Disney has built its empire off of the success and memorability of its classic animated films. People fondly remember films such as "Cinderella," "Snow White," "Beauty and the Beast," "Aladdin," and "The Lion King." However, there are also several animated Disney films that were either failures or were just unmemorable; such as "Brother Bear," "Home on the Range," and "Chicken Little." The films that sadden me the most are the well made and genuinely good films that fail at the box office and disappear into relative obscurity. Such films include "The Emperor's New Groove," "Treasure Planet," "Meet the Robinsons" and "Bolt." However, the film I'm discussing hurts the most because it is one that I genuinely enjoyed as a child and I still feel it is a good movie as an adult. That film is "Atlantis: The Lost Empire."
"Atlantis: The Lost Empire" was a Disney animated film released in 2001. The film received mixed reviews from critics, it currently has a 49% on Rotten Tomatoes and the film, while not bombing, had a very lackluster box office return. Looking back, however, I feel that this film didn't deserve the treatment it received from both critics and audiences. The film follows the linguist Milo Thatch (Michael J. Fox) and a diverse band of characters as they attempt to find the legendary lost city of Atlantis. The characters battle monsters and harsh terrain to eventually find the lost splendor of a forgotten city. However, several secrets and plots are revealed and it is up to our heroes to foil them.
The films features a beautiful color pallet and art direction. The rough edges of the character models give the film the look and feel of a stylized comic book. Like many of the films from the Disney Renaissance, the film blends hand drawn animation with computer graphics to add depth and additional motion to a scene (i.e. the submarine launch scene). The film blends some interesting genre styles as well. The film is set in 1914 (the beginning of World War I) and the equipment/vehicles used by the crew are very "steam punk" in design. Giant sci-fi machines, like the drill tank, still looks like it was built in that era. Along with the exploration into the earth, the film drew a lot of inspiration from the works of Jules Verne, such as "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" and "Journey to the Center of the Earth." At the same time, the city of Atlantis is very ancient in many respects (spears and such), but were able to create massive structures and make many scientific leaps due to a mystical crystal that works as a power source for this ancient technology. The city design drew most of its inspiration from the descriptions given by American psychic and possible founder of New Age ideology, Edgar Cayce.
The film is beautiful to watch, but I also found the characters to be enjoyable as well. Milo is a funny and sympathetic protagonist who has passionately studied the theory of Atlantis only to be laughed at and ridiculed by his academic colleagues. His character arc, going from an academic bookworm looking to discover Atlantis to a hero who is willing to give up his fame to save the city's population, is an enjoyable journey and Fox gives Milo a fun yet timid personality. Princess Kida (Cree Summer) is a great character and one of the reasons I wish this film did better, because she would have been a great addition to the "Disney Princess Brand" and a great role model for girls. She is physically and emotionally strong as a leader, she cares deeply for her people/culture and sacrifices a lot to protect them, and she would be another princess who is a person of color and would add some more diversity to the "Princess Brand". The other characters all had fun and enjoyable personalities too; my favorite was the dry speaking demolitions expert Vinnie (Don Novello).
Today, the film has garnered a small fan base and has been described by many as a "cult classic". The film isn't very deep and the villain motivation doesn't make a lot of sense (why steal the crystal for money, wouldn't discovering a lost city make you rich anyway) the film is still a fun and entertaining watch. I must also mention the fantastic score, which still stands as one of composer James Newton Howard's best works. This was a fun and epic adventure film with a lot of potential that didn't deserve the fate it received. If, by the astronomically slim chance, someone working at Disney views this article I hope they mention it to the "higher ups". Disney is currently making live action remakes of some of their animated films, like "The Jungle Book" and "Cinderella". I feel like they should remake films that still have great potential, but didn't quite succeed, like "Treasure Planet" and "Atlantis: The Lost Empire". You could use this opportunity to flesh out the worlds and characters more, and discard what didn't work in the previous version. "Atlantis: The Lost Empire" is a good movie and I would like to see it get some form of genuine recognition from Disney; it has at least earned that.
