Sunday, June 8, 2008

Atlantis Found By Disney, Seven Years Ago...


On this day...

Seven years ago, "Atlantis: The Lost Empire" opens up in Los Angeles and New York. The film will go on to become another box office disappointment for Disney's animation division. While the script is muddled and the characters don't have the emotional attachment you would want or expect, the story itself is a great idea... it's just not executed as well as I would have liked. The animation though, is stunning and a perfect example of why hand drawn animation should never be abandoned in favor of CG films. In fact, some of the animation in Atlantis is a combination of 2D/3D and works fine. It would have been interesting to see what the Submarine attraction at Disneyland would have looked like had the film been a success. Oh well, I guess those ideas will have to go into a future Tokyo DisneySea attraction...

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's an entertaining film, and would have been a much more appropriate overlay for the subs, even though the subs don't really need a character overlay of any kind.

Anonymous said...

the film needed more helga sinclair. seriously, she's that awesome.

t said...

Helga was a great character. Imagine if they had the time to develop her character even more.
And beautiful character design and animation I might add.


I SO agree with Honor. Atlantis, along with Treasure Planet, the original concept for The Emperor's New Groove (Kingdom of the Sun), even Brother Bear- ALL great story concepts with the potential to become great films.
I can only imagine what they would have been like with the proper working environment, no "creative" input from suits, and the support for the filmmakers to tell their story.


*future DisneySea attraction...Honor, you're a sly one. ;)

Matt said...

Actually, I was thoroughly entertained by Atlantis: TLE. Thought the vibe was great, the plotline was great, the locales, the myths...

I thought it was perfect, but unluckily for Disney and the Disneyland submarines that was not a sentiment echoed by everyone else.

Anonymous said...

...even though the subs don't really need a character overlay of any kind.

Sorry, but I'm going to have to disagree with that part of your statement, Anonymous #1.

Anonymous said...

It's on right now. Poor forgotten Disney film...

It ain't too bad.

Anonymous said...

My name is Kirakakash.

8-)

V.M.L. said...

ATLANTIS is one of my all time favorite movies. No really, it is. I use to be obsessed with the movie because I liked the steampunk genre and it reminded me of an anime. Later, I found out that it WAS "based" on an anime called NADIA: THE SECRET OF BLUE WATER. Regardless, I still cherish ATLANTIS.

I do agree that the movie could have been much better. It already had an interesting story but the final film wasn't fulfilling. For one thing, the movie was too short! (Maybe they shouldn't have cut the Viking prologue out of the movie. Are you reading this, Hunter?) Also, all the characters were interesting but they could have had more screen time to have more character development.

I agree with anonymous-- Helga needed more screen time! She simply kicked butt!

If the movie hadn't been messed with by the suits, it might have been made better. Audiences could have given it a chance, but instead they saw TOMB RAIDER and ATLANTIS flopped. ATLANTIS could have been the next great Disney classic, but it became another "forgotten Disney movie." The TEAM ATLANTIS series could have aired on TV, and it would have been exciting to watch. There could have been a real movie sequel instead of a cheap straight-to-video "sequel" consisting of all the un-aired TV episodes. The submarine ride would have been made, but the movie flopped.

Basically, ATLANTIS could have been a franchise kids, preteens, teens, and adults could enjoy. Instead, Disney just pretends the movie never existed.

Anonymous said...

I feel that Atlantis should have been made better by developing each character more besides Milo and Kida. In addition, Atlantis should have added the Viking prologue before showing the destruction of Atlantis at the hands of a tidal wave. So I agree with V.M.L that if Atlantis was made better, the real sequel Shards of Chaos and Team Atlantis would have been made. So Disney just literally pretended that this movie never existed.
Despite this, I enjoyed Atlantis and would like to say that it is one of my favorite disney movies. I will always cherish Atlantis because of that and also due to Milo and Kida. Both characters were well done and they are among one of the greatest disney couples of all time. I still feel that Disney should still provide the Shards of Chaos sequel that would bridge Atlantis: The Lost Empire and Atlantis: Milo's Return. This would truly provide closure to the Atlantis films and if fans of Atlantis agree on this, a petition should be started.

Anonymous said...

I'm sorry, and you people are all smart, but I LOVE this movie, and it's in my top 5.