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Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
-
Grand, song-free adventure
This is one of the few "dark" Disney animated films that have achieved the PG rating (*shudder*). Thus, there are lots of explosions, strange happenings, guns, and other stuff like that. Not your typical song-and-dance-with-animal fare.
The story is about this linguist nerd who wants to find Atlantis, and does. The sidekicks (esp. Vinnie) have some great quips.
If you like steampunk, good film to watch once in a while.
Rating: 
-
Holes in the Plot but Nice to Watch
Throw away those fuzzy slippers and be prepared for an adventure in the tradition of "Swiss Family Robinson" and "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea." A crew of adventurers and a nerdy librarian head deep under the ocean to seek the lost city of Atlantis.
Milo Thatch (nicely voiced by Michael J. Fox) lives in the shadow of his adventurous grandfather. Michael is a sheltered librarian, but he has twinges of adventure. Milo accepts the opportunity to accompany an expedition in search of Atlantis, though Milo requires a little persuasion.
The expedition seems well equipped. The leader of the expedition, Commander Rourke (voiced by James Garner) also seems quite competent, if a bit too enthusiastic. Unfortunately, the expedition failed to prepare for the obstacles they would soon face, beginning with a giant creature (the kraken) guarding the entrance to an undersea cave.
After the encounter with the creature the expedition is several reduced. Fortunately Milo is quite knowledgeable and leads the remnants of the expedition to a great city. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that the city was once great, because the people in the city seem relatively simple. There is little technology evident and the people seem like simple farmers and fishermen. Yet, Milo's books tell him that the city possesses great treasures and a great secret.
Soon Milo finds himself at odds with Commander Rourke and other members of the crew as they reveal the real purpose they came to Atlantis. Will Milo and the Atlanteans survive the catastrophe that is about to occur? What happened to the technology that Atlantis supposedly has? Will Milo and beautiful Atlantean Kida fall in love? A viewer has many things to discover in this film!
I like this movie though it has a number of issues. The list of problems in the movie is lengthy and has been well covered in other places, so I will not repeat the list here. Some of the problems are very evident; others require repeated watching to spot (unless you have reviewed the list of problems before watching). I still like the movie in spite of the problems.
I have always enjoyed Disney's adventure films (the Davy Crockett movies, "Island at the Top of the World," etc.), but Disney has focused on fuzzy critters and movies aimed at pre-teen girls in recent years. It is nice to see Disney return to its roots with a rousing adventure film. Have fun with the mistakes in the movie and enjoy a bowl of popcorn while spotting them. Fans of Disney's adventure films will like this one!
Enjoy!
Rating: -
A Nappaland.com Review
Plot Summary: A museum curator joins a team of adventurers in search of the lost island of Atlantis.
Reason for the Rating: Action violence.
OK, first we need to point out that no matter how many of your ancestors die, they still won't join together to create an all-powerful god to protect you and your little island paradise. Now, if you and your kids can get past that bit of Eastern religious baggage forced into an animated film, then your entire family should really enjoy the latest Disney masterpiece, ATLANTIS.
Visually stunning, often humorous, and superbly acted by voice-over talent like Michael J. Fox, James Garner, Cree Summer, and John Mahoney, this movie is surprisingly impressive. Although it's overshadowed in popularity the by crudeness and toilet-humor of SHREK, ATLANTIS achieves an almost classic literary quality that's hard to resist.
Here's the story: Museum worker, Milo Thatch (Michael J. Fox), aspires to follow in his grandfather's footsteps and search for the long-lost city of Atlantis---an ancient, but advanced, island civilization that was engulfed in water and buried at sea. When Preston B. Whitmore (voiced by John Mahoney) recruits him to join an expedition to find the lost kingdom, the adventures begin.
Trekking through imaginative obstacles (like mechanical sea monsters and incendiary fireflies) with a colorful cast of sidekicks/adventurers, Milo and his pals overcome all to find the magical paradise hidden beneath the sea. But there is a traitor in their midst, and Milo must find a way to rescue both himself and the lost world of ATLANTIS.
Although there's much to admire in this film, the best part is that it actually has a plot---not just a half-wit premise that's an excuse for lame jokes and a way to fill 80 minutes of a movie. The plot is filled with action, sure, but in the end it's the story that matters---and that keeps you hooked.
Although it may be too sophisticated for younger kids, expect this one to get repeated viewing requests from children with an interest in imaginative storytelling of a classic style.
Nappaland.com Recommends: Take the whole family and enjoy ATLANTIS---but be ready to discuss with children the Eastern religious influences incorporated into the story
After the Show...If members of your family choose to view this movie, use these questions to spark discussion about it afterward:
-- What did you like best about ATLANTIS? Least? Why?
-- If there really were an Atlantis out there, what do you think it might be like?
-- In the movie, all the dead kings of the past combined together to create a god-like protector of Atlantis. What really happens when people die? Explain.
MN
Rating: -
Missed it in Theaters? Discover Atlantis on DVD.
I must be frank. I don't like Disney musicals. Little cartoon buddies shouting "Be our guest! Be our guest!" leave me cold (and apparently by 2001 everyone else was sick of it too.) That is why I like Disney's Atlantis so much. It's a great animated sci-fi movie that I know is going to get it's due someday.
No one at his University believes Milo Thatch's theories of Atlantis, but an old friend of his grandfather's believes him and funds a spectacular expedition to find the lost empire, complete with Nautilus-type sub from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.
Milo is a visionary, but he is also a bumbling acedemic. ("Judging by your large forehead and diminished physique you are suited for nothing else!" observes Princess Kida.) Not Hercules by a long shot and that is part of his charm as voiced by Michael J. Fox. Milo is more of an everyman who lives for the thrill of discovery...and when push comes to shove that is why he stands up to the tough guys in the end.
The supporting characters are a lot of fun. There is a fast talking doctor, an explosives expert that sounds like Father Guido Sarducci from SNL, and a young Latina mechanic who used to "beat up guys like Milo for their lunch money." Finally, Mole is a peculur little Frenchman obsessed with dirt and he is the funniest (and oddest) of the crew. All of them are more interested in profit than discovery at first.
James Garner is great as the commander of the expedition and his secret motives become apparent pretty early in the film. He is aided by a smokey voice seductress (Claudia Christian) who is also very formidable.
Oh yes, and there are guns, fights, and chases in this movie. No one really gets shot as I recall (But you know, even Snow White had a witch getting squashed by a rock). I guess a Disney movie where all the fighting isn't over true love and fairy tales is considered more violent by the movie ratings board because it is rated PG. I personally liked seeing a movie with thrilling action as opposed to froo-froo singing and dancing.
The movie also has a great sense of wonder like a Steven Speilberg movie. It looks spectacular. The world of 1914 is rendered stylistically and when we get to see Atlantis I was glad just to experience the wonder of the place.
This movie was a missed opportunity. Audiences where not very excited about it but it is a good movie anyways. The DVD has an alternate beginning that I like better in the special features. (The version the studio chose was probably forced on the creative team because it had a cute kid yelling for her mommy the way all Disney movies are supposed to begin...but the other beginning with the Vikings was a cool teaser to the Leviathon sequence).
I think this movie was followed by some less spectacular films (like Treasure Planet and I think 20th Century's Titan A.E. came out around the same time) so this is lumped in with them as an expample of how American animation can't do Sci-Fi adventure. Viewing Atlantis again I can see that that opinion is entirely wrong. This is a really awesome, fun movie. Along with Dreamwork's Sinbad it is a hidden gem of animated adventure.
Rating: -
Journey to the Center of the Earth
Milo Thatch is a young man obsessed with finding Atlantis. The obsession already destroyed his grandfather and is now about to end his career as well. In the early 1900's Milo gets a break when a wealthy friend of his grandfather settles a bet and agrees to fund an expedition to find Atlantis. Everything is ready to go what with subs, vehicles, crew, supplies and experts. All that is needed now is for Milo to bring his linguistic abilities in order to translate an ancient book that contains directions to the lost civilization. The expedition is quickly reduced to a mere handful of survivors and it is up to Milo to save them by leading them to Atlantis.
Milo succeeds and Atlantis is found. Atlantis is alive by not thriving. Milo may be able to help the ancient civilization if he can get around some of their laws, prejudices and superstitions. But all is put in jeopardy when certain truths about motives are revealed and the fate of Atlantis may be sealed for good. Again it falls to Milo to rise above his bookish ways and find the hero within and save the day. As this is a Disney flick we know it will all work out in the end somehow.
While I find the story entertaining I am puzzled by a few things like why the Vikings use English, how someone found a path on the ocean floor without a submarine, or how Altlanteans who are over 8,000 years old have forgotten their culture (this usually happens with successive generations and not in what amounts to childhood to twenty). But if you can get around that, the film is filled with colorful characters, beautiful sets, and some very good voice characterizations. Michael J. Fox as Milo was wonderful (and lets not forget James Garner's role). If you want some fun and adventure, this is a film that provides it. Check it out.
