The Lost World (2001 Film)

[Ina Dottery]

Disneys "Atlantis: The Lost Empire" is an animated adventure movie with a lot of gusto and a wowser of a climax. It's an experiment for the studio. Leaving behind the song-and-dance numbers and the cute sidekicks, Disney seems to be testing the visual and story style of anime--those action-jammed animated Japanese movies that occupy shelves in every video store, meaning someone must be renting them.

The movie is set in 1914, a favorite period for stories like this, because technology was fairly advanced while people could still believe that a sunken continent or lost world or two might have gone overlooked. Just as the "Jurassic Park" movies owe something (a lot, actually) to Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Lost World," so does "Atlantis" spring from the old Edgar Rice Burroughs novels about a world in the center of the earth. (There is also discussion on the Web about how it springs even more directly from a 1989 Japanese anime named "Nadia: the Secret of Blue Water.") All stories like this require a rich, reclusive billionaire to finance an expedition to the lost corners of the earth, and "Atlantis" has Preston Whitmore (voice of John Mahoney), who lives Citizen Kane-style behind vast iron gates in a mysterious citadel and puts together a team to go to the bottom of the sea.

Whitmore summons the linguist Milo Thatch (voice of Michael J. Fox) to join the expedition; he knew Milo's grandfather, and trusts an ancient notebook in which the old man perhaps recorded the secret of Atlantis. Milo himself has spent much time trying to persuade Smithsonian scientists of the possibility of a sunken continent; he works at the institution--as a janitor.

The diving team, which uses a sub Captain Nemo would have envied, is led by the rough and ready Rourke (James Garner) and includes a mixed bag of adventurers, including Vinny the explosives man (Don Novello), who has voluptuous ambitions for blowing up stuff real good; Moliere the Mole (Corey Burton), the digging expert; Rourke's first mate Helga (Claudia Christian), a scheming vamp; Audrey the mechanic (Jacqueline Obradors); Dr. Sweet (Phil Morris); Cookie the cook (the late Jim Varney), and Mrs. Packard (Florence Stanley), who chain-smokes while handling communications.

You will note among this crew no dancing teacups, even though the movie was directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, who made the wonderful "Beauty and the Beast" for Disney. Perhaps that's because of the influence of a comic book artist named Mike Mignola, previously unknown to me but described by my colleague Elvis Mitchell as the creator of an underground comic character named Hellboy; his drawing style may have something to do with the movie's clean, bright visual look, which doesn't yearn for the 3-D roundness of "Toy Story" or "Shrek" but embraces the classic energy of the comic book style. You especially see that in the movie's spectacular closing sequence--but I'm getting ahead of the story.

Atlantis is protected by fearsome robotic sea leviathans, which all but destroy the expedition before Rourke, Milo and the crew succeed in penetrating a volcano and reaching the ocean floor in their sub, where Milo is befriended by Princess Kida (Cree Summer). The submerged land is ruled by her father the King (Leonard Nimoy), who wants to banish the outsiders, but Kida has eyes for Milo in a subplot owing more than a little to "The Little Mermaid." Atlantis itself seems desperately in need of fresh blood--not for population (since the residents are 1,000 years old and going strong) but for new ideas, since the land has fallen into apathy and disrepair. Princess Kida is kind of a reformist, nudging her father to get off his throne and organize some public works projects.

Now about that closing sequence. If you recall the ballroom scene in "Beauty and the Beast," you will remember the exhilarating way directors Trousdale and Wise liberated their characters not only from gravity but from the usual rules of animation, so that they careened thrillingly through the air. Multiply that several times, and you get the excitement of a final battle that brings to animated life the kind of explosive energy we sense imprisoned in the printed KA-BOOM!s, KERRR-ASSHHHH!es and THUNK!s of those full-page drawings in action comic books, where superheroes battle for control of the universe.

The story of "Atlantis" 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. Will the movie signal a new direction from Disney animation? I doubt it. The synergy of animated musical comedies is too attractive, not only for entertainment value but also for the way they spin off hit songs and stage shows. What "Atlantis" does show is a willingness to experiment with the anime tradition--maybe to appeal to teenage action fans who might otherwise avoid an animated film. It's like "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" set free by animation to look the way it dreamed of looking.

Development of the film began after production had finished on The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996). Instead of another musical, the production team decided to do an action-adventure film inspired by the works of Jules Verne. Atlantis was notable for adapting the distinctive visual style of comic book creator Mike Mignola. At the time of its release, the film had made greater use of computer-generated imagery (CGI) than any of Disney's previous animated features; it remains one of the few to have been shot in anamorphic format. Linguist Marc Okrand created a language specifically for use in Atlantis, while James Newton Howard provided the score. The film was released at a time when audience interest in animated films was shifting away from hand-drawn animation toward films with full CGI.

Atlantis: The Lost Empire premiered at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, California on June 3, 2001, and went into general release on June 15. Distributed by Walt Disney Pictures, Atlantis performed modestly at the box office. Budgeted at $100 million, the film grossed over $186 million worldwide, $84 million of which was earned in North America. This was likely due to the fact that it had to compete with Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and Shrek (which involved former Disney worker Jeffery Katzenberg). Due to the film's poorer-than-expected box-office performance, Disney quietly canceled both a spin-off television series and an underwater attraction at its Disneyland theme park. Some critics praised it as a unique departure from typical Disney animated features, while others disliked it due to the unclear target audience and absence of songs. Atlantis was nominated for a number of awards, including seven Annie Awards, and won Best Sound Editing at the 2002 Golden Reel Awards. The film was released on VHS and DVD on January 29, 2002, with the Blu-ray released on June 11, 2013. Atlantis is considered to be a cult favorite, due in part to Mignola's unique artistic influence. A direct-to-video sequel, Atlantis: Milo's Return, was released in 2003.

Many centuries ago, an accidental energy discharge caused a titanic tsunami that threatens to destroy the capital city of Atlantis. A huge azure light floating above the city calls upon the Queen and pulls her up so that they would be bonded in order to save the city. Her young daughter, Princess Kidagakash, watches in tears before her father, King Kashekim Nedakh, runs to her and covers her eyes. The power of the crystal creates a protective barrier around the center of the city, keeping it from being destroyed by the tsunami. However, it also results in the city being buried beneath the subsiding waters.

In 1914, Milo James Thatch is preparing his presentation to his employers at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. on the lost continent of Atlantis. He notes that he believes there is a power source that the Atlanteans used and that it could still be hidden within the sunken city. He reasons that there is a book called the Shepherd's Journal that has been seen throughout history that would contain a detailed road map to the city and believes that the book is in Iceland. During the presentation, he gets a call to fix the boilers, revealing that he is not an employed linguist or cartographer, but rather the janitor. The Institution's board then attempts to deceitfully back out. Milo chases after them and manages to corner Mr. Fenton Harcourt, who completely dismisses the existence of Atlantis as myth. Even when Milo threatens to quit, Harcourt notes that the search for Atlantis is a career killer, which is what happened to Milo's late grandfather Thaddeus Thatch.

Milo returns home disheartened, only to suddenly meet a woman named Helga Sinclair. She tells him that she is there on behalf of her employer with a proposition. When Milo asks who her employer is, she instead drives him to the estate of Preston Whitmore. Upon arriving in Whitmore's private study, Milo discovers that Whitmore was friends with his grandfather. He finds Whitmore in the middle of completing a yoga session before pointing out a parcel addressed to Milo from his late grandfather. Milo opens the parcel to find, to his disbelief, the Shepherd's Journal. Whitmore explains that he is fulfilling a bet he made to Thaddeus by financing the expedition, though it is clear that he is willing to do it regardless because of his friendship with him. Whitmore adds that everything is set and all they need is someone who can read the book, which is Milo. Without much hesitation, Milo agrees to participate.

In preparation for the expedition to begin, Milo discovers that Helga is more than just Whitmore's personal assistant as she is the expedition's second-in-command. He also has run-ins with the elderly cook Jebidiah "Cookie" Farnsworth and demolitions expert Vincenzo "Vinny" Santorini before Whitmore introduces him to the expedition's commanding officer Commander Lyle Rourke. Announcements are heard from elderly radio operator Wilhelmina Packard, with the last being for final boarding on the advanced submarine ship the Ulysses. After Milo waves Whitmore good-bye, the submarine is launched.

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