Movies-TV

Rousing Adventure Tale of Mythic Proportions

Fans of Disney's straight-to-video sequels for all their classic tales that do NOT need sequels should avoid this movie.

No cute talking animal sidekicks.

No bursting out into song.

No dancing or singing silverware.

Atlantis: The Lost Empire is a rousing adventure tale about explorers -- some with hidden agendas -- searching for the lost realm of Atlantis. The main character is Milo Thatch, a linguist consigned to watching the boiler at his university because of his outlandish ideas. Milo, after being brusquely rejected by the university, is hired on by a wealthy friend of his late grandfather to accompany an expedition to the lost continent to retrieve the Atlantean's power source, presumably for the betterment of humanity.

The plot itself really does not contain anything wholly original or inventive, but it doesn't need to. The movie is not trying to reinvent the wheel, but, like the original Indiana Jones movie, remind you of why you loved adventure stories in the first place. The writers and directors also do a very good job balancing humor and adventure/suspense. "Mole," the drilling expert, nearly steals every scene he is in, but he is not overused nor is he so prominent in his scenes that he detracts from the overall atmosphere.

The animation is a nice departure for the Mouse House: as others have noted, strongly influenced by Japanese anime and Mike Mignola's signature style. Don't let this throw you -- I am not a fan of anime, but Disney manages to capture a lot of its essence and vitality without making it "too" anime for US viewers. If you doubt me, watch the fight between Helga, the vampy second in command, and another character near the climax of the movie. Incredibly smooth but still retaining a lot of hard, sharp lines.

A lot of work went into this film to add nice touches. Disney apparently invented a writing system and language for the Atlanteans, though they conveniently also understand early 20th century English. Disney also has learned from Dreamworks and done a fantastic job marrying digital animation with traditional hand-drawn cell animation. The battle between the biomechanical guardian of Atlantis and the explorers' submarine is phenomenal, as is the finale -- a battle filled with Atlantean flying machines, a burning hot air balloon and edge-of-your seat fights.

The plot does move along very quickly -- sometimes too quickly for any substantial characterization to take place. Milo and the supporting characters DO have distinct personalities; however, they are not really allowed to go beyond one or two dimensions. The voice talent does their best -- there is not one bad performance in the bunch. Michael J Fox, Cree Summer and James Garner stand out as especially good, and Leonard Nimoy was the perfect choice for the voice of the Atlantean king. When the movie was over, I was left wanting more -- which, in the long run, is far better than wanting less or nothing.

As other reviewers have noted, the details of the storyline don't always stand up to close examination. And the mechanics/logistics of what happens to Kida (as opposed to what happened to her mother and why) are not entirely clear.

If you are ready for a straight-ahead adventure yarn -- especially if, like me, you have a weakness for lost civilizations and lands -- and are not overly concerned about deep character development and plot minutatiea, I can heartily recommend this film. Stunning animation, a great score, and adrenalin-inducing adventure await your exploration. Those with strict sensibilities for "realism" and demand animated features adhere to a rigid Disney formula should explore elsewhere.

Stunning visually, story lags a little

This was great movie, but not Disney's best. But I would still highly recommend this one. It's little longer then some but the animation is great and the cast of characters lends to some really funny moments.

As Good as All Disney Movies!!!!

I loved this film and believe me it was hilarious I've been waiting to see it and was astonished to see the animation my mom rented this for me and I love this movie you should go buy it or rent it sometimes. 14 yr old veiwer

"Atlantis: the Lost Empire" questions what if?

The whole idea of Atlantis was first brought up by Plato, in 360 B.C. Being that HE was the first known human to discuss a possiblity of the island, I do not believe that he discussed it in literal terms but metaphorically. But what if there really was an island called Atlantis that rested on the bottom of the sea? "Atlantis: the Lost Empire" answers that very question. It is a far stray from the normal animated picture, beginning with there being no song and dance numbers. Disney toyed with the idea in "Tarzan" but even that had a little singing. It is possible that Disney is trying to bring in an older audience that would otherwise not see a musical feature. The film is set in 1914, which is a time period that is used in many movies such as this. The story begins with Milo(Michael J. Fox), a janitor at an institute who can't seem to make the scientists there believe that Atlantis actually exists. His attempts make us think of James Spader in "Stargate". He is called by Preston Whitmore(John Mahoney), a reclusive billionarre who knew Milo's father. He put together a team to go the the hidden Island, all based on THE SHEPARDS JOURNAL, which had belonged to Milo's father. It is the journal which will lead them to Atlantis. So goes the team, which is composed of everything a good team would need: the team leader is Rourke(James Garner) who has a hidden agenda(isn't that always the way), and includes the mechanic Audrey(Jacqueline Obradors), Helga (Claudia Christian), who is Rourke's right hand woman, Cookie the cook(Jim Varney in his final role), Vinny(Don Novello) who is in charge of explosives, Moliere the Mole (Corey Burton), the digging expert, and Mrs. Packard(Florence Stanley) who supposedly is in charge of communications. Much of the over 200 person crew is killed by the guardian sea creatures but the survivors are still able to make it to Atlantis by falling down a long dead volcano. There Milo meets Princess Kida (Cree Summer), who is trying to help her civilization of Atlantians who have been living since the fall of Atlantis. They have lived so long because of an ultimate power source which accounts for them being so far ahead of us in technology. Now lets get to the climax. It definitely breaks new ground for Disney with its many different types of aircraft shooting at each other and explosions going off left and right at the same time. Character animation in this film is also very different with a chiseled look to it. There are two large risks that Disney took with this movie. First, bringing out a movie with traditional animation in a year that is crowded with computer generated films. Second, releasing the film on the same day as "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider". They wanted to get an older demographic but it will be hard considering that most teenagers would rather see "Tomb Raider". This film is good enough to take these risks. They might not get the older demographic, but younger children will still be dying to see this film. "Atlantis: the Lost Empire" may not be as good as "Beauty and the Beast" or "Tarzan", but it delivers the goods. See this movie where it should be seen: in theatres.

Disney: The Declining Empire

I heard a really bad rumor before I went in to the theater to watch Disney¡¦s Atlantis. But I still went watch it because I want to see it for myself. What I heard is Disney ripped off a Japanese animate called ¡§Nadia - The secret of blue water" (Gainax - 1991).Let¡¦s put it aside from our head thinking the fact that whether Disney did it or not, it¡¦s true that the quality of Disney animation is declining. You don¡¦t agree with me? Fine. Remember the Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and Lion King? Even Hercules, or Tarzan. Think of those animations for a moment, please. Compare Atlantis to those 90¡¦s Disney classics you will understand what I mean by losing quality on their works.Let¡¦s talk about character art. Comparing Milo (the main character), Audrey (the mechanic girl) or Helga (the blond sexy lady), you will find them don¡¦t really match. It seems like characters from different animation. I am not saying they don¡¦t match in the story but the way animators drew them. On the other hand, don¡¦t you think the mask princess Kida wears and how she moves are quite similar to Princess Mononoke?Then how about the story? To me the story seems a bit fast pace. Within 30 minutes of the movie, we already watch the crew found Atlantis. There¡¦s nothing wrong with a fast pace, but a good story requires time to built up the relationship between characters. In this case, that¡¦s why I don¡¦t feel the friendship between the crew and Milo is convincing.Over all, the movie was entertaining, but Atlantis can never be an animated classic as what Disney used to produce. It¡¦s sad that with strong influence from Japanese animation, Disney seems losing the direction of how to make a ¡§Disney style¡¨ animation.

A Must See!

Atlantis is one of the best films I've ever seen. I give it a 9 out of 10, It explodes you into the story line. If You like this I recomend, The Emperor's New Groove! I like the way John Mahoney acts in this movie :-D

Disney needs your money!

Yeah, usually don't see Disney flicks, but I'm interested in the theories of Atlantis, so that made me go. I can't rip this flick, or praise it. It's Disney for God sake! I believe they police the internet as well as the govt., and ‘weed out' any anti-Disney-ites that are out there. (Father Guido Sarducci has a voice role….nice to hear his voice again).
C

This action-filled adventure is unique for Disney...

1st watched 12/24/2004 - 6 out of 10(Dir-Gary Trousdale & Kirk Wise): This action-filled adventure is unique for Disney in that they didn't try to cuten themselves out of the story by giving us lovable little creatures to giggle at. I think this is a maturity-level that their animation and storytelling has gone to that might not help them in the pocket-book, but definitely broadens their artistic appeal and shows it's audiences the ability to stretch themselves. This story is about a looked down upon historian who is given a chance to find the lost continent of Atlantis for the sake of the discovery. We find out later that this is not the intention of everyone on the crew which eventually brings about much of the action in the final 3rd of the movie. The crew consists of funny and unique characters that are a ragtag bunch each with their unique abilities to lend to the expedition. Some dazzling animation effects are a plus as well for this much more male-focused entry for Disney. The uniqueness in the story should keep this a classic and should proudly be put on the shelf alongside others like "Beauty and the Beast" and the "Lion King" despite it's definite differences and because of them, showing the consistency for them(Disney animated films) to be inconsistent.

Top-notch Disney adventure.

This is one of Disney's best movies ever made, and also one of their best achievements into the genre of action/adventure. This movie has it all: great characters, comedy, adventure, action, and even some suspense. The creators never take a wrong turn or make a mistake. To some, the plot is quite confusing, but for all of us that have the will to suspend their disbelief, the movie is great fun. Listen for the great James Garner as the main villain, called Rourke, who dies in a way that is a lot like the villain from another great Disney movie, "ALADDIN AND THE KING OF THIEVES". There is absolutely no need to endlessly argue over whether or not this movie is a remake of other adventure, fantasy, or science fiction. This is a movie that is a true Disney movie, with dashes of Indiana Jones, Jules Verne, and others. As for those who say that this should have a remake as a live action movie, that would be great. Ricky Ullman would be good, but who would play the other characters? Only major change that should be done, except for transitioning it from animation to live action and the cast, is to make it BIGGER and BETTER!

Suzanne Stewart

I love Atlantis the lost empire so much that they know about going to the sea.

Better than expected

I rented this movie with a friend last night (his girlfriend wanted to see it) thinking it would be another stupid, pointless kiddy movie with no plot and too much singing.
I am pleased to say that I was dead wrong!
The plot, albeit a bit goofy, is there. The film features humor that both the kiddos and adults can pick up on and enjoy. The special effects, for an animated movie, are very good.
I just love the characters. Each has their own distinct personality and style, and they are all give oppertunities in the film for some memorable one liners. (My personal favorites are Mole and the communications officer, whose name I have forgotten)
My only real complaint is that the characters took to long to actually get to Atlantis and not enough time actually doing anything.
I would definately reccomend this movie for anyone who is looking for something to entertain the whole family or even as a "Oh, man, there's nothing left to rent.. Is this any good?" movie.

What about Indy?

I watched Atlantis, and I must say that it's action packed and fast paced. But... the script is very sloppy. There are a lot of loose ends here.I had the notion that this picture left too little time to let the viewer get comfortable with the characters or the story. It took me about halfway the picture to figure out the setting was around 1914. ;-)But what I found most striking was the resemblance with an adventure game from a few years back called 'Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis'. Certainly someone must've played this LucasArts beauty.Not only is there a lot of resemblance between the plot of the movie and the one of the game (looking for a power source, set in pre-WW2), it also leaves no opening for a possible upcoming Indiana Jones movie. I'd have loved to see an IJ Atlantis movie!Let's just hope people will forget about this one, so Spielberg/Lucas'll get their shot in a few years time.

Simply Awful

Disney pushes into all-talking, no-singing, no-dancing and, in the end, no-fun animated territory with ``Atlantis: The Lost Empire.''This blandly conceived and executed attempt at a juve-style ``Indiana Jones'' with Jules Verne trappings recycles familiar adventure and cartoon devices with minimal wit and flair, and the lack of imagination will seem all the more dramatic to audiences in comparison to the winningly sophisticated ``Shrek,'' against which ``Atlantis'' doesn't stand a chance at the box office.Rated PG but likely to be avoided by kids over 12 or so, and without many elements that will register as cool to younger kids, picture stands among the very least of Disney's major, non-TV-derived animated features.

A halfway decent Disney movie....

No singing teacups or lions in this one, thank goodness, but it was'nt perfect either. Some people did'nt like the fact that people got crushed, burnt up, drowned and beaten to death in Atlantis; it was not a little kiddie movie. Personally, I think its better to show the fact that when a sea monster hits you over the head you don't just say "ouch". Atlantis is a classic fantasy adventure film with adventure film elements.

The story was pretty good and the sound in this DVD is truly wonderful but my big problem with Atlantis is the animation: Some of the visuals were very compelling but it could have been alot better. All the people look like they were put through a taffy pulling machine and sometimes the images looked extremely blocky (maybe this was caused by the transfer to DVD process?).

Imagine if they used the same technology that was employed to make "Final Fantasy", now that would have been amazing.

Shameless rip off

This movie was a complete rip-off of Hayao Miyazaki's masterpiece, Laputa. I probably would have enjoyed this movie a lot if I didn't keep seeing parts of the Animie throughout the film. Disney doesn't seem to be coming up with original ideas anymore (eg: Tarzan - a cross between jungle book and Lion King). But to give it credit, the animation was good and the characters likeable. There were the odd good jokes in it and some famous voices. If you read this before you go to see it - see if you can spot Leonard Nimroy!

STARGATE anyone?

Not to say Atlantis wasn't a good movie - it was. But if you take the plot outline, it's EXACTLY like Stargate from beginning to end! I won't go into detail (just watch both movies), but maybe this plot's been overdone. The animation could have used some work, I found an overall plain blue for underwater to be kind of rudimentary. This movie is saved by the hilarious dialogue and antics of Milo's menagerie. Each character has an enjoyable, refreshingly unique personality. I'll just say one last thing, I can't stand it when someone learns an entire language in a few days, for example, Atlantis, Stargate, Species, 13th Warrior, and what Linda Park will be doing in the Star Trek Enterprise series.

Had some pretty scenes.

I thought review in Entertainment weekly saying all Atlantis's effects are old and inferior to Sherk's dazzling digital effects(Which I loved) were too harsh, they sure have been used before, but were still nice. Most of the little kids in the theater seemed to enjoy them. There were some funny characters in the film, but over all the movie lacked creativity. I was expecting a lot since the subject Atlantis is so interesting, I wanted to know more about Atlantis, and didn't like Atlantis been so advanced. Ancient doesn't have to be magical, I like it to be more real, more deep feelings.

Not a ten year old's review!

I'm 19 and I saw the movie in the theatre with my girlfriend. It was good overall: the story WAS compelling, the animations and effects were astheticly pleasing and the characters were real and likable. My personl disapppointment came from the second half of the movie. For me, once they reached Atlantis, the fun was over. The movie progressed to rapidly to appreciate what was really going on. It was difficult, if not impossible to develope a liking for the Atlantian king. I study, informaly, anthropology so I enjoyed the basis for this movie as the search for Atlantis. Overall, I was not displeased when I left the theatre. Shrek, though not a Disney, was better though.

Not a bad effort.

Disney hasn't made a movie like this since "Black Cauldron" 16 years ago, and I'm glad they finally decided to do it again. Sure there are a lot of plot holes. But the voice cast, especially Michael J. Fox, is right on the money, as it always is in Disney films. James Newton Howard, whose score for "Dinosaur" was one of the best things about that film, turns in another winner here, although I wish the mixers had turned it up a notch--it's a bit hard to hear in some places. Visually, this movie is a knockout. This is only the fourth traditionally animated film Disney has shot in the widescreen format. (The other three are Lady and the Tramp, Sleeping Beauty, and Black Cauldron. A Bug's Life was also shot widescreen, but that was CGI.) The expanded 2.35:1 aspect ratio greatly enhances the visual effects and Mike Mignola's character designs. So basically, it's not groundbreaking cinema, but it's a nice way to spend an afternoon and a nice time at the movies.

Great Disney Movie

I liked this movie alot!It defenitly doesnt meet up to Cinderella,The little Mermaid,The lion king etc.But overall it is a GREAT movie!