My Movie Review on Atlantis: The Lost Empire
Yo, what's up, Kemosabes?
This is your top-of-the-line film, TV show, and episode reporter here with another review.
And today, as requested by BradyBunch and Jade Dawn of FiMFiction.net, I'll be sharing my take of Disney's "Atlantis: The Lost Empire".
Here’s the summary of this tale:
Milo Thatch is a young scientist who is considered crazy because he believes that the lost city of Atlantis is real, especially after taking research on where to find it: In the seas of Iceland.
After the museum he works at refuses to fund his search for Atlantis, though, Milo is suddenly approached by his deceased grandfather’s old friend, Preston B. Whitmore, who offers to fund for him instead, along with hiring a crew to go with him on the expedition.
Will Milo find Atlantis? Or will he go home empty handed and forever be considered a laughing stock?
I’d like to be honest:
The first time I saw this film, which was a few years ago, I was mostly neutral towards it. When I saw it again not too long ago, though, the film became something that I enjoyed more than before.
It’s apparently a movie that grows on you after seeing it more than just one time. And with good reason too.
The voice acting, casting, characters, and character development were astounding! At times, I’ve read reviews saying that the characters were flat in terms of being fully-realized and memorable. However, I really don’t get where they’re coming from. I thought that the characters were amazing, having brilliant background, development, and personality. The performances of its ensemble were excellent too, especially because of how much of a great time the cast was obviously having and how passionate they were for their characters.
The direction by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, the screenplay by Tab Murphy, and the story by Murphy, Trousdale, Wise, Joss Whedon, Bryce Zabel, and Jackie Stabel, were marvelously worked. Admittedly, the first act did seem a little straightforward in some ways, but other than that, the film paced itself perfectly. As an action-adventure film, it had a great balance of being simple and complex at the same time, and the action scenes it had were terrific too. Plus, there was amazingly done humor, wit, heart, and emotion that helped the film be far from lifeless.
The animation was unique for a Disney film, might I add. The look of it may not seem like the usual Disney style, but in a sense, it showed itself to be pure Disney with a willingness to experiment. Trousdale, Wise, and the animators gave the film the look and feel of a comic book on canvas, and that’s something I highly admire about it.
Finally, the music by James Newton Howard was quite enjoyable as well. This film being the second animated Disney feature Howard composed for, I admired how he emotionally threw himself into creating the music. He particularly gave it a vast sense of epicness and life that was great enough to help audiences be right in the adventure.
In the end, “Atlantis: The Lost Empire” may not compare to that of other Disney films like, say, “The Lion King”, “Beauty and the Beast” and “Aladdin”, but...it’s fun, exciting, and the team behind it was obviously quite passionate about this film. It’s overall what I’d classify as severely underrated.
So, I rate “Atlantis: The Lost Empire” five out of five stars.
