Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001)

The only films in the Disney Canon we have yet to examine are all from the post-Renaissance era, so let's get it going with Atlantis: The Lost Empire.

The Movie:

Atlantis: The Lost Empire is the 41st movie in the Disney Animated Canon and one of the early films in the post-Renaissance era.  Eschewing the musicals that were a hallmark of the Renaissance, Disney wanted to reach a more adult audience with a sci-fi/adventure film.  However, the resulting movie was met with mixed reviews and was a box-office disappointment.  The movie's failure practically ended the directing careers of Beauty and the Beast directors Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, and it was one of the first misfires that would lead to Michael Eisner's ouster from Disney four years later.  A follow-up TV series and a theme park attraction were also canceled.

Atlantis was partially inspired by the Jules Verne work Journey to the Centre of the Earth and the famous myth.  In the movie's prologue, a cataclysmic event threatens the city of Atlantis, while the young princess Kida watches as her mother is taken by a mysterious light.  The main story begins in Washington, DC in 1914, where the young linguist Milo Thatch continues his grandfather's quest to locate Atlantis, but he is unable to convince his bosses at the Smithsonian that the city is real.  However, his grandfather's associate Mr. Whitmore has come across the evidence that Milo needs to prove he is right, and thus Mr. Whitmore funds an expedition to find Atlantis.  Milo sets out with a ragtag team, unsure of the adventures that lie ahead.

This is definitely one of the more interesting movies in the Disney Canon.  Watching this movie I definitely sensed the connection to the Verne novel, even though I didn't know that was the creators' original inspiration.  To me the plot also draws elements from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, the Indiana Jones movies, and Star Trek: The Motion Picture.  (Funny enough, Leonard Nimoy did one of the voices in the movie, and Marc Okrand, who designed the Klingon language first used in ST:TMP, also designed the Atlantean language for this movie.)    There's a lot in the story that isn't explained and starts to make less sense the more you think about it, so it works best if you just go along for the ride like the Indiana Jones movies (or the Brenden Frasier Mummy movies).  When this movie works, it's really nice.  Some of the visuals are amazing, but others have very conspicuous CGI, and some of the character animation is odd at times as well.  The voice acting is nice, but a couple of the characters are a bit too comedic for what is otherwise a pretty serious movie.

The score for Atlantis was done by the wonderful James Newton Howard, who I will once again say doesn't get enough love.  There were several moments where I was awe-struck by the music.  There are no songs in the movie, save for a forgettable pop song over the credits.  (For the record, it's "When the Dream Takes You," sung by Mya and written by Diane Warren, who has done much better songs for other movies.)

Presence in the Parks:

Surprisingly, you can explore Atlantis several places in Orlando.  You have Poseidon's Fury at Universal's Islands of Adventure, you have the Journey into Atlantis ride at Sea World, ...

Entrance to Poseidon's Fury, The Lost Continent, Islands of Adventure, May 2015

No, as is expected, given the lukewarm reception of the movie, Disney doesn't really do anything with Atlantis.  There was a short-lived character meet when the movie came out, but that didn't last too long.  At Disneyland, there were plans to overlay that park's Submarine Voyage with an Atlantis theme, but it eventually got Nemo instead.