thousand years ago, the great city-state of Atlantis sought to use its superior technology to rule the world--but its efforts backfired, sending a massive tidal wave that consumed the island.
In 1914, linguist Milo J. Thatch (Fox) labors in the basement of a large museum, but harbors a dream of finding the Shepherd's Journal--the lost book that holds the secrets of Atlantis. With that book, Thatch hopes to find the lost island itself, and the mysterious power source that is the secret of the Atlanteans' fabled prowess.
No one will listen to him, of course. But then, a beautiful and mysterious woman, Helga Sinclair (Christian), summons Milo to the mansion of eccentric billionaire Preston B. Whitmore (John Mahoney), a friend of Milo's revered adventurer grandfather.
It seems Milo's grandfather actually found the Shepherd's Journal before he died, and Whitmore is giving it to Milo, the only man who has deciphered the secret language of Atlantis. What's more, Whitmore is ready and willing to finance an expedition to find the lost island itself--if Milo is willing to go.
Milo agrees to the expedition, under the leadership of Cmdr. Rourke (Garner) and his motley band of explorers--including Helga, a crazy cook (Jim Varney), a talkative doctor (Greg Morris), a creepy geologist (Corey Burton), a jokey demolitions expert (Don Novello) and a spunky girl mechanic (Jacqueline Obradors). Their vehicle: a state-of-the-art submarine, the Ulysses.
But things go awry almost from the beginning, as the ship encounters the lost city's formidable defenses. And once they stumble upon what appears to be the ruins of Atlantis, Milo begins to doubt that he's doing the right thing.
Animation has passed Atlantis by
Atlantis is Disney's animated entry in this year's summer movie derby, and it's telling that it's going up against DreamWorks' hit computer-animated fairy tale, Shrek. While the latter film is the latest word in 3-D animation and post-modern attitude, Atlantis feels like a throwback to Disney's live-action and animated adventure stories of the past, most notably 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.
With its traditional 2-D animation (enhanced in spots with computer assists) and straight-ahead storytelling, Atlantis seems out of touch with animation trends pioneered in recent years in anime, Fox's underrated Titan A.E. and countless comic books. This is despite Disney's efforts to update Atlantis' look with the help of underground comic artist Mike Mignola (Hellboy), who contributed to the design of characters and places.
That said, there's much to recommend Atlantis. The film, shot in wide-screen CinemaScope, is gorgeous to look at, as befits an epic adventure. Particularly noteworthy are the vehicle designs, costumes, buildings and the Southeast-Asian-inspired feel of Atlantis itself.
The characters are also nicely drawn, in both literal and figurative senses, aided by the outstanding voice talent. Novello, otherwise known as Father Guido Sarducci, is particularly funny as the wisecracking bomb expert, as is Morris as the peripatetic doctor. Obradors' Audrey, the Hispanic mechanic, is reminiscent of a '40s cartoon character, and Christian (best known as Babylon 5's Susan Ivanova) brings mystery to her role. Garner, with his grandfatherly voice, is a good choice for Rourke, who may or may not be what he seems. Summer adds an exotic flavor to Princess Kida, the Atlantean who holds the secret behind Milo's quest.
The story is involving, if a little predictable, but it picks up steam in the third act, with an imaginatively staged climax in the chimney of a burned-out volcano. The jokes are strictly Disney-safe, though, with none of the bite or wit of other animated fare.
