Atlantis: The Lost Empire premiered at theEl Capitan Theatre inHollywood, Los Angeles, on June 3, 2001, and went into its general release on June 15. The film received mixed reviews from critics. Budgeted at around$90–120 million,Atlantis grossed over$186 million worldwide,$84 million of which was earned in North America; its lackluster box office response was identified as a result of being released in competition withShrek,Lara Croft: Tomb Raider,The Fast and the Furious andDr. Dolittle 2. As a result of the film'sbox office failure, Disney cancelled a plannedspin-offanimated television series,Team Atlantis; an underwaterDisneyland attraction; and a volcanicMagic Kingdom attraction based on it.Atlantis was nominated for several awards, including sevenAnnie Awards, and won Best Sound Editing at the 2002Golden Reel Awards. The film was released on VHS and DVD on January 29, 2002, and onBlu-ray on June 11, 2013. Despite its initial reception, reception in later years became favorable and has givenAtlantis acult following[5] and reappraisal from critics as a mistreated classic, due in part to Mignola's unique artistic influence.[6][7] Adirect-to-video sequel,Atlantis: Milo's Return, was released in 2003.
In 1914 Washington, D.C., archaeo-linguist Milo Thatch obsesses over finding the legendary lost city ofAtlantis, believed to have sunk thousands of years ago. His employers ridicule his theories, but he gains an unexpected ally in eccentric millionaire Preston B. Whitmore, a friend of Milo's deceased adventurer grandfather who also sought the city. Determined to honor his old friend's quest, Whitmore recruits Milo for an expedition to Atlantis, having recently uncovered theShepherd's Journal, an ancient Atlantean manuscript that contains directions to the lost city.
Aboard the submarineUlysses, Milo meets his teammates: Commander Lyle Tiberius Rourke, Lieutenant Helga Sinclair, demolitions expert Vincenzo Santorini, geologist Gaetan "Mole" Molière, medical officer Joshua Sweet, mechanic Audrey Ramirez, radio operator Wilhelmina Packard, mess cook Jebidiah "Cookie" Farnsworth, and a platoon of mercenaries. Upon reaching a cave entrance leading to the lost city, the submarine is destroyed by a massive mechanicalleviathan, killing most of the crew. Milo and the survivors escape in smaller craft, navigating through the cave to emerge among ancient ruins.
Milo translates the journal, guiding the team through caves beneath a dormant volcano until they reach the worn remains of Atlantis. There, they are greeted by Princess Kidagakash "Kida" Nedakh, who, despite being around 8,500 years old, has the appearance of a young woman. She leads them to her father, King Kashekim, who orders them to leave. Learning that Milo can read their language—a skill lost to the Atlanteans over millennia—Kida asks for his help in uncovering their forgotten history and highly-advanced technology, without which the city has declined and resources have dwindled. Milo learns that Atlantis is powered by the Heart of Atlantis, a massive crystal that grants longevity and health to its citizens through the smaller crystals they carry.
Rourke betrays Milo and the Atlanteans, revealing his true intention—to steal the Heart for profit, despite knowing the Atlanteans will perish without it. He mortally wounds the King while seizing control and uncovers the crystal's hidden location beneath the city. Sensing the danger, the crystal merges with Kida, who is then captured by Rourke. He departs with the crystallized Kida and his mercenaries, except for Vincenzo, Molière, Sweet, Audrey, Packard, and Cookie, who refuse to take part in the Atlanteans' destruction. Before dying, the King reveals that Atlantis was devastated by amegatsunami after he attempted to weaponize the crystal's vast power. To protect the city, the crystal merged with a royal family member, Kida's mother. This created a protective dome over the city's inner district, shielding it from total destruction as Atlantis sank beneath the waves, but Kida's mother never returned. To prevent the crystal from ever merging with Kida, the King hid it, inadvertently accelerating Atlantis' decline. He warns Milo that Kida will be lost forever if she is not soon separated from the crystal and pleads with him to save her.
Alongside his allies, Milo rallies the Atlanteans to reactivate their long-dormant flying machines. Together, they eliminate Rourke and his mercenaries in the volcano. Milo and the others fly the crystallized Kida back to Atlantis as the volcano erupts. Kida ascends into the air and awakens Stone Guardians, who erect a barrier that shields the city from the lava flow. With Atlantis saved, the crystal separates from Kida and remains suspended in the sky.
Milo chooses to stay in Atlantis with Kida, having fallen in love with her. Before returning to the surface, Vincenzo, Molière, Sweet, Audrey, Packard, and Cookie each receive a small crystal and a share of treasure. The six reunite with Preston on the surface and agree to keep their adventure a secret to protect Atlantis. Preston opens a package from Milo containing his own crystal and a note thanking him. The newly crowned Queen Kida and Milo carve a stone effigy of her father to join those of past rulers floating beside the Heart of Atlantis, as the city stands restored to its former glory.
Production layout sketch of Milo and Kida. Milo's character design was based in part on sketches of the film's language consultant,Marc Okrand.
Michael J. Fox as Milo James Thatch, alinguist andcartographer at the Smithsonian who was recruited to decipherThe Shepherd's Journal while directing an expedition to Atlantis.
Cree Summer as Kidagakash "Kida" Nedakh, the Princess of Atlantis and Milo's love interest.
Natalie Strom provided dialogue for Kida as a young child.
Summer also voiced the unnamed Queen of Atlantis, Kida's mother and Kashekim's wife who was "chosen" by the Crystal during the sinking of the city.
John Mahoney as Preston B. Whitmore, an eccentric millionaire 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.[8]
Claudia Christian as Lieutenant Helga Katrina Sinclair, Rourke'sGerman-born second-in-command.
Jim Varney as Jebidiah Allardyce "Cookie" Farnsworth, a Western-stylechuckwagon chef. Varney died in February 2000, before the production ended, and the film was dedicated to his memory.Steven Barr recorded supplemental dialogue for Cookie.
The production team visitedNew Mexico's Carlsbad Caverns to get a sense of the underground spaces depicted in the film.
The idea forAtlantis: The Lost Empire was conceived in October 1996 whenDon Hahn,Gary Trousdale,Kirk Wise, andTab Murphy lunched at a Mexican restaurant inBurbank, California. Having recently completedThe Hunchback of Notre Dame,[9] the producer, directors and screenwriter wanted to keep theHunchback crew together for another film with an "Adventureland" setting rather than a "Fantasyland" setting.[10] Drawing inspiration fromJules Verne'sJourney to the Center of the Earth (1864) andTwenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas (1870), they set out to make a film which would fully exploreAtlantis (compared to the brief visit depicted in Verne's novel).[11] While primarily utilizing the Internet to research the mythology of Atlantis,[12] the filmmakers became interested in theclairvoyant readings ofEdgar 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.[13] They also visited museums and old army installations to study the technology of the early 20th century (the film's time period), and traveled underground inNew Mexico's Carlsbad Caverns to view the subterranean trails which would serve as a model for the approach to Atlantis in the film.[14]
The filmmakers wanted to avoid the common depiction of Atlantis as "crumbled Greek columns underwater", said Wise.[15] "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."[16] Art director David Goetz stated, "We looked atMayan architecture, styles of ancient, unusual architecture from around the world, and the directors really liked the look of Southeast Asian architecture."[17] The team later took ideas from other architectural forms, includingCambodian,Indian, andTibetan works.[18] Hahn added, "If you take and deconstruct architecture from around the world into one architectural vocabulary, that's what our Atlantis looks like."[19] The overall design andcircular layout of Atlantis were also based on the writings ofPlato,[18] and his quote "in a single day and night of misfortune, the island of Atlantis disappeared into the depths of the sea"[20] was influential from the beginning of production.[9] The crew woreT-shirts which read "ATLANTIS—Fewer songs, more explosions" due to the film's plan as anaction-adventure (unlike previous Disney animated features, which weremusicals).[21]
The Atlantean letterA, created by artist John Emerson. Kirk Wise noted that its design was a treasure map showing the path to the crystal, "The Heart of Atlantis".
Marc Okrand, who developed theKlingon language for theStar Trek television and theatrical productions, was hired to devise the Atlantean language forAtlantis: The Lost Empire. Guided by the directors' initial concept for it to be a "mother-language", Okrand employed anIndo-European word stock with its owngrammatical structure. He would change the words if they began to sound too much like an actual, spoken language.[16] 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.[22][23] The written language wasboustrophedon: 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.[24]
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.
Joss Whedon was the first writer to be involved with the film but soon left to work on other Disney projects. According to him, he "had not a shred" in the movie.[26]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".[27] 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 directors cut characters and sequences and focused more on Milo. Murphy said that he created the centuries-oldShepherd's Journal because he needed a map for the characters to follow throughout their journey.[28] A revised version of the script eliminated the trials encountered by the explorers as they navigated the caves to Atlantis. This gave the film a faster pace because Atlantis is discovered earlier in the story.[29]
The directors often described the Atlanteans usingEgypt as an example. WhenNapoleon 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.
The character of Milo J. Thatch was originally supposed to be a descendant of Edward Teach, otherwise known asBlackbeard the pirate. The directors later related him to an explorer so he would discover his inner talent for exploration.[31] 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.[32][33] Don Hahn pointed out that the absence of songs presented a challenge for a team accustomed to animating musicals, as action scenes alone 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."[16]
Hahn stated that the first animated sequence completed during production was the film'sprologue. The original version featured aViking war party usingThe Shepherd's Journal to find Atlantis and being swiftly dispatched by the Leviathan. Near the end of production, story supervisor John 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 thestoryboards later that evening after visiting a strip club where he boarded the new sequence on a napkin.[34] 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.[35] The Viking prologue is included as an extra feature on theDVD release.[36]
Kirk Wise, one of the directors, said that they choseMichael J. Fox for the role of Milo 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.[37] The directors mentioned that Fox was also offered a role forTitan A.E.; he allowed his son to choose which film he would work on, and he choseAtlantis.[38] Viewers have noted similarities between Milo and the film's language consultant,Marc Okrand, who developed theAtlantean 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.[24] Kida's supervising animator, Randy Haycock, stated that her actress,Cree 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.[39] Wise choseJames Garner for the role of Commander Lyle Tiberius Rourke because of his previous experience withaction films, especiallywar andWestern 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."[40] Producer Don Hahn was saddened thatJim Varney, the voice of Jebidiah Allardyce "Cookie" Farnsworth, never saw the finished film before he died of lung cancer in February 2000, but mentioned that he was shown clips of his character's performance during his site 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 that he was never gonna see his last performance."Steven Barr recorded supplemental dialogue for Cookie.[41]
John Mahoney, who voiced Preston Whitmore, stated that doing voice work was "freeing" and allowed him to be "big" and "outrageous" with his character.[42] Dr. Joshua Sweet's supervising animator,Ron Husband, indicated that one of the challenges was animating Sweet in sync withPhil Morris' rapid line delivery while keeping him believable. Morris stated that this character was extreme, with "no middle ground"; he mentioned, "When he was happy, he wasreally happy, and when he's solemn, he'sreal solemn."[43]Claudia Christian described her character, Lieutenant Helga Katrina Sinclair, as "sensual" and "striking", and 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."[44]Jacqueline Obradors said her character, Audrey Rocio Ramirez, made her "feel like a little kid again" and she always hoped her sessions would last longer.[45]Florence Stanley felt that her character, Wilhelmina Bertha Packard, was very "cynical" and "secure": "She does her job, and when she is not busy, she does anything she wants."[46]Corey Burton mentioned that finding his performance as Gaetan "Mole" Molière 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".[47] Kirk Wise andRuss Edmonds, supervising animator for Vincenzo "Vinny" Santorini, noted Vinny's actorDon Novello's unique ability toimprovise dialogue while voicing the role. 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."[48] Michael Cedeno, supervising animator for King Kashekim Nedakh, was astounded atLeonard Nimoy's voice talent in the role, stating that he had "so much rich character" in his performance. As he spoke his lines, Cedeno said the crew would sit there and watch Nimoy in astonishment.[49]
For comparison, the top image (panoramic view of Atlantis) is cropped to Disney's standard aspect ratio (1.66:1); the bottom image was seen in the film (2.35:1).
At the peak of its production, 350 animators, artists and technicians were working onAtlantis[50] at all three Disney animation studios:Walt Disney Feature Animation (Burbank, California),Walt Disney Feature Animation Florida (Orlando), andDisney Animation France (Paris).[51] The film was one of the few Disney animated features produced and shot in35mmanamorphic format. The directors felt that a widescreen image was crucial, as a nostalgic reference to old action-adventure films presented in theCinemaScope format (2.35:1), notingRaiders of the Lost Ark as an inspiration.[52] Because switching to the format would require animation desks and equipment designed for widescreen to be purchased, Disney executives were at first reluctant about the idea.[16] The production team found a simple solution by drawing within a smaller frame on the same paper and equipment used for standardaspect ratio (1.66:1) Disney-animated films.[52] Layout supervisor Ed Ghertner wrote a guide to the widescreen format for use by the layout artists and mentioned that one advantage of widescreen was that he could keep characters in scenes longer because of additional space to walk within the frame.[53] Wise drew further inspiration for the format from filmmakersDavid Lean andAkira Kurosawa.[16]
The film's visual style was strongly based upon that ofMike Mignola, the comic book artist behindHellboy. Mignola was one of four production designers (along with Matt Codd, Jim Martin, andRicardo Delgado) hired by the Disney studio for the film. Accordingly, he provided style guides, preliminary character, and background designs, and story ideas.[54] "Mignola's graphic, the angular style was a key influence on the 'look' of the characters," stated Wise.[55] Mignola was surprised when first contacted by the studio to work onAtlantis.[56] His artistic influence on the film would later contribute to acult following.[57]
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.
The final pull-out shot of the movie, immediately before the end-title card, was described by the directors as the most difficult shot in the history of Disney animation. They said that the pull-out attempt on their prior film,The Hunchback of Notre Dame, "struggled" and "lacked depth"; however, after making advances in the process ofmultiplaning, they tried the technique again inAtlantis. The shot begins with one 16-inch (40.6 cm) 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 (46,000 cm) piece of paper composed of many individual pieces of paper (24 inches [61 cm] 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.[58]
Scale model ofUlysses submarine by Greg Aronowitz, used by digital animators as reference during production.[59]
At the time of its release,Atlantis: The Lost Empire was notable for using morecomputer-generated imagery (CGI) than any other Disney traditionally animated feature. To increase productivity, the directors had the digital artists work with thetraditional animators throughout the production. Several important scenes required heavy use of digital animation: the Leviathan, theUlysses submarine and sub-pods, the Heart of Atlantis, and the Stone Giants.[60] During production, after Matt Codd and Jim Martin designed theUlysses on paper, Greg Aronowitz was hired to build a scale model of the submarine, to be used as a reference for drawing the 3DUlysses.[59] The final film included 362 digital-effects shots, and computer programs were used to seamlessly join the 2D and 3D artwork.[61] One scene that took advantage of this was the "sub-drop" scene, where the 3DUlysses 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.[62] 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 digitalwire-frame set; the background and details were later hand-drawn over the wireframes. This was used in the opening flight scene through Atlantis and the submarine chase through the undersea cavern with the Leviathan in pursuit.[63]
Since the film would not feature any songs, the directors hiredJames Newton Howard to compose thescore after they heard his music onDinosaur. 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 anIndonesian 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.[64]
Gary Rydstrom and his team atSkywalker Sound were hired for the film'ssound production.[65] 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 asemi-truck drove by at high speed. When the recording was sped up on his computer, he felt it sounded very organic, and decided to use it in the film. Rydstrom created theharmonic chiming of the Heart of Atlantis by rubbing his finger along the edge of a champagne flute, the sound of sub-pods moving through the water with awater pick, while a ceramic pot from a garden store was used for the sounds of the movement of the Giant stone guardians.[66]
Atlantis: The Lost Empire had its world premiere at Disney'sEl Capitan Theatre inHollywood, Los Angeles, on June 3, 2001[67] and a limited release in New York City and Los Angeles on June 8; a wider release followed on June 15.[4][61] 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. TheAquarium of the Pacific also loaned a variety of fish for display within the attraction.[68]
Atlantis was among Disney's first major attempts to utilizeinternet marketing. The film was promoted throughKellogg's, which created a website with mini-games and a movie-based video game give-away for UPC labels from specially marked packages ofAtlantis breakfast cereal.[50] The film was one of Disney's first marketing attempts throughmobile network operators, and allowed users to download games based on the film.[69]McDonald's (which had an exclusive licensing agreement on all Disney releases) promoted the film withHappy 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.[70]Frito-Lay offered free admission tickets for the film on specially marked snack packages.[71]
Atlantis: The Lost Empire was released onVHS andDVD on January 29, 2002.[72] During the first month of its home release, the film led in VHS sales and was third in VHS and DVD sales combined.[73] Sales and rentals of the VHS and DVD combined would eventually accumulate $157 million in revenue by mid-2003.[74] 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 2.39:1 aspect ratio or a modified 1.33:1 ratio (utilizingpan 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.[72] 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 optionalDTS 5.1 track. Both DVD versions, however, contained aDolby Digital 5.1 track and wereTHX certified.[72][75] Disney digitally remastered and releasedAtlantis onBlu-ray on June 11, 2013, bundled with its sequelAtlantis: Milo's Return.[76]
Before the film's release, reporters speculated that it would have a difficult run due to competition fromShrek andLara Croft: Tomb Raider. Regarding the market's shift from traditional animation and competition with CG-animated 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."[61] Jeff Jensen ofEntertainment Weekly noted that CGI films (such asShrek) were more likely to attract the teenage demographic typically not interested in animation, and calledAtlantis a "marketing and creative gamble".[77]
With a budget of $100 million,[3] the film opened at #2 on its debut weekend, behindLara Croft: Tomb Raider, earning $20.3 million in 3,011 theaters.[78] During its second weekend, it would drop into fourth place behind the latter film,Dr. Dolittle 2 andThe Fast and the Furious, making $13.2 million.[79] The film's international release began September 20 in Australia and other markets followed suit.[80] During its 25-week theatrical run,Atlantis: The Lost Empire grossed over $186 million worldwide ($84 million from the United States and Canada).[4] Responding to its disappointing box-office performance,Thomas Schumacher, then-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."[81]
Atlantis: The Lost Empire received mixed reviews from critics,[82][83][84] many of whom criticized its story.[85] The review aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes reports that 48% of 145 professional critics have givenAtlantis: The Lost Empire a positive review; the average rating is 5.5/10. The site's consensus is: "Atlantis provides a fast-paced spectacle, but stints on such things as character development and a coherent plot".[86]Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 52 out of 100 based on 29 reviews from critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[87] Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.[88]
While critics had mixed reactions to the film in general, some praised it for its visuals, action-adventure elements, and attempt to appeal to an older audience.Roger Ebert gaveAtlantis three-and-a-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 ofAtlantis 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."[89] InThe New York Times,Elvis Mitchell gave high praise to the film, calling it "a monumental treat", and stated, "Atlantis is also one of the most eye-catching Disney cartoons since Uncle Walt institutionalized the four-fingered glove."[90] Internet film criticJames Berardinelli 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."[91]Wesley Morris of theSan Francisco Chronicle wrote positively of the film's approach for an older audience: "But just beneath the surface,Atlantis brims with adult possibility."[92]
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 ofEntertainment Weekly gave the film a C+ rating, writing that the film had "gee-whiz formulaic character" and was "the essence of craft without dream".[93]Kenneth Turan of theLos Angeles Times said 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.[94]Todd McCarthy ofVariety wrote, "Disney pushes into all-talking, no-singing, no-dancing and, in the end, no-fun animated territory."[95] Stephanie Zacharek ofSalon wrote of Disney's attempt to make the film for an adult audience, "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."[96] Rita Kempley ofThe 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 superiorShrek."[97]
In 2015, Katharine Trendacosta atio9 reviewed the film and called it a "Beautiful Gem of a Movie That Deserved Better Than It Got" and said that the film deserves more love than it ended up getting.[6] Lindsay Teal considers "Atlantis" to be "a lost Disney classic". Describing the film as highly entertaining, she praises the writing and characterisation – in particular, Sweet, Helga and Kida.[7] In particular, much praise has been given to the character of Kida.[98] Summer has regarded the character of Kida as one of her favourite roles and even considers the character among the official Disney Princess line-up.
Several critics and scholars have noted thatAtlantis plays strongly on themes ofanti-capitalism andanti-imperialism. M. Keith Booker, academic and author of studies about the implicit messages conveyed by media, views the character of Rourke as being 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]".[99] Religion journalist Mark Pinsky, in his exploration of moral and spiritual themes in popular Disney films, says that "it is impossible to read the movie ... any other way" than as "a devastating, unrelenting attack on capitalism andAmerican imperialism".[100] Max Messier ofFilmCritic.com observes, "Disney even manages to lambast the capitalist lifestyle of the adventurers intent on uncovering the lost city. Damn the imperialists!"[101] According to Booker, the film also "delivers a rathersegregationist moral" by concluding with the discovery of the Atlanteans kept secret from other surface-dwellers in order to maintain a separation between the two highly divergent cultures.[102] Others sawAtlantis as an interesting look atutopian philosophy of the sort found in classic works of science fiction byH. G. Wells and Jules Verne.[103]
When the film was released, some viewers noticed thatAtlantis: The Lost Empire was similar to the 1990-91animeNadia: The Secret of Blue Water, particularly in its character design, setting, and story.[104] The similarities, as noted by viewers in both Japan and America, were strong enough for its production companyGainax to be called to sue forplagiarism. According to Gainax memberYasuhiro Takeda, they only refrained from doing so because the decision belonged to parent companiesNHK andToho.[105] Another Gainax worker,Hiroyuki Yamaga, was quoted in an interview in 2000 as saying: "We actually tried to get NHK to pick a fight with Disney, but even the National Television Network of Japan didn't dare to mess with Disney and their lawyers. [...] We actually did say that but we wouldn't actually take them to court. We would be so terrified about what they would do to them in return that we wouldn't dare."[105]
Although Disney never responded formally to those claims, co-director Kirk Wise posted on a Disney animationnewsgroup in May 2001, "Never heard ofNadia till it was mentioned in this [newsgroup]. Long after we'd finished production, I might add." He claimed bothAtlantis andNadia were inspired, in part, by the 1870 Jules Verne novelTwenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas.[106] However, speaking about the clarification, Lee Zion fromAnime News Network wrote, "There are too many similaritiesnot connected with20,000 Leagues for the whole thing to be coincidence."[107] As such, the whole affair ultimately entered popular culture as a convincing case of plagiarism.[108][109][110] In 2018, Reuben Baron fromComic Book Resources added to Zion's comment stating, "Verne didn't specifically imagine magic crystal-based technology, something featured in both the Disney movie and the too similar anime. The Verne inspiration also doesn't explain the designs being suspiciously similar toNadia's."[110]
Critics also saw parallels with the 1986 filmLaputa: Castle in the Sky fromHayao Miyazaki andStudio Ghibli (which also featured magic crystals, andAtlantis directors Trousdale and Wise both acknowledged Miyazaki's works as a major influence on their own work)[104] and with the 1994 filmStargate as Milo's characteristics were said to resemble those ofDaniel Jackson, the protagonist ofStargate and its spinoff television seriesStargate SG-1 — which coincidentally launched its own spinoff, titledStargate Atlantis; the plot of the 1994 film is also paralleled involving a group visiting an unknown world, a fictional language made for the other world's people, the main protagonist having apparent knowledge of the people's culture, falling in love with one of the female locals and electing to stay behind when the others return home.[111]
Atlantis: The Lost Empire was meant to inspire ananimated television series entitledTeam Atlantis, which would have presented the further adventures of its characters. The series would have been akin to an animatedsteampunk version ofThe X-Files and feature acrossover withGargoyles. However, because of the film's underperformance at the box office, the series was not produced.[119] On May 20, 2003, Disney released adirect-to-video sequel titledAtlantis: Milo's Return, consisting of three episodes planned for the aborted series.[120]
Disneyland planned to revive itsSubmarine Voyage ride with anAtlantis: The Lost Empire theme with elements from the movie. These plans were canceled and the attraction was re-opened in 2007 as theFinding Nemo Submarine Voyage, its theme based on the 2003Pixar filmFinding Nemo, which was far more successful commercially and critically.[121] In addition, after the Submarine Voyage'sMagic Kingdom counterpart,20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Submarine Voyage, closed down in 1994, four years before Disneyland's, there were proposals of a new attraction that would take its place, with one of them a volcano attraction inspired by that film's Vulcania location, being approved for the Magic Kingdom'sAdventureland area. Around 1999, during development ofAtlantis: The Lost Empire, it was decided that it would be themed to the movie, with it taking place in 1916, two years after the film's events. The ride would have focused on Preston Whitmore, a character from the film, seeking to make Atlantis existence public and offer expeditions to visitors in newly developed vehicles. However, due to mishaps, the vehicles would be forced to make a detour through the lava-filled caverns of the volcano. The attraction would have used a unique hybrid ride system, in which it would start as a standard coaster before the trains hook up to a suspended track midway through to fly through the caverns. The attraction would have been accessed by a new canyon path in betweenPirates of the Caribbean and a re-routedJungle Cruise that would have led to a Whitmore Enterprises base camp at the edge of theWalt Disney World Railroad path, with the mountain itself being built outside the berm. However, like the previous Submarine Voyage retheme, the ride was cancelled due to the film's disappointment in the box office.[122]
Thesoundtrack toAtlantis: The Lost Empire was released on May 22, 2001. It consists primarily of James Newton Howard's score and includes "Where the Dream Takes You", written by Howard andDiane Warren and performed byMýa. It was also available in a limited edition of 20,000 numbered copies with a unique3D 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 forAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences voters but wasbootlegged and distributed with fan-created artwork.[123] The Japanese release has "Crystal Vine", written byDREAMS COME TRUE play during the end credits.[124][125]
Atlantis: The Lost Empire is anaction-adventure game developed byEurocom Entertainment Software and published bySony Computer Entertainment for thePlayStation console. The player controls Milo, Audrey, Molière, Kida, 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.[129]THQ releasedAtlantis: The Lost Empire for theGame Boy Advance andGame Boy Color. On Game Boy Color, it is aplatform game developed by Eurocom Entertainment Software in which the player controls Milo, Audrey, Molière, and Vinny on a quest to discover Atlantis. On Game Boy Advance, it is a platform game developed by3d6 Games that hinges on searching and collecting crystals.[130][131][132]
On June 15, 2021, Disney posted onTwitter: "20 years ago today, Milo Thatch journeyed to Atlantis. Happy anniversary to this epic 2001 adventure!"[133] A limited commemorative pin was also released by the company for the anniversary.[134] Cast and crew of the movie also celebrated its anniversary by partaking in a 5-hourlivestream on YouTube which had been organized by fans of the film through several platforms as an event and was planned the year before in advance.[135] A year later, the cast and crew reunited again on another livestream as part ofThe Tammy Tuckey Show who had also hosted the previous year's stream.[136]
^abLyman, Rick; Fabrikant, Geraldine (May 21, 2001)."Suddenly, High Stakes for Disney's Film and TV Businesses".The New York Times.Archived from the original on January 28, 2014. RetrievedJuly 4, 2011.Besides, Disney executives maintain that they have made it easier for their animated features to break even by a cost-cutting campaign that madeAtlantis, which cost $100 million, about 35 percent cheaper to produce than the studio's other recent animated efforts.
^Plato c. 360 BCE,Timaeus, Sections 25c–dArchived March 17, 2013, at theWayback Machine. "But at a later time there occurred portentous earthquakes and floods, and one grievous day and night befell them, when the whole body of your warriors was swallowed up by the earth, and the island of Atlantis in like manner was swallowed up by the sea and vanished."
^Harris, Scott (November 29, 2010)."Disney's 50 Finest: In Order of Awesome".NextMovie.MTV Networks. Archived fromthe original on January 1, 2011. RetrievedJanuary 12, 2012.On the other hand, the movie does feature a great cast, including Michael J. Fox and James Garner, along with animation by legendary comic book artist andHellboy creator Mike Mignola. Because of this last factor,Atlantis has become a bit of a cult favorite in some circles ...
^Vancheri; Weiskind 2003 p. D–2 "Consider what happened withAtlantis: The Lost Empire. It earned $84 million at the box office and rebounded with another $157 million in DVD and VHS rentals and sales, according toVideo Business."
^Gleiberman, Owen (June 6, 2001)."Atlantis: The Lost Empire".Entertainment Weekly.Archived from the original on May 27, 2008. RetrievedDecember 10, 2021.
^Sumner, Darren."Review:Atlantis: The Lost Empire". Gateworld. Archived fromthe original on July 23, 2011. RetrievedJuly 15, 2012.In 1994, Dr. Daniel Jackson decoded an ancient language and unlocked the secrets of the Stargate, sending him and a military unit across the universe to a lost colony of humans. And in 2001, he did it again – decoding the ancient Atlantean language to launch a quest to find the lost continent of Atlantis.
Various cast and crew members (January 29, 2002).Atlantis: The Lost Empire—Supplemental Features (DVD). Disc 2 of 2 (Collector's ed.). Burbank, CA: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment.UPC786936163872.
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