Atlantis: The Lost Empire

Released 2001
Animated
Voices Michael J. Fox, James Garner, Cree Summer, Jim Varney, Corey Burton, Claudia Christian, Phil Morris, Don Novello, Jacqueline Obradors, Florence Stanley, Leonard Nimoy, John Mahoney, David Ogden Stiers
Directed by Gary Trousdale, Kirk Wise

Gone are the songs, the cuddly animals, and the cute, comical sidekicks. In their place is a relatively straightforward adventure story that owes as much to anime as it does to Jules Verne and the Indiana Jones movies. The story is simple enough. Nerdy Milo Thatch (voice of Michael J. Fox) is chosen to participate in an early 20th century expedition in search of the lost city of Atlantis. Milo, a linguist by trade (or, as some call him, an "expert in gibberish"), has earned that honor because his grandfather was the explorer who retrieved the journal that tells of the city's location. The group is led by the no-nonsense Commander Rourke (James Garner) and his equally humorless second-in-charge, Helga (Claudia Christian). After taking a submarine under water, battling a giant sea monster, and falling into the bowels of a dormant volcano, the group encounters the Atlantians, led by the pretty Princess Kida (Cree Summer) and her wary father, King Nedakh (Leonard Nimoy). 

Summary by James Berardinelli

I like the fact that Disney has been experimenting with their animation formula. With each release in the 1990's, they played with the visual style, but kept their basic formula of dead parents, lavish musical numbers, and sidekicks intact. With "The Emporer's New Groove," they tossed the songs and kept the sidekick and cute animals. Here they tossed the sidekick and cute animals as well. The only constant was the dead parents, and here we get two kids who've lost one or both parents. Oh well, you can't win 'em all.

This is a very different outing for Disney, in that it's a straight adventure film. The action sequences were pretty impressive. Not quite on the same level with "Titan, A.E," but very good. They should interest kids of all ages, as well as many adults. The one thing I didn't like was the spastic, jerky animation of the humans. It's very "cartoonish," but I know young kids like it. The story was rather ordinary, but it was a fun adventure that should entertain the whole family (except possibly mom). -- Bill Alward, June 30, 2001