Atlantis - L'impero perduto

Although I have said that Tarzan is the last great Disney movie, there have been some surprisingly good films like Lilo and Stitch and Fantasia 2000, though the best of the post-Tarzan Disney movies is Emperor's New Groove. On the other hand, some of the direct to video sequels are saved by some excellent voice overs and moments of cuteness, but overall they are cheap parodies of their originals, Patch's London Adventure sadly being the worst. Atlantis: The Lost Empire belongs to the surprisingly good side of the film spectrum, with excellent visuals, particularly of Atlantis itself. The music was beautiful and sounded epic, and the voice cast was great, the standouts being Michael J.Fox and James Garner as Milo and Rourke respectively. John Mahoney and Cree Summer offer fine support as Whitmore and Kida, who is so sexy. I only have two criticisms of this movie. One is that while the idea of the story is fantastic, it is a little too fast for my liking. My second criticism is that while the script is very good on the most part, I don't think it is as funny as a film like Emperor's New Groove, though Vinny was hilarious, so I just worry that younger viewers mightn't find it as engaging as their parents. Overall, very pleasing to the eye, and a very good film overall. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Thank goodness Disney is making some animated features with punch! This is one. None of that eye-rolling cuteness that you usually put up with because you are with toddlers!

This film is fun, fun, fun! The characterizations are fine, the science fiction framework better than most live action films of the genre, and the art just gritty enough to be cool.

The action is fast--almost too fast! But the film covers a lot of ground (and water), so things have to move quickly. I'd like to see the sequel.

Disney's producers should take a very proud bow for making an exciting story with excellent characters. And the actors who do the voices deserve strong applause for giving the characters true depth. (The doctor was my favorite!)

More like this!

Here's what I knew about "Atlantis" before watching it:

* - It's officially Disney's first animated sci-fi adventure. I'm not sure how accurate that is (I like to nitpick) but it made me curious first time I heard it described.

* - The preview looked, for the most part, damn cool. Evidently, it was also "too cryptic" according to some critics after the fact.

* - It apparently did SO badly that Disney said, "Screw it, let's re-release 'Spy Kids'".

So, with all that said, how is the movie?

Hella-cool.

I'm a sucker for animated fantasy that involves stirring music and rampant special effects anyway, but "Atlantis" goes all out. It's a throwback to all the CGI eye-candy shots in "Beauty and the Beast" and "Aladdin", so much so that it's almost an effects animator's Best-Of Show. The characters maybe aren't that memorable (except, perhaps, for the ship's medical officer), and the plot's a little dull, but this isn't a movie you watch for the plot.

Here's a controversy that bothers me. The "failure" (as in, it "only" took in, like, five-hundred-million or something; I know animators who'd kill to see fifteen bucks of that) of this movie compared to the popularity of "Shrek" and "Monsters Inc." has been seen as evidence of the death of traditional animation. I don't think that's true. How do you account for the "South Park" movie? What about "Final Fantasy"? Really, the story and the artistry is everything, not the method. I don't know what Disney's comeback movie will be like, but I don't think they're out of the picture yet.

From the animation to the side characters, Atlantis is a surprisingly awesome Disney movie. It's got action, and funny jokes, and everything you could want in an action-adventure movie. Highly recommend this one.

So I had the privilege of attending last night's New York City premiere of Disney's new feature lenght film "Atlantis: The Lost Empire". It was my first premiere and I loved it! It was such a thrill.

Now, onto the review. Disney is taking a huge chance on this movie for a number of reasons. First of all, it is NOT a musical. Much of the Disney name is based on the legendary soundtracks. Initially, I thought that the lack of music would make the movie seem a bit longer and not so Disney. But after seeing it, I thought that the absence of music was a great move. Even though I love such classic songs as "Under the Sea" and "A Friend Like Me", music might have made it a bit too kiddy. Nice job Disney.

Secondly, this movie is PG. It is NOT G and with good reason. There is a good deal of action (and those scenes are better than any part of "Pearl Harbor"). The partially CG, partially animated "Star Wars"-esque dogfights and chases truly are breathtaking, even to an adult. Yes, this movie might frighten some small kids, especially the scene with Leviathan and some of the climactic rumble(s). But overall, the kids in the audience weren't too frightened. The nice mix of humor for kids (and some for the adults too) helped to keep the balance of intense action and light hearted fun.

Lastly, this movie is not "Sleeping Beauty". This is not "Snow White". It isn't "Beauty and the Beast" or "Aladdin". But this is not nessesarily a bad thing. This is like the dark side of "The Little Mermaid." Disney pulled out a couple of the stops but for a reason. Yes, there is a bit of blood. It's not a gauging like the over pretentious "Gladiator", it's enough to convey real emotion. (Milo Thatch, "Atlantis'" main character, has more dimension as a 2-D cartoon than any scene involving Russell Crowe in "Gladiator"). This movie isn't the vibrant end of "Be Our Guest". The darker nature almost made you forget that this was an animated feature. It was very effective and finally someone at Disney realized it isn't all about selling t-shirts and plush toys. Bravo Disney, "Atlantis" surely won't sink

BTW, I got to meet Marty McFly himself, Mr. Michael J. Fox. Great guy, and the premiere did benefit his Parkinson's reasearch Center. Again, bravo to Disney, this was an incredibly generous move on their part.