden Reel
Award
|
Best Sound
Editing – Animated Feature Film
|
Gary Rydstrom,
Michael Silvers, Mary Helen Leasman, John K. Carr, Shannon Mills, Ken
Fischer, David C. Hughes, and Susan Sanford
|
Won
|
|
Online Film
Critics Society Awards 2001
|
Best Animated
Feature
|
Nominated
|
|
|
2002 Political
Film Society
|
Democracy
|
Nominated
|
|
|
Human Rights
|
Nominated
|
||
|
Peace
|
Nominated
|
||
|
World Soundtrack
Awards
|
Best Original
Song for Film
|
Diane Warren and
James Newton Howard
|
Nominated
|
|
Young Artist
Awards
|
Best Feature
Family Film – Drama
|
Walt Disney
Feature Animation
|
Nominated
|
Related works
Atlantis: the Lost Empire was meant to provide
a springboard for an animated television series entitled Team Atlantis,
which would have presented the further adventures of its characters. However,
because of the film's under-performance at the box office the series was not
produced. On May 20, 2003, Disney released a direct-to-video sequel called Atlantis:
Milo’s Return, consisting of three episodes planned for the aborted series. In
addition, Disneyland planned to revive its Submarine Voyage ride with an Atlantis
theme with elements from the movie and the ride was promoted with a
meet-and-greet by the movie's characters. These plans were canceled and the
attraction was re-opened in 2007 as the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage, its
theme based on Pixar's 2003 film Finding Nemo.
Soundtrack
|
Atlantis:
The Lost Empire
|
|
|
Released
|
May 22, 2001
|
|
Length
|
53:56
|
|
Label
|
Walt Disney
|
|
Producer
|
James Newton Howard
Jim Weidman |
The soundtrack to Atlantis: The Lost Empire was
released on May 22, 2001. It consists primarily of James Newton Howard's score
and includes "When the Dream Takes You", written by Diane Warren and
performed by Mya. It was also available in a limited edition of 20,000 numbered
copies with a unique 3D album cover insert depicting the Leviathan from the
film. A rare promotional edition (featuring 73 minutes of material, compared to
the 53 minutes on standard commercial editions) was intended only for Academy
of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences voters, but was bootlegged and distributed
with fan-created artwork. Concerning the promotional edition, Filmtracks said,
"Outside of about five minutes of superior additional material (including
the massive opening, "Atlantis Destroyed"), the complete presentation
is mostly redundant. Still, Atlantis is an accomplished work for its
genre."
Video games
There are several video games based on the film. Atlantis The Lost Empire: Search for the Journal
(commonly known as Atlantis: Search for the Journal) was developed by Zombie
Studios and published by Buena Vista Games, a subsidiary of Disney Interactive.
It was released on May 1, 2001 for the Microsoft Windows platform and was a first-person
shooter game, the first of two games based on the film developed by Zombie
Studios and released for UPC labels from Kellogg's products for promotion. Atlantis:
The Los Empire—Trial by Fire (commonly known as Atlantis: Trial by Fire)
was the second game developed by Zombie Studios and published by Disney
Interactive, and was released May 18, 2001 for the Microsoft Windows platform. Atlantis:
The Lost Empire is an action game developed by Eurocom for the PlayStation
console which was released July 12, 2001. The player controls Milo, Audrey,
Molière, and Vinny as they traverse Atlantis, unlocking its secrets. Some
features in the game unlock others (such as a movie) by finding items hidden
throughout the game. THQ released Disney's Atlantis: The Lost Empire for
the Game Boy Advance and Game Boy Color. It is a platform game in which the
player controls Milo and three other characters from the film across 14 levels on
a quest to discover Atlantis.
http://disney.go.com/disneyinsider/history/movies
http://en.wikipedia.org
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