Atlantis: The Lost Empire

Atlantis: The Lost Empire
Directed by	Gary Trousdale Kirk Wise
Produced by	Don Hahn Kendra Halland
Written by	Joss Whedon (storyline) Tab Murphy
Starring	Michael J. Fox Cree Summer James Garner
Distributed by	Walt Disney Pictures
Release date(s)	June 15 2001
Running time	95 min
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$120 million
Preceded by	The Emperor's New Groove (2000)
Followed by	Lilo & Stitch (2002)
IMDb profile

Atlantis: The Lost Empire is the fortieth animated feature in the Disney animated features canon. An animated sci-fi mixed action movie, it was written by Tab Murphy, directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, and produced by Don Hahn. Atlantis was produced at Walt Disney Feature Animation, and was released on June 15, 2001 by Walt Disney Pictures and Buena Vista Distribution. It is set in the year 1914, where an expedition crew goes off to find the lost city of Atlantis.

Plot summary

The film begins with an explosion and a massive wave washing over the island of Atlantis. Giant sentries defend the city, but the queen is drawn into a glowing blue beam projected from the "heart of Atlantis," a huge gem which powers the city's defenses. She leaves behind a young daughter, princess Kida, as the city disappears beneath the waves.

Thousands of years later, Milo Thatch is an aspiring, kindhearted, and dreaming linguist and explorer, although his employers, the staff of Smithsonian Institution, has little use for him other than keeping the boilers running. He believes that his research has revealed the location of The Shepherd's Journal, a Viking manuscript that allegedly reveals the way to Atlantis. His dreams are to prove to the world, that his grandfather, Thaddeus Thatch, really did discover a clue that could lead to the discovery of one of the greatest mysteries of all. Most of all, his dreams are to have something to believe in. After his proposal is rejected, a mysterious woman named Helga invites him to see her employer. Helga takes him to Preston B. Whitmore, an eccentric millionaire who, owing a debt to Milo's grandfather, has funded a successful effort to find the journal and, now that it is in hand, recruits Milo to read the book and lead an expedition to Atlantis.

Milo sets out with a crew headed up by Rourke, a military man who led the expedition to recover the journal, Helga, and a crew of oddballs. Among the crew are Vinnie, the crew's demoman, Mole, the geology specialist, Dr. Joshua Sweet, the ship's medical officer, Audrey, the tomboyish mechanic, and Cookie, the ship's western redneck cook. They set out in a massive submarine, the Ulysses. As they approach Atlantis, the Ulysses is attacked and destroyed by the Leviathan, a huge robotic defender of Atlantis. Milo, Rourke, and a small complement of crew escape in small sub-pods and a cargo hauler and, reaching an underground cavern described in the book, continue ahead on foot and vehicle. They are tracked all the while by some Atlanteans.

Reaching Atlantis, they are greeted by Kida, now a young woman, although "young" is relative to her appearance only, as she is now many thousands of years old. She brings the group to meet her aging father, who wants them to leave as soon as they are able, since their presence cannot mean any good. Atlantis has fallen into ruins since disappearing into the earth, and Kida enlists Milo's help deciphering the runes throughout the city, the Atlantean written language having been unknown to the people for centuries. He helps her discover the nature of the heart of Atlantis, but can't tell how it works, since a page of the journal is missing.

Rourke turns out to have the missing page and manages to betray Milo. He and Helga having known about the Heart all the while, and he turns the tables by forcing Milo and Kida to help him find the Heart of Atlantis so that he can take it back to the surface and make a fortune from its sale. He first thought the King knew all about it, so he manages to beat him. Once found, it merges with Kida, causing her to fall into a trance as her body becomes a glowing blue crystal. Rourke locks up Kida and prepares to leave for the caves and capture the crystal. Before that, he punches Milo, and mocks him, breaking his beloved grandfather's picture, and tears of sorrow, heartbreak, and despair well up in Milo's eyes. But just before they leave, his friends have a dramatic change of heart, and go back to help Milo up. Rourke leaves, and prevents the crew from following him by blowing up the bridge with one of Vinnie's explosives. Later, in the palace, the King explains Milo all about the Heart of Atlantis, on why the crystal had a mind of itself, and why Atlantis went underwater. Before his death, he gives his crystal to Milo and tells him to save Atlantis and Kida. Milo is reluctant as first, pointing out that every bad thing on this mission happened because of him. But with courage and support from Sweet, Milo rallies the crew and the Atlanteans to stop Rourke, and manages to restart several Atlantian vehicles to create an aerial fighting force to challenge the villains.

In the ensuing battle, Rourke is destroyed, Helga is killed, and Kida is liberated, but a volcanic eruption ensues. The city's total destruction is imminent until Milo and Kida are able to restore the city's systems to full power which include restarting the sentinels who again rise to protect Atlantis. The Atlanteans thank the visitors who helped save Atlantis and give them a huge treasure. The surviving crew, now insanely wealthy, return to Whitmore's mansion to get their stories straight and cover up the existence of Atlantis, while Milo stays to help Kida rebuild the Atlantean empire and made a memorial of the King and let join within the Heart of Atlantis.

Box office

Atlantis: The Lost Empire did not do well at the box office, making approximately $85 million dollars in its North American theatrical run, well below its production cost of $120 million and nowhere near the animation high-water mark of $312 million set by The Lion King. It can be seen as part of a series of early-2000s Disney disappointments (a stretch that includes The Emperor's New Groove, Treasure Planet, and Home on the Range), and of a series of animated action-adventure movies that failed to connect with audiences, such as Titan A.E., Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, and Treasure Planet.

Praise and criticism

The film has a dramatic opening sequence depicting the fall of Atlantis, a first act that establishes the story, bold dialogue, and an interesting visual look based on the comics of Hellboy creator Mike Mignola^{[citation needed]}. It also won some praise for daring to break away from the comfort of Disney's animated musicals that dominated the 90s by trying a serious, action-adventure story.^{[citation needed]}

That said, critics generally disliked the film. Critics noted the one-dimensional characterizations in the too-large cast of supporting characters, the remoteness of Milo, a lack of audience involvement, a deus ex machina climax, and a general lifelessness that accompanies the by-the-book trudging from one set piece to the next following the destruction of the Ulysses.^{[citation needed]}

Some of the movie's internal logic has been found lacking as well.^{[citation needed]} The Atlanteans, with multi-millennia life-spans, forget their own written language, yet they are able to speak Latin and modern languages like French and English when meeting Milo and his team, due to connections to the linguistic roots.

Those who are familiar with Plato's Atlantis and the original Greek legend were disappointed to see that most of it was not included in the movie.^{[citation needed]} These traditional elements include Neptune worship, Atlas, titans, nymphs, Orichalcum, canals, medicine, wealth, and war versus the Athenians. Also, all of the things that people popularly associate with Atlantis today - mermaids, Neptune, etc. were also not present.

Overview, production notes and sequel

Atlantis is notable as one of the few animated films shot in the anamorphic widescreen process. To prevent having to purchase and implement larger animation desks, longer animation paper, and so forth, the production team resorted to working within a smaller frame on the same paper and equipment used for the standard aspect ratio Disney films.^{[citation needed]}

Some viewers have noted similarities between the Milo character and motion picture language consultant Dr. Marc Okrand, who developed the "Atlantean language" for this movie. (Okrand has said that animator John Pomeroy sketched him, claiming not to know what a linguist looked or behaved like.)^{[citation needed]} Additionally, an interesting aspect of the film is that very few of the characters are under the age of 30, a rare component for a Disney animated feature. Also, Atlantis is the first animated Disney feature to have a black character, Dr. Sweet, in the roster of main characters.

The film was originally supposed to provide a springboard for an animated television series titled "Team Atlantis," which would have detailed the further adventures of the characters from the film. However, due to the film's failure at the box office, the series was scrapped. On May 20, 2003, Disney released a direct-to-video sequel called Atlantis: Milo's Return, which consisted mostly of stories originally produced for the aborted series.

The Nadia controversy

Some anime fans have accused the film as being derived from/plagarizing the Gainax series Nadia (also known as The Secret of Blue Water).^{[citation needed]} Chief to this theory is a notable similarity, in both graphics and design, to many of the lead characters in each: a bespectacled nerdy scholar, an exotic girl with a pendant that is a direct link to Atlantis' power, a fantastic submarine with a tough-as-nails woman as the first officer, etc. Certain scenes also resemble each other. Some websites have compared the two works side by side.^{[citation needed]}

Others dismiss the similarities as intrinsic to the nature of the material [1], such as the use of the submarine being necessary to an adaptation of Jules Verne or the role of the villains. The film's producers have asserted that while they were aware of anime, they weren't specifically familiar with Nadia, and claim to have taken their cues from Disney live-action adventure movies like 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Island at the Top of the World.^{[citation needed]}

This is not the first time Disney was accused of copying the works of Japanese animators, as a similar controversy had arisen due to the similarities between The Lion King and Kimba the White Lion. In that instance, Disney officials also professed ignorance of the original work in question.

Others argue the real theft is that much of Nadia can be traced back to the Hayao Miyazaki film Castle in the Sky, which features a mysterious girl whose pendant is a direct link to the power source of a lost empire. Co-director Trousdale has admitted that the scene where the water recedes from the sunken city of Atlantis was inspired by a similar scene in the Miyazaki film Castle of Cagliostro.

Credits

Characters and voice cast

• Michael J. Fox - Milo James Thatch, a cartographer and linguist, and 12th (current) King of Atlantis
• Cree Summer - Kidagakash "Kida" Nedakh, the 8,500-year-old princess of Atlantis and future (and current) Queen Matriarch Savior of Atlantis.
• James Garner - Commander Lyle Tiberius Rourke, an army commander and expedition leader.
• Corey Burton - Gaetan "Mole" Moliére, a geologist
• Don Novello - Vincenzo "Vinny" Santorini, a demolitions expert
• Phil Morris - Dr. Joshua Strongbear Sweet, a medical officer
• Claudia Christian - Lieutenant Helga Katrina Sinclair, Rourke's second-in-command
• Jacqueline Obradors - Audrey Rocio Ramirez, a young mechanic
• Leonard Nimoy - King Kashekim Nedakh, Kida's father and 11th King of Atlantis
• John Mahoney - Preston B. Whitmore, an old friend of Milo's grandfather
• Florence Stanley - Wilhelmina Bertha Packard, a communications expert
• Jim Varney - Jebidiah Allardyce "Cookie" Farnswoth, a cook
• David Ogden Stiers - Fenton Q. Harcourt, Milo's boss at the Smithsonian Institution

Princess Kida

Titles in different languages

• Bosnian: Atlantida: Izgubljeno carstvo
• Bulgarian: Атлантида: изгубената империя
• Cantonese Chinese: 迷失帝國 – 阿特蘭蒂斯 ("Lost Empire: Atlantis")
• Mandarin Chinese: 失落的帝國 ("Lost Empire")
• Catalan: Atlantis, l'imperi perdut
• Croatian: Atlantida: Izgubljeno carstvo
• Czech: Atlantida tajemná říše
• Danish: Atlantis - Det forsvundne rige
• Dutch: Atlantis: De verzonken stad
• Estonian: Atlantis: Kadunud Kuningriik
• Finnish: Atlantis - Kadonnut kaupunki
• French: Atlantide, l'empire perdu
• German: Atlantis - Das Geheimnis der verlorenen Stadt
• Greek: H Xαμένη Aτλαντίδα
• Hungarian: Atlantisz: Az elveszett birodalom
• Icelandic: Atlantis: Týnda borgin
• Italian: Atlantis: l'Impero Perduto
• Japanese: アトランティス／失われた帝国 (Atorantisu/Ushiwareta Teikoku)
• Korean (South Korea): 아틀란티스: 잃어버린 제국
• Maltese: Atlantis: L-Imperu Mitluf
• Norwegian: Atlantis, en forsvunnet verden
• Polish: Atlantyda - Zaginiony ląd
• Portuguese: Atlântida - O continente perdido (Portugal); Atlantis - O reino perdido (Brazil)
• Romanian: Atlantis - Imperiul dispărut
• Russian: Атлантида - потерянная империя
• Serbian: Atlantida: Izgubljeno carstvo
• Slovakian (Slovakia): Atlantída: Stratená ríša
• Slovenian (Slovenia): Atlantida Izgubljeno cesarstvo
• Spanish: Atlantis: El imperio perdido
• Swedish: Atlantis, en försvunnen värld
• Thai: แอตแลนติส: ผจญภัยอารยนครสุดขอบโลก
• Turkish: Atlantis: Kayıp ìmparatorluk

Quotations (in Atlantean)

• Atlantean Pilot #1: "NEE-puk! GWEE-sit TEE-rid MEH-gid-leh-men!" (You fool! You've destroyed us all!)
• Atlantean Pilot #2: "Shoam KOO-leh-beh-toat! LOO-den-tem WEE-luhg KAH-behr-seh-kem!" (It's gaining! We have to warn the city!)
• Atlantean Pilot #2 (cont'd): "Nahl YOH-deh-neh-toat!" (Too late! AAAAAAAGHHH!)
• Additional Pilots: "GWEE-sit khoab-DEH-sheh-toat! SOH-lesh-tem MOO-tih-lihm-kem!" (We're doomed! All is lost!)

The Heart of Atlantis, merged with Princess Kida.

• Kida: "MAH-tihm!" (Mother!)

• Kida: "Deh-GEEM, TAH-neb-toap. Way-DAH-go-sen NEH-bet behr-NOH-tib-mick." (Greetings, Your Highness. I have brought the visitors.)
• King: "MOAKH TAH-mar GWEE-sin puhn-NEB-leh-nen KEE-duh-toap. WEEL-tem neb GAH-moh-seh-toat deg DOO-weh-ren TEE-rid." (You know the law, Kida. No outsiders may see the city and live.)
• Kida: "TAHB-toap, LOO-den NEH-bet kwahm GEH-soo BOH-geh-kem deg YAH-seh-ken GEH-soo-goan-tokh." (Father, these people may be able to help us.)
• King: "GWEES DOH-sep-tem SOH-bin kwahm AH-lih-teh-kem." (We do not need their help.)
• Kida: "Uhd TAHB-toap..." (But father...)
• King: "Puh-SEEL-leh-toat. TAH-ges DOH-tesh-tem neb YOO-teh-poan-kem." (That is enough. We will discuss this later.)

• Kida: "MOH-khit GWEH-noag-loh-nick!" (I will kill you for that!)

• Kida: "NEE-shen-toap AHD-luhn-tih-suhg, KEH-loab-tem GAHB-rihn KAH-roak-lih-mihk bet gihm DEH-moat-tem net GEH-tuh-noh-sen-tem behr-NOAT-lih-mihk bet KAH-gihb LEH-wihd-yoakh." (Spirits of Atlantis, forgive me for defiling your chambers and bringing intruders into the land.)

• Kida: "SOH-lesh MAH-toh-noat, MY-loh THATCH-toap. Kwahm TEH-red-seh-nen." (All will be well, Milo Thatch. Be not afraid.)

Trivia

• Eason Chan and Karen Mok provided the voice of Milo and Kida respectively in the Cantonese version of the film.
• In the shot of the Ulysses going down into the depths of the ocean, one of the crewmen is seen waving to the camera. He is visible for a few frames, right after Milo goes out of camera range.
• After Milo gets seasick on the first ship, his line, "Carrots? Why are there always carrots? I didn't even eat carrots!" was ad-libbed by Michael J. Fox.
• Because the movie was planned out as an action/adventure, the production crew wore T-shirts to work that read "ATLANTIS - Fewer songs, more explosions".
• The written Atlantean language is to be read left to right, drop down a line, and read right to left, continuing this cycle. It was done to create a flowing, water-like movement reminiscent of the Atlantean culture. This was also how Ancient Greek was written.
• Vinny's last name, Santorini, is also the current name of an ancient chain of volcanic islands in the Mediterranean that erupted with many times the force of Mount Vesuvius (and predated it by many centuries), devastated the Minoan civilization, and may have been an origin of the Atlantean legend. This might also explain Vinnie's profound obsession with explosives.
• At the tattoo parlor in the Atlantean city, there is a sign that says "EAT FISH".
• The spiral "Atlantis" symbol can be found hidden in many places in the movie, particularly because it is supposed to substitute for the letter "A".
• The Leviathan Graveyard contains ships from every Disney movie, a fact seemingly noted by Milo.
• One of the Gargoyles from The Hunchback of Notre Dame is in Whitmore's library.
• This was the first Disney animated feature to receive a PG rating since The Black Cauldron (1985), 16 years earlier. (Although The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), James and the Giant Peach (1996), and Dinosaur (2000) were rated PG, they are not usually put in the canon of Disney animated features.)
• This would start a series of several Disney animated features rated PG, including Lilo & Stitch, Treasure Planet, and Home on the Range. Ironically, The Princess Diaries which released that year was rated G, something rare in a live-action film at the time. (Most of the Disney live-action films at that time were almost always rated PG.)
• The Ulysses is reminiscent of the Nautilus from the 1954 verson of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.
• In Preston B. Whitmore's office, there are coelacanths swimming in the tank behind him, but coelacanths were not officially discovered until 1938, while the film is set in 1914.
• This was Disney's first 70 mm film since 1985's The Black Cauldron.
• According to the writings of Philosopher Plato dating back to 360 B.C., "...in a single day and night of misfortune, the island of Atlantis disappeared into the depths of the sea."
• The filmmakers turned to real-life linguistics expert Marc Okrand to create an original readable, speakable language for the film. Using a 29-letter alphabet, Okrand made up hundreds of Atlantean words for the actors to speak.
• To prepare for the production, the filmmakers visited museums to study World War I-era clothing and machinery and toured old army installations to look at submarines and tanks. They also traveled 800 feet underground in New Mexico’s Carlsbad Caverns to observe the subterranean trails that would serve as the model for the approach to Atlantis in the film.
• When it came to creating the look of the city of Atlantis, the filmmakers wanted to avoid the common conception of "Greek columns under the sea somewhere," says art director Dave Goetz. Instead, they modeled their Atlantis on the architecture of ancient civilizations in China, South America, and the Middle East.
• More recently, the Doge's Elite Guards unit from the 2006 real-time strategy computer game Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends seem to be modelled after the soldiers from the Ulysses's crew, though it is unknown whether Big Huge Games intended to model the unit after them.

See also

• Atlantis in art, literature and popular culture
• Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water

External links

• Atlantis: The Lost Empire at the Internet Movie Database
• Atlantis: The Lost Empire at the Big Cartoon DataBase
• Atlantis: The Lost Empire at Rotten Tomatoes
• Atlantis: The Lost Empire at Metacritic
• A visual comparison of Nadia and Atlantis: The Lost Empire
• Atlantis Timeline
• Atlantis: The Lost Empire at Box Office Mojo

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