Review of Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001) by Jedd Y — 08 Feb 2011

Bristling with eye-catching character and environmental design, kinetic action sequences, likeable characters and a good helping of intelligence and humour, Atlantis achieves what Avatar set out to do - and did so far better than the James Cameron film.

This animated film is a visual feast, and is enjoyable as a legitimate science-fiction/fantasy action adventure. It is thematically more mature and perhaps challenging for younger viewers compared to most of Disney's animated offerings, and boasts a startlingly clever script.

The film is also remarkably well-researched, the fictional Atlantean language created by Dr Marc Okrand, famous for coming up with Klingon and Vulcan. The linguistics is one of many aspects that makes the culture depicted rich and very interesting.

Michael J Fox puts in a fantastic and engaging voice performance as Milo Thatch, and is backed up by a supporting cast that includes James Garner and Leonard Nimoy. Atlantis may not number among the Disney animated classics, but I enjoyed it far more than I expected to.