Review of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954) by Jenn S — 19 Feb 2006

'20,000 Leagues Under the Sea' is a Disney film inspired by Jules Verne's novel with Captain Nemo and a submarine. The film's message seems to discuss the ills of human society and Nemo's reluctance to share some secrets with the world based on his experiences with evil people. Because of his problems, Nemo builds his underwater utopia and spends his time in love with everything that the sea holds and becoming nearly self-sufficient on it.

This films brings together three outsiders with Captain Nemo and examines their adventures in Nemo's world. Although observative and probably true to Verne's novel (I have not read this novel, but I have read other novels in which Verne is observative and descriptive when discussing some of nature's wonders), many of the events in this book seem to be time-fillers instead of contributing to a plot. Generally, the story itself is pretty slow-moving and there is nothing special about the story-telling or the characters, apart from Nemo who comes across as a genius and later as a madman.

'20,000 Leagues Under the Sea' works pretty well as a film for children, but it is probably a little out-dated by today's standards and when children prefer to watch 'Toy Story' and 'Finding Nemo'. It's not bad, but it's not great either.