| Atlantis: The Lost Empire | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster |
|
| Directed by | Gary Trousdale Kirk Wise |
| Produced by | Don Hahn |
| Screenplay by | Tab Murphy David Reynolds (uncredited) |
| Story by | Tab Murphy Gary Trousdale Kirk Wise Bryce Zabel Jackie Zabel Joss Whedon (Treatment) |
| Starring | See Cast |
| Music by | James Newton Howard |
| Editing by | Ellen Keneshea |
| Studio | Walt Disney Feature Animation |
| Distributed by | Walt Disney Pictures Buena Vista Distribution |
| Release date(s) | June 3, 2001 (Premiere) June 15, 2001 (USA) |
| Running time | 95 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $100 million[1] |
| Box office | $186,053,725[2] |
Atlantis: The Lost Empire is a 2001 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation. Written by Tab Murphy, directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, and produced by Don Hahn, it is the first science fiction film in the Disney animated features canon and the 41st overall. The film features an ensemble cast with the voice talents of Michael J. Fox, Cree Summer, James Garner, Corey Burton, Claudia Christian, John Mahoney, Phil Morris, Leonard Nimoy, Don Novello, Jacqueline Obradors, Florence Stanley, and Jim Varney in his final role. Set in 1914, the film tells the story of a young man who gains possession of a sacred book which he believes will guide him and a crew of adventurers to the fabled lost city of Atlantis.
Development for the film began after the directors and producer finished The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996). Instead of another musical, the team decided to do an action-adventure film inspired by the writings of Jules Verne. Atlantis was noted for adopting 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 and 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, composer for Disney's 2000 animated feature Dinosaur, returned to provide the score. The film was released at a time when the market interest for animated films was shifting away from traditional animation and more toward films which were produced in full CGI.
Atlantis: The Lost Empire premiered at the El Capitan Theatre on June 3, 2001, and went into general release on June 15, 2001. Distributed by Walt Disney Pictures, the film performed modestly at the box office and received mixed reviews from critics. With a budget of $100 million, Atlantis earned $186 million in worldwide box office revenue, $84 million of which was earned in the United States and Canada. Some critics praised it as a unique departure from typical Disney animated features, while others felt the unclear target audience and the absence of songs hurt its premise. Due to the film's poorer-than-expected performance at the box office, Disney quietly canceled both a spin-off television series and an underwater attraction for the Disneyland theme park. Atlantis was nominated for a number of accolades, including seven Annie Awards, and won Best Sound Editing at the 2002 Golden Reel Awards. The film was released on both VHS and DVD on January 29, 2002, and a direct-to-video sequel, Atlantis: Milo's Return, was released in 2003. Atlantis is considered to be a "cult favorite", owing partly to the influence of Mignola's unique artistic style on the film.[3]
Contents |
The film begins with an explosion triggering a deadly tidal wave that threatens the island of Atlantis. As the city is chaotically evacuated, the Queen of Atlantis is suddenly caught by a strange, hypnotic blue light, and is lifted into the air towards the 'Heart of Atlantis', a powerful crystal that protects the city's central district. She leaves behind a young daughter, Princess Kida (Cree Summer), as the island vanishes beneath the ocean.
In 1914 – several thousand years later – Milo Thatch (Michael J. Fox), a cartographer and linguist at the Smithsonian Institution who is marginalized for his research on Atlantis (which is now regarded as nothing more than a myth,) believes that he has learned the location of The Shepherd's Journal, an ancient manuscript that allegedly reveals the way to the lost island. Milo's passion for Atlantis is fueled by the memory of his late grandfather, an explorer whose career ended in ruin because of his pursuit of the lost city. After his proposal to seek out the Journal is rejected by the museum board, a mysterious woman named Helga Sinclair (Claudia Christian) takes Milo to meet eccentric millionaire Preston B. Whitmore (John Mahoney). Whitmore has already funded a successful effort to retrieve the Journal as repayment of a debt owed to Milo's grandfather, and he recruits Milo to decipher it and lead an expedition to find Atlantis.
The expedition departs with a team of specialists and mercenaries led by Commander Rourke (James Garner), who also led the expedition to recover the Journal. The crew includes Vinny (Don Novello), a demolition expert; Mole (Corey Burton), a geology specialist; Doctor Sweet (Phil Morris), a medical officer; Audrey (Jacqueline Obradors), a mechanic; Mrs. Packard (Florence Stanley), a radio operator; and Cookie (Jim Varney), a mess cook. They set out in the Ulysses, a massive, impressively equipped submarine, but are later attacked by the Leviathan, the monstrous, robotic guardian of the entrance to Atlantis. The Ulysses is destroyed , but Milo, Rourke, and a small contingent of crew escape in sub-pods and make their way to an underground cavern described in the Journal. During the journey, Milo eventually bonds with his fellow crew members, and they each share their life stories with each other.
After traveling through a network of caves and a dormant volcano, the team finally reaches the city of Atlantis. To their surprise, they find that the ancient city is still populated. They are greeted by Kida – who despite her age looks like a young woman – and, with Milo's help, discover that the language of the Atlanteans is in fact the basis of many existing languages, allowing the Atlanteans to understand English. The team is brought before Kida's father, the old King of Atlantis. The King (Leonard Nimoy) wants the explorers to leave immediately, certain that their arrival does not bode well for his people, but he is convinced to allow them to stay one night. Milo sees that Atlantis has fallen into ruin since its disappearance, and Kida enlists his aid in deciphering the Atlantean written language which has been forgotten by the natives of Atlantis over the centuries. Through translating ancient underwater murals, Milo helps Kida uncover the true nature of the 'Heart of Atlantis', in that it supplies the Atlanteans with their power and longevity through the crystals worn around their necks. He is at first surprised that this is not mentioned within the Journal, but then realizes there is a page missing.
When he returns with Kida, Milo discovers that Rourke has the missing page. He and the crew betray Milo with the intent of taking the crystal back to the surface to sell for a profit. Rourke mortally wounds the King in an effort to extract information about the crystal's location, but discovers it for himself hidden beneath the throne room. Once found, the crystal detects a threat, and merges itself with Kida, just as it did with her mother. Rourke and the mercenaries lock the transformed Kida into a crate and prepare to leave the city, knowing full well that with the life-giving crystal gone, the people of Atlantis will die. Milo berates his friends for abandoning their morals so easily for money, which convinces them to leave Rourke and stay behind in the city. In the palace, the King explains to Milo that the crystal has developed a consciousness of its own, and will seek out a royal host whenever the city is in danger in order to protect itself, and create a powerful energy shield around the city. As he dies, he gives his crystal to Milo and tells him to save Atlantis and Kida. With encouragement from Sweet, Milo rallies the crew and the Atlanteans to pursue and stop Rourke.
In the ensuing battle within the dormant volcano, Helga and the other mercenaries are all killed, and Rourke is destroyed when Milo slashes his arm with a crystallized shard of glass, crystallizing his body. As Milo and the others fly the crystal back to the city, the volcano suddenly becomes active and erupts. With lava flowing towards the city, Kida, in her crystal form, rises into the air and creates a protective shield. As the lava breaks away to show a newly restored Atlantis, the crystal returns Kida into Milo's arms. The surviving crew returns to the surface and promises Whitmore that they will keep the discovery of Atlantis a secret. Milo, having fallen in love with Kida, stays behind to help her rebuild the lost empire.
The idea for Atlantis: The Lost Empire came about in October 1996 when Don Hahn, Gary Trousdale, Kirk Wise, and Tab Murphy lunched together at a Mexican restaurant in Burbank, California shortly after completing The Hunchback of Notre Dame.[20] The producer and the directors wanted to keep the Hunchback crew together for another film based on an Adventureland setting.[21] Drawing inspiration from Jules Verne's A Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864), they set out to make a film which would fully explore Atlantis (compared to the brief visit depicted in Verne's novel).[22] While researching the mythology of Atlantis,[23] the filmmakers became interested in the clairvoyant readings of Edgar Cayce and decided to incorporate some of his ideas – most notably that of a mother-crystal which provides power, healing, and longevity to the Atlanteans – into the story.[24] They also visited museums and old army installations to study the technology of the early 20th century, the film's period setting, and traveled 800 feet underground in New Mexico's Carlsbad Caverns to view the subterranean trails that would serve as a model for the approach to Atlantis in the film.[25]
The filmmakers wanted to avoid the common depiction of Atlantis as "crumbled Greek columns underwater", said Wise.[26] "From the get-go, we were committed to designing it top to bottom. Let's get the architectural style, clothing, heritage, customs, how they would sleep, and how they would speak. So we brought people on board who would help us develop those ideas."[27] David Goetz, the art director, stated, "We looked at Mayan architecture, styles of ancient, unusual architecture from around the world, and the directors really liked the look of Southeast Asian architecture."[28] The team later took inspiration from other forms of architecture, including Cambodian, Indian, and Tibetan.[29] Hahn added, "If you take and deconstruct architecture from around the world into one architectural vocabulary, that's what our Atlantis looks like."[30] The overall design and circular layout of Atlantis were also based on the writings of Plato,[29] with the famous line, "in a single day and night of misfortune, the island of Atlantis disappeared into the depths of the sea"[31] being particularly influential in this regard from the outset of production.[20] The crew wore T-shirts to work that read "ATLANTIS—Fewer songs, more explosions" due the film being planned out as an action-adventure, unlike prior Disney animated features which were musicals.[32]
Marc Okrand, who had previously developed the Klingon language for the Star Trek films, was hired to devise the Atlantean language for Atlantis: The Lost Empire. Guided by the directors' initial concept for it to be a "mother-language", Okrand employed an Indo-European word stock with its own grammatical structure, and would frequently change the words if they began to sound too much like an actual spoken language.[27] John Emerson designed the written component, making hundreds of random sketches of individual letters from among which the directors eventually chose the best to represent the Atlantean alphabet.[33][34] The written language was designed to be read left to right on the first line, then right to left on the second, continuing in a zigzag pattern to simulate the flow of water.[6]
The Atlantean [A] is a shape developed by John Emerson. It is a miniature map of the city of Atlantis (i.e., the outside of the swirl is the cave, the inside shape is the silhouette of the city, and the dot is the location of the crystal). It's a treasure map.—Kirk Wise, director[35]
Joss Whedon was the first writer involved with the film during early production, but left to work on other Disney projects, one of them being Toy Story (1995).[36] Tab Murphy completed the screenplay, stating that the time it took from the initial discussion of the story to produce a script that satisfied the film crew was "about three to four months, plus or minus a few weeks."[37] The initial draft came in at 155 pages, much longer than a typical script for a Disney film, which usually runs 90 pages. When the first two acts were timed at 120 minutes, the directors decided to cut characters and sequences and focus more on the development of Milo. Murphy said that he created the centuries-old Shepherd's Journal because he needed a map for the characters to follow throughout their journey.[38] A revised version of the script eliminated the trials encountered by the explorers as they navigated the underground caves to Atlantis. This gave the film a faster pace; Atlantis is discovered earlier in the story than it would be within a typical animated feature film.[39]
The character of Milo Thatch was originally supposed to be a descendant of Edward Teach – otherwise known as Blackbeard, the pirate. The directors later made him related to an explorer so that he could discover his inner tendencies toward exploration.[41] In a similar respect, the character of Molière was intended to be very professorial, but Chris Ure, a story artist, changed the concept to that of a "horrible little burrowing creature with a wacky coat and strange headgear with extending eyeballs", says Wise.[42][43] Don Hahn pointed out that the absence of songs presented a new challenge for a team who were accustomed to animating musicals. They later realized that the action sequences would have to be those which carried the film. Kirk Wise said that it also gave the team an opportunity for more on-screen character development, "We had more screen time available to do a scene like where Milo and the explorers are camping out and learning about one another's histories. An entire sequence is devoted to having dinner and going to bed. That is not typically something we would have the luxury of doing."[27]
Hahn stated that the first animated sequence completed during production was the film's prologue. The original version featured a Viking war party using The Shepherd's Journal to find Atlantis and being swiftly dispatched by the Leviathan. Near the end of production, story supervisor Jon Sanford told the directors that he felt this prologue did not give viewers enough emotional involvement with the Atlanteans themselves. Despite knowing that the Viking prologue was fully finished and that it would cost additional time and money to alter the scene, the directors both agreed with Sanford. Trousdale went home to complete the storyboards later that evening in a spiral-bound notebook. The opening was replaced with a new sequence depicting the actual destruction of Atlantis which introduced the film from the perspective of the Atlanteans and Princess Kida.[44] The Viking prologue is included as an extra feature on the DVD release.[45]
At the peak of its production, 350 animators, artists, and technicians were working on Atlantis[47] at all three Disney animation studios located in Burbank, California, Orlando, Florida, and Paris, France.[48] The film is one of the few Disney animated features shot in anamorphic format (2.35:1); others include Lady and the Tramp (1955), Sleeping Beauty (1959), The Black Cauldron (1985) and, later, Brother Bear (2005). The directors both felt that a wide-screen image was crucial for the nostalgia invoked by the film's action-adventure setting. Ed Chertner stated that with CinemaScope he was able to keep characters in scenes longer because of the additional space to walk within the frame, and that the scenes were much more immersive as well.[49] Chertner wrote a guide for the CinemaScope format to be used by the layout artist. Wise drew further inspiration for the format from the works of filmmakers David Lean and Akira Kurosawa.[27] In order to avoid having to purchase and implement larger animation desks, longer animation paper, and so forth, the production team resorted to working within a smaller frame on the same paper and equipment used for standard aspect ratio (1.66:1) Disney animated films.[50]
The film's visual style was strongly based upon that of Mike Mignola, the comic book artist behind Hellboy. Mignola was one of four production designers – along with Matt Codd, Jim Martin, and Ricardo Delgado – hired by the Disney studio to work on the film. Accordingly, he provided style guides, preliminary character and background designs, and contributed story ideas for the film.[51] "Mignola's graphic, angular style was a key influence on the 'look' of the characters", stated Wise.[52] Mignola was caught by surprise when first contacted by the studio to come work on Atlantis.
I remember watching a rough cut of the film and these characters have these big, square, weird hands. I said to the guy next to me, "Those are cool hands." And he says to me, "Yea, they're your hands. We had a whole meeting about how to do your hands." It was so weird I couldn't wrap my brain around it.—Mike Mignola[53]
The final pullout scene of the movie, immediately before the end-title card, was described by the directors as the most difficult scene in the history of Disney animation. They said that the pullout attempt on their prior film, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, "struggled" and "lacked depth", but having since made advancements in a process called multiplaning, they tried the same technique in Atlantis. The scene begins with one 16-inch piece of paper showing a closeup of Milo and Kida. As the camera pulls away from them to reveal the newly restored Atlantis, it gradually reaches the equivalent of one large 18,000-inch piece of paper made up of many individual pieces of paper, 24 inches or smaller. Each piece had to be carefully drawn and combined with animated vehicles flying across the entire scene at the same time of the pullout to fool the viewer into thinking it was a complete, integrated image.[54]
At the time of its release, Atlantis: The Lost Empire was notable for using more computer-generated imagery (CGI) than any of the other Disney animated features. In an effort to increase productivity, the directors decided to have the digital artists work alongside the traditional animators throughout the production. Several important scenes required heavy use of digital animation, with the most prominent being the Leviathan, Ulysses submarine and sub-pods, "Heart of Atlantis" crystal, and Stone Giants.[56] During production, after Matt Codd and Jim Martin had designed the Ulysses on paper, Greg Aronowitz was hired to build a scale model of the submarine for the digital animators to use as a reference for drawing the 3-D Ulysses.[55] Three hundred sixty-two digital effects shots were in the final film, with computer programs used to join the 2-D and 3-D artwork seamlessly together.[57] One scene that took advantage of this was the "sub-drop" scene wherein the 3-D Ulysses was dropped from its docking bay into the water; as the camera floated toward it, a 2-D Milo was drawn to appear inside, tracking the camera. The crew noted that it was challenging to trick the audience into not noticing the difference between the 2-D and 3-D drawings when they were merged together.[58] The digital production also gave the directors a unique "virtual camera" for complicated shots within the film. With the ability to operate in "z-plane", this camera moved through a digital wire-frame set with the background and details later hand-drawn over the wire frames. This was used in the opening flight scene through Atlantis and the submarine chase through the undersea cavern with the Leviathan in pursuit.[59]
Since the film would not feature any musical interludes, the directors hired James Newton Howard to compose the score. Approaching it as a live-action film, Howard decided to have different musical themes for the surface world and Atlantis. In the case of Atlantis, Howard chose an Indonesian orchestral sound which would feature heavier use of chimes, bells, and gongs throughout. The directors told Howard from the beginning that the film would have key scenes which would be completely absent of dialogue; the score itself would need to convey emotionally what the viewer was seeing on-screen.[60]
Gary Rydstrom and his team at Skywalker Sound were hired for the film's sound production.[61] Like Howard, Rydstrom implemented different sounds for the two cultures. While he focused on machine and mechanical sounds of the early industrial era for the explorers, he felt that the Atlanteans should have a "more organic" sound utilizing ceramics and pottery. The sound made by the Atlantean flying fish vehicles was considered a challenge and Rydstrom revealed that he was sitting on the side of a highway recording one day when a semi-truck drove by at high speed. Once the recording was sped up on his computer, he felt it sounded very organic, and that is exactly what is heard within the film. Rydstrom created the harmonic chiming of the "Heart of Atlantis" by rubbing his finger along the edge of a champagne flute and achieved the sound of the sub-pods moving through water with a waterpik.[62]
Atlantis was among Disney's first major attempts to utilize internet marketing. The film was promoted through Kellogg's who created a website with mini-games and gave away a free video game based on the film by redeeming UPC labels from specially-marked packages of Atlantis breakfast cereal.[47] The film was also Disney's first marketing attempt through mobile network operators and allowed users to download games based on the film.[63] McDonald's, who has an exclusive licensing contract on all Disney releases, promoted the film though Happy Meal toys, food packaging, and in-store decor. McDonald's advertising campaign involved television, radio, and print advertisements beginning on the film's wide-release date.[64]
Before the film's release, reporters speculated that it would have a difficult run in light of competition from DreamWorks' Shrek, a wholly CGI feature, and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, an action-adventure film from Paramount Pictures. In regards to the market shifting away from traditional animation and of the competition with CGI films, Kirk Wise said, "Any traditional animator, including myself, can't help but feel a twinge. I think it always comes down to story and character, and one form won't replace the other. Just like photography didn't replace painting. But maybe I'm blind to it."[57] Jeff Jensen of Entertainment Weekly noted that CGI films such as Shrek were more apt to attract the teenage demographic who were typically not interested in animation, and called Atlantis a "marketing and creative gamble".[65]
Atlantis: The Lost Empire had its world premiere at Disney's El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, California on June 3, 2001,[66] and a limited release in New York City and Los Angeles on June 8, 2001; a wide opening followed on June 15, 2001.[2][57] At the premiere, Destination: Atlantis was on display, which featured behind the scenes props from the film, and information on the legend of Atlantis with video games, displays, laser tag, and other attractions. The Aquarium of the Pacific also loaned many different fish to be displayed within the attraction.[67] With a budget of $100 million,[1] the film opened at #2 on its debut weekend earning $20.3 million in 3,011 theaters.[68] The film's international release began on September 20 in Australia, with other markets following thereafter.[69] During the film's 25-week theatrical run, Atlantis: The Lost Empire grossed over $186 million worldwide, $84 million of which was from the United States and Canada.[2] In response to the disappointing box office performance, Thomas Schumacher, president of Walt Disney Feature Animation, stated, "It seemed like a good idea at the time to not do a sweet fairy tale, but we missed."[70]
Atlantis: The Lost Empire was released on both VHS and DVD on January 29, 2002. During the first month of its home release, the film led in VHS sales and was third in VHS and DVD sales combined.[71] Sales and rentals of the VHS and DVD combined would eventually go on to accumulate $157 million in revenue.[72] Both a single-disc DVD edition and a "2-Disc Collector's Edition" with expanded bonus features were made available. The VHS edition presented the film in its original theatrical ratio with the use of anamorphic widescreen. The single-disc DVD gave the viewer the option to watch the film either in its original theatrical 2.35:1 aspect ratio or in a modified 1.33:1 ratio which utilized pan and scan. Additional bonus features available for the DVD version included visual commentary from the film team, a virtual tour of the CGI models, an Atlantean language tutorial, an encyclopedia on the myth of Atlantis, and the deleted Viking prologue scene.[73] The "2-Disc Collector's Edition" DVD contained all of the single-disc features as well as an additional disc with supplemental material which detailed the making of the film in all aspects of its production. Additionally, for the "Collector's Edition", the film could only be viewed in its original theatrical ratio and it also featured an optional DTS 5.1 track. Both DVD versions, however, contained a Dolby Digital 5.1 track and were THX certified.[73][74]
| Atlantis: The Lost Empire | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by James Newton Howard | |
| Released | May 22, 2001 |
| Length | 53:56 |
| Label | Walt Disney |
| Producer | James Newton Howard Jim Weidman |
The soundtrack to Atlantis: The Lost Empire was released on May 22, 2001. It consists primarily of James Newton Howard's score and includes the song "Where the Dream Takes You", written by Diane Warren and performed by Mýa. The soundtrack was also available in a limited edition of 20,000 numbered copies with a unique 3-D album cover insert depicting the Leviathan from the film. A rare promotional edition featuring 73 minutes of material, compared to the 53 minutes on standard commercial editions, was intended only for Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences voters, but it was quickly bootlegged and distributed along with fan-created artwork. Concerning the promotional edition, Filmtracks said, "Outside of about five minutes of superior additional material (including the massive opening, "Atlantis Destroyed"), the complete presentation is mostly redundant. Still, Atlantis is an accomplished work for its genre."[75]
There are several video games based on the film. Atlantis: The Lost Empire—Search for the Journal (commonly known as Atlantis: Search for the Journal) was developed by Zombie Studios and published by Buena Vista Games, a subsidiary of Disney Interactive. It was released on May 1, 2001, exclusively for the Microsoft Windows platform and was a first-person shooter type game. It is the first of two games based on the film that were developed by Zombie Studios and was also released for free (with UPC labels from the purchase of Kellogg's products) to help promote the film.[76] Atlantis: The Lost Empire—Trial by Fire (commonly known as Atlantis: Trial by Fire) was the second of the two games developed by Zombie Studios and published by Disney Interactive. It was released on May 18, 2001, exclusively for the Microsoft Windows platform.[77] Atlantis: The Lost Empire is an action game developed by Eurocom for the PlayStation console and was released on July 12, 2001. The player takes control of Milo and the characters Audrey, Molière, and Vinny as they traverse Atlantis and rescue Princess Kida, finally saving Atlantis itself from doom. Some features in the game unlock special features such as a movie for a level by finding Atlantean symbols that spell "Atlantis".[78] On September 19, 2001, THQ released Disney's Atlantis: The Lost Empire for the Game Boy Advance and later a version for the Game Boy Color. It is a platform game in which the player controls Milo across fifteen levels on a quest to discover Atlantis.[79]
Atlantis: the Lost Empire was originally meant to provide a springboard for an animated television series titled Team Atlantis which would have presented the further adventures of its characters. However, because of the film's under-performance at the box office, the series was not produced. On May 20, 2003, Disney released a direct-to-video sequel called Atlantis: Milo's Return, consisting of three episodes that had been planned for the aborted series.[80] In addition, Disneyland was going to revive its Submarine Voyage ride with an Atlantis theme by using elements from the movie. The ride was promoted with a "meet and greet" by the movie's characters. These plans were canceled and the attraction was instead re-opened in 2007 as the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage, its theme based around Pixar's 2003 film Finding Nemo.[81]
Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 49% of 140 professional critics have given Atlantis: The Lost Empire a positive review, with a rating average of 5.5 out of 10.[82] Among Rotten Tomatoes' "Top Critics", which only considers the views of mainstream film critics, the film holds an overall approval rating of 41%, based on thirty-two reviews.[83] The site's consensus is that "Atlantis provides a fast-paced spectacle, but stints on such things as character development and a coherent plot."[82] Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 52 (out of 100) based on 29 reviews from mainstream critics, considered to be "mixed or average reviews".[84] CinemaScore polls conducted during the opening weekend revealed the average grade cinema-goers gave Atlantis: The Lost Empire was an A on an A+ to F scale.[85]
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.
Roger Ebert gave Atlantis three-and-half stars out of four, indicating a very positive view of the film. He praised the animation's "clean bright visual look" and the "classic energy of the comic book style", and he credited this to the work of Mike Mignola.[86] Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a C+ rating, he wrote that the movie had "gee-whiz formulaic character" but was "the essence of craft without dream."[87] Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times noted the storyline and characterizations were "old-fashioned" and the movie had the retrograde look of a Saturday morning cartoon, but these deficiencies were offset by Atlantis's brisk, frantic pace.[88] James Berardinelli, film critic for ReelViews, wrote a positive review of the film, giving it three out of four stars. He wrote, "On the whole, Atlantis offers 90 minutes of solid entertainment, once again proving that while Disney may be clueless when it comes to producing good live-action movies, they are exactly the opposite when it comes to their animated division."[89] Todd McCarthy of Variety disliked the film. "Disney pushes into all-talking, no-singing, no-dancing and, in the end, no-fun animated territory".[90] In The New York Times, Elvis Mitchell praised the film, giving it four stars out of five, called it "a monumental treat" and wrote, "Atlantis is also one of the most eye-catching Disney cartoons since Uncle Walt institutionalized the four-fingered glove."[91] Stephanie Zacharek of Salon disliked the film, specifically Disney's attempt to make the film for an older audience and wrote, "The big problem with Disney's latest animated feature, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, is that it doesn't seem geared to kids at all: It's so adult that it's massively boring."[92] On the other hand, Wesley Morris of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote positively of the film's approach for an older audience, "But just beneath the surface, Atlantis brims with adult possibility."[93]
Several critics and scholars have noted that Atlantis plays strongly on themes of anti-capitalism and anti-imperialism. M. Keith Booker, academic and author of studies about the implicit messages conveyed by media, views the character of Rourke as being motivated by "capitalist greed" when he pursues "his own financial gain" in spite of the knowledge that "his theft [of the crystal] will lead to the destruction of [Atlantis]".[94] Religion journalist Mark Pinsky, in his exploration of moral and spiritual themes in popular Disney films, asserts that "it is impossible to read the movie...any other way" than as "a devastating, unrelenting attack on capitalism and American imperialism".[95] Max Messier of FilmCritic.com observes, "Disney even manages to lambast the capitalist lifestyle of the adventurers intent on uncovering the lost city. Damn the imperialists!"[96] According to Booker, the film also "delivers a rather segregationist moral" by concluding with the discovery of the Atlanteans being kept a secret from other surface-dwellers in order to maintain a separation between the two highly divergent cultures.[97] Others saw Atlantis as an interesting look at utopian philosophy found in the works of classic science fiction by H. G. Wells and Jules Verne.[98]
Before and up until the film's release, some viewers noticed that Atlantis: The Lost Empire bore similarities to the popular 1990s Japanese anime television show, Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water, along with Castle in the Sky (1986) from Studio Ghibli. Noted similarities included character designs, story flow, and the background settings.[99] Though Disney never made a formal response to the claims of plagiarism, co-director Kirk Wise posted on a Disney animation news group in May 2001, stating, "Never heard of Nadia till it was mentioned in this [news group]. Long after we'd finished production, I might add."[100] Both Atlantis and Nadia were inspired in part by the 1870 Jules Verne novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, of which Lee Zion for Anime News Network wrote, "There are too many similarities not connected with 20,000 Leagues for the whole thing to be coincidence."[101] Critics also noticed similarities to the 1994 film Stargate. Plot points and especially Milo's characteristics were said to be close to those of Daniel Jackson, the protagonist of Stargate and the main character of the spin-off series Stargate SG-1 – which coincidentally launched its own spin-off named Stargate Atlantis.[102]
| Award | Category | Name | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| 29th Annie Awards[103] | Individual Achievement in Directing | Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise | Nominated |
| Individual Achievement in Storyboarding | Chris Ure | Nominated | |
| Individual Achievement in Production Design | David Goetz | Nominated | |
| Individual Achievement in Effects Animation | Marlon West | Nominated | |
| Individual Achievement in Voice Acting – Female | Florence Stanley | Nominated | |
| Individual Achievement in Voice Acting – Male | Leonard Nimoy | Nominated | |
| Individual Achievement for Music Score | James Newton Howard | Nominated | |
| 2002 DVD Exclusive Awards[104] | Original Retrospective Documentary | Michael Pellerin | Nominated |
| 2002 Golden Reel Award[105] | Best Sound Editing – Animated Feature Film | Gary Rydstrom, Michael Silvers, Mary Helen Leasman, John K. Carr, Shannon Mills, Ken Fischer, David C. Hughes, and Susan Sanford | Won |
| Online Film Critics Society Awards 2001[106] | Best Animated Feature | Nominated | |
| 2002 Political Film Society[107] | Democracy | Nominated | |
| Human Rights | Nominated | ||
| Peace | Nominated | ||
| World Soundtrack Awards[108] | Best Original Song for Film | Diane Warren and James Newton Howard | Nominated |
| Young Artist Awards[109] | Best Feature Family Film – Drama | Walt Disney Feature Animation | Nominated |
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