Atlantis: the Lost Empire

The next film in the Disney Canon is Atlantis: The Lost Empire.  This movie, starring Michael J. Fox, Jim Varney, and Leonard Nimoy is a science fiction story of Disney’s creation that feels a little bit like Journey to the Center of the Earth and a little bit like Avatar.  Although this one feels like it could easily have been represented in the parks it is not.  It is an odd movie because of its audience and one that I feel would have likely done better if it came out today instead of 2001.

The story is interesting.  It plays a lot on the fears and dreams of people in their early adulthood.  The main character is a nerdy man who works at a university.  The villains are motivated by fame and fortune.  Then there are the backup characters that are partially comedic relief who are passionate people who have a purpose in life.  The story follows the past few where there is a some what preachy idea of protecting the environment and not taking what isn’t yours, but that is not too front facing.  The thing is, this movie does not feel like a kid’s movie in any way outside the animation.  It came out at a time when Disney was competing with Pixar who was making great kids and family films.  This is something that would work with Disney adults, but to my recollection they did not really exist yet.

The animation is more of that angular stylized animation that we have been seeing for a while now.  It feels specifically Disney, but at this point doesn’t really stand out.  They tried to create memorable characters and locations, but they did not seem to stick.  Watching it today, it has too much in common with Avatar.

There was no real music outside the background music.  It helped the story move, but felt like generic movie music.  Nothing to get an Oscar nomination.  It just felt like they were going through the motions. The sad part is the 74th Academy Awards was the first to award Best Animated Feature and Atlantis was not even nominated.  Instead, it was Shrek that beat out Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius and Monsters, Inc. the Pixar offering for 2001.

In the end, the movie is pretty good, but doesn’t stand out in any way.  I really believe it would have done better marketed to adults that love Disney, but it was released in the wrong time.  I also think they could have used it for the retheme of Disneyland’s Submarine Voyage instead of adopting the NEMO moniker in 2007.  This was basically just the wrong movie at the wrong time. 

Run Time – 96 Minutes

74th Academy Awards – 0 Nominations

Disney Animated Canon so far in order of Quality

1. Beauty and the Beast 9-29-1991

2. The Hunchback of Notre Dame 6-21-1996

3. Lady and the Tramp 6-22-1955

4. Aladdin 11-25-1992

5. Tarzan 6-18-1999

6. Mulan 6-19-1998

7. Peter Pan 2-5-1953

8. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh 3-11-1977

9. One Hundred and One Dalmatians 1-25-1961

10. The Lion King 6-15-1994

11. Hercules 6-13-1997

12. The Emperor’s New Groove 12-15-2000

13. Dumbo 10-23-1941

14. Atlantis: The Lost Empire 6-15-2001

15. The Fox and the Hound 7-10-1981

16. Oliver and Company 11-18-1988

17. Cinderella 2-15-1950

18. The Little Mermaid 11-17-1989

19. Pinocchio 2-7-1940

20. Sleeping Beauty 1-29-1959

21. The Adventure of Ichabod and Mr. Toad 10-5-1949

22. The Jungle Book 10-18-1967

23. The Great Mouse Detective 7-2-1986

24. Fantasia 2000 6-16-2000

25. Robin Hood 11-8-1973

26. The Rescuers Down Under 11-16-1990

27. Make Mine Music 4-20-1946

28. Fun and Fancy Free 9-27-1947

29. Dinosaur 5-19-2000

30. The Aristocats 12-11-1970

31. Pocahontas 6-23-1995

32. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs 12-21-1937

33. Saludos Amigos 8-24-1942

34. The Sword in the Stone 12-25-1963

35. The Rescuers 6-22-1977

36. Alice in Wonderland 7-26-1951

37. The Black Cauldron 7-24-1985

38. Melody Time 5-27-1948

39. Bambi 8-13-1942

40. Fantasia 11-13-1940

41. The Three Caballeros 12-21-1944