Atlantis The Lost Empire Review

 

Hey everyone today I'm doing a retro review of Atlantis the Lost Empire and seeing how this year marks the 20th anniversary of the this cult classic. I thought I might give it a review because why not. 

So heres what I think of this film...I love this film personally. I know it didn't well with critics but audiences loved it and it has become a fan favourite film like I really enjoyed this film a lot. I know the story could have been worked on a bit better and there were plans to do a sequel which would have been cool from what I heard but instead we got a crappy direct animated sequel. But the animation in this film is really good and like how they used cgi to merge with the animation. Like the submarine was really cool and the leviathan was really cool monster which turned out to be a machine. Animation with the CGI was really cool and well put together.

Fun Fact, the concept art was done by Mike Mignola the creator of Hellboy. This film also had some action scenes and the design for Atlantis was really cool and their culture was interesting and I liked how they explain how Atlantis fell into ruin not because of the gods but because they tried using the crystal that give them energy and made them powerful into a weapon that backfired on them. 

It's interesting take on how Atlantis was destroyed because in mythology by Plato, Atlantis was destroyed because the people of Atlantis became more greedy, more power hungry and they thought themselves higher than gods and so the gods destroy Atlantis as punishment for the reckless ways and for thinking themselves as higher as the gods. Just another fun fact.

I think Milo and Kida's relationship was well done and these two's chemistry with each other was good.

The scenes of them getting to know each other was good and the places they visit in Atlantis were really cool to see. Also they are fist Disney couple in a Disney film not to kiss in the end.

These six were in it for the money but in the end they saw they would have blood money and they didn't want the blood of whole civilization on their hands. Their families would have be ashamed and disgusted by what they did to get them were they are.

Blood money is bad do it the honest and right way.

Now the cast was really good in this film like the cast include Michael J Fox, Cree Summer, Phil Morris, Don Novello, Jacqueline Orbradors, Claudia Christian, Corey Burton, and this film also had actors who are sadly no longer with us and that is Leonard Nimoy, John Mahoney, Florence Stanley, James Garner, David Ogden Stiers, and Jim Varney may they rest peace. Everyone did a great job voicing their characters and the characters were the best thing in the film. 

Even as an adult it doesn't fit him still Lol.

Like Milo is a really fun character and he's a really good protagonist, also his story to honour his grandfather's work in finding Atlantis even though they laugh him and drag him down but hey Milo's grandfather always "When you hit rock bottom, the only way to go is up." Like his grandfather he wouldn't give up and he found proof Atlantis existed. That's something cool about the character and also his scenes were really funny and he's really smart guy and a good strategist especially during the battle to rescue Kida. Also Michael J Fox is awesome as Milo and Michael J Fox is an amazing guy loved him in Back to the Future.

This scene was total fan service and its a funny scene too. 

"You do swim do you not?"

"Oh I swim pretty girl, pretty good, pretty good."

I would say the same thing too if that happen to me.

Kida is a good female lead, she's really cool, fascinated but what's going on the surface, and she wants to see her kingdom thrive again. Her story is really good too and when she merges with the crystal that scene is very cool and I like how she reunited with her mother before retuning back to Atlantis and not merged with the crystal anymore. She and Milo really do bond and he helps her fly the air craft the Altantians  use to ride before the downfall. She's really good female lead why isn't she in the Disney princess group well that's mainly because the film wasn't box office hit that's why. Its a real thing it's all about the money not the reviews, the money.  

The other characters are great too like Dr. Joshua Sweet, what I loved about him was his name is the same as mine, he was a nice guy from the start and after Rourke injured the king he was first to side with Milo, he's also got a really cool back story, and I love this line he says in the film.

Something we can all agree with there are things we don't want to know about certain people or things happen in someone's past.

Audrey was also good character the typical tough tomboy character that has a good heart and she cares about her friends and family, and she's one of the best engineers especially during the 1910s were girls couldn't be engineers at that the time. I also like how she wants to open up a new repair shop for her and her dad. Audrey is a really good character and I like how she's second to side against Rourke after Kida joins with the crystal.

And of course Vinny who didn't love this guy he was the best character in the film. Like Vinny was funny, his lines were really good, and he's just one of the best things about this film. They should have gotten this character a spin off show about his flower shops or something like he's so entertaining to watch in this film. Love his lines "We've done a lot of things were not proud of robbing graves, plundering the tombs, double parking but nobody got hurt. Well, maybe somebody got hurt but nobody we knew." Classic.  

Everyone else was good too like Mole, Packard, and Cookie were also fun characters as well. 

I wonder what's Mole's story??? Maybe if they remake the film they will address it.

To this day I still wonder what he whispered to Kida properly something dirty or he maybe offended her with comment about Atlantis.

Now the villains of the film.

Rourke and Helga.

Funny line. 

They should have said in that line in the beginning of Avengers Endgame. 

Rourke was a good villain and he didn't look like the villain to me when I first saw this film until by the end when we see him for who he really is. He was a good villain but not great one like Hades, Cruella, Maleficent, or Gaston. Still his motives are to take the crystal back to the surface and sell to be rich I mean know he's merc but they could have added more to his reasons maybe he working with the central powers to win WW1. According to some source material there is more to this character you'll have to look it up. 

You know the dress she's wearing wasn't invented until the 30s.

Just a fun fact.

Helga was an interesting secondary villain I mean they could have done more with her character though. Interesting fact the director of Atlantis said that there was planned sequel and Helga was going to be the main villain revealing she survived and is a cyborg and leading her own mercenary team trying take over Atlantis. That would have been really cool but it didn't happen instead we got a crappy directed animated sequel ugh. But hey if they do a live action remake and if it's a hit they could include that in the sequel film.  

Good shot of our heroes looking out in the distance.

Still overall I really enjoy this film like I really enjoy it a lot despite what critics say and yes there are some issues with the story. But I think this film holds up very well and its underrated because it take a new turn for Disney films going from musicals to have no musical numbers. 

This film is consider to be the first film of the second "dark age" but I don't think it's fair to put this film into that category because if you ask me Home on the Range was the one that made Disney fall from grace and they relied on Pixar films. I would say this film along with Emperor's New Grove, Lilo and Stitch, and Fantasia 2000 are good films and this film was is good to me because in the end its a fun movie and that's all it needs to be a fun movie.

20 years of Atlantis the Lost Empire.

(Google Image)

I give Atlantis The Lost Empire a 7 out of 10 and a solid B. Its a fun movie and in truth that's all it is, a fun movie. This film has great animation mixed with CGI, the characters are amazing and fun and unforgettable, but I do agree the story does have some issues and there more that could have been done and hey I wouldn't be surprise if they do a live action remake and improve the story but knowing live action remakes they might make it worse lol.