Review of Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001) by Ethan S — 23 Feb 2014

Kirk Wise and Gary Trousdale certainly had an ambitious goal when they set their sights on making Atlantis: The Lost Empire. Atlantis is an unusual film in the Disney catalog. It's creators consciously went about crafting a story without the crutch of song and dance, wanting to homage the long-forgotten legacy of the live action Disney adventure films of the 50s and 60s.

Indeed action and adventure in the vein of Verne, and characters rather than massive musical numbers, were the focus of the original concept, which resulted in a 155 page screenplay. But like its predecessor, Disney's 40th full-length animation The Emperor's New Groove, the House of Mouse's 41st feature was a tumultuous production plagued by problems, with at least one terrible blow behind the scenes when executives forced the filmmakers to cut a third of their carefully crafted script.

The finished film is enjoyable, but empty. Feverishly paced, it jumps from action scene to action scene, with barely time to breathe in between, and hardly ever allows for the character moments that were a key part of the original idea. Flawed through it is, Atlantis is entertaining in a mindless capacity, devoid of depth, but at the very least remains a visual treat, anchored by unique design courtesy comic book artist Mike Mignola and an incredibly articulate blend of traditional and CG animation.