In the forward to the book Atlantis, the Lost Empire: The Illustrated Script, the filmmakers write, “There was a kind of film that we all loved when we were growing up: the action-adventure movie. It was a genre that Walt Disney popularized in the 1950s with movies such as 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Swiss Family Robinson, and In Search Of The Castaways. Later, Steven Spielberg and George Lucas invigorated the genre with Raiders of the Lost Ark. We loved these movies. We loved far-off places, expert explorers, perilous navigation, and romantic ruins. We loved Adventureland at Disneyland, and we wanted to go there again… this time on the movie screen.”
Inspired by the wonder in these films and Disney attractions, producer Don Hahn and co-directors Kirk Wise and Gary Trousdale set out to make Atlantis: The Lost Empire.
Atlantis, which celebrates its twenty-fifth anniversary this summer, marked a distinct shift for Disney, moving from musical fairy tales and fables to an action-adventure format. The film’s intention was to explore new creative ground while honoring the spirit of classic adventure stories.
The filmmakers initially considered adapting Jules Verne’s Journey to the Center of the Earth. However, a quote from Plato emerged during early production: “…in a single day and night of misfortune, the island of Atlantis disappeared into the depths of the sea.”
This quote appears on a title card at the opening of Atlantis: The Lost Empire. Set in 1914, the story centers on Milo Thatch (voiced by Michael J. Fox), a linguist at the Smithsonian Institution who is obsessed with the lost city of Atlantis.
Eccentric millionaire Preston Whitmore (John Mahoney of TV’s Frasier) assembles a team to search for Atlantis, inviting Milo to join the expedition. Led by Commander Rourke (James Garner), the crew includes lieutenant Helga Sinclair (Claudia Christian), demolition expert Vinny Santorini (comedian Don Novello, SNL’s “Father Guido Sarducci”), Dr. Sweet (Phil Morris), mechanic Audrey Ramirez (Jacqueline Obradors), radio operator Mrs. Packard (Florence Stanley), geologist Gaetan “Mole” Molière (Corey Burton), and their cook “Cookie” (Jim Varney in his last screen role).
On their journey, the crew discovers Atlantis, ruled by the King (Leonard Nimoy) and Princess Kida (Cree Summer). When an expedition member double-crosses the crew, they unite to save Atlantis.
To bring Atlantis: The Lost Empire to the screen, Disney artists adapted the style of comic book artist Mike Mignola, creator of the popular Hellboy, and the artist was brought in as one of the film’s production designers.
The filmmakers also hired linguist Mark Okrand (who had created Star Trek’s Klingon language) to craft an Atlantean language for the denizens of the lost city.
Co-directors Wise and Trousdale stage several impressive, dizzying action sequences in Atlantis. The crew’s submarine Leviathan, attacked by Atlantean vessels, is a striking underwater set-piece, and the film’s finale, where Milo and the others commandeer Atlantean flying ships, is a compelling dogfight.
There is also noteworthy character animation throughout, as the animators craft a distinct crew. John Pomeroy, who supervised Milo and Randy Haycock animating Kida, brought impressive acting and heart to their work as the two characters discover each other and their worlds throughout the film. There is subtle comic timing to Vinny from Russ Edmonds, and Mike Surrey crafts Rourke as a captivating, enigmatic figure.
Atlantis: The Lost Empire opened on June 15, 2001, receiving a lukewarm welcome from critics and audiences. Since its release, Atlantis has cultivated a following among Disney, animation, and science fiction fans who feel it has been unfairly overlooked, in the twenty-five years since its release.
These fans share sentiments similar to film critic Roger Ebert’s rave review upon the film’s premiere. He wrote: “The story of Atlantis is rousing in an old pulp science fiction sort of way, but the climactic scene transcends the rest and stands by itself as one of the great animated action sequences. Will the movie signal a new direction from Disney animation? I doubt it. The synergy of animated musical comedies is too attractive, not only for entertainment value but also for the way they spin off hit songs and stage shows. What Atlantis does show is a willingness to experiment with the anime tradition–maybe to appeal to teenage action fans who might otherwise avoid an animated film. It’s like 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea set free by animation to look the way it dreamed of looking.”
Michael Lyons is a freelance writer, specializing in film, television, and pop culture. He is the author of the book, Drawn to Greatness: Disney’s Animation Renaissance, which chronicles the amazing growth at the Disney animation studio in the 1990s. In addition to Animation Scoop and Cartoon Research, he has contributed to Remind Magazine, Cinefantastique, Animation World Network and Disney Magazine. He also writes a blog, Screen Saver: A Retro Review of TV Shows and Movies of Yesteryear and his interviews with a number of animation legends have been featured in several volumes of the books, Walt’s People. You can visit Michael’s web site Words From Lyons at: 
Lost civilisations like Atlantis were one of my youthful passions, one that, along with cryptozoology, eventually faded once it dawned upon me how fatuous the entire enterprise was. Yes, Plato wrote about Atlantis in two of his later dialogues, Timaeus and Critias, the latter of which is an unfinished account of such well-documented historical figures as Zeus and Poseidon. No other ancient writer, including the many classical geographers and historians, had anything at all to say about Atlantis. The subject gained interest during the age of exploration and then really went off the rails in the nineteenth century with crackpot writers like Ignatius Donnelly, Helena Blavatsky, and a host of others who concocted a vast and self-contradictory hodgepodge of myths surrounding it. Today there is a mountain of literature about Atlantis, from which writers continue to cherry-pick whatever tidbits they can find to buttress their own pet theories.
All well and good, and of course I’m aware that Disney movies are fantasies. The trouble is, there are crackpot archaeologists around today who get more attention, sell more books, and make a lot more money than their legitimate counterparts. Yet they invariably moan that they are beleaguered underdogs oppressed by an entrenched and well-funded scientific establishment. To see such a figure presented as a hero and then vindicated, even in a work of fiction, is more than I can stomach. I have too much respect for genuine scholarship. I might feel differently if I hadn’t wasted so much of my youth looking into the Atlantis myth, but there it is.
I saw “Atlantis: the Lost Empire” on television not long after it was released. I was impressed with the animation and artistry, but I have not seen it since and have no desire to do so.
“Atlantis: the Lost Empire” had a strong teen appeal. I viewed it with a group of teenagers who were absorbed in it from start to finish. It really is that kind of breathtaking adventure. The pacing is brisk and the storyline is compelling. The teen audience that I observed seemed to relate to the characters.
The time period of 1914 is a little misleading because the characters and attitudes are those of when the film was made, not when it was set. The world of 1914 was a different world from our own, with different mores and social roles, all of which is totally ignored. This was an era before Women’s Lib and before the social upheavals of the 60’s and 70’s. Yet of course if the historical period were invoked it would alienate modern audiences, so it is perhaps understandable that the filmmakers chose to disregard the setting. After all, anachronism in animation is nothing new. To my thinking, a futuristic setting would have worked better and would have avoided the problem of twenty-first century values in a post-nineteenth century world.
Still and all, the film has its merits. Definitely it was a daring departure for Disney. Once I got over the anachronistic nature of the film, I found it quite captivating and enjoyable.
It didn’t help that “Shrek” came out the same time as “Atlantis” and ended up beating it in the box office (and partly kicked start the boom on computer animated films).
I thought it was a fun movie. I guess it would be Disney’s only steampunk film. Unless you count Strange World.
I didn’t recall the precise year it was supposed to take place. I have to wonder if they brought in the Great War for the sequel.
I didn’t know it was Jim Varney’s last role. I would’ve guessed one of the Toy Storys
I think you could make a case that the even bigger action/adventure Disney flop, Treasure Planet had steampunk elements as well…
It’s been a long time since I’ve seen this movie. I do remember watching it on the Disney Channel and Disney XD during the late 2000s and early 2010s when I was a kid.
It’s pretty sad that this movie with so much ambitious was not received very well when it came out. But it’s nice to know that it gain a cult following soon afterwards.
The early ’00s in general had a few of those, which only did okay in theaters but found a new audience on home video. See also The Road to El Dorado, The Emperor’s New Groove.
This film has a remarkable supporting cast. Cookie is one of my favourite modern Disney characters, and Molière sports some terrific flexible animation by Tony DeRosa. One of my more memorable theatre experiences when I was young.
I remember seeing this theatrically 25 years ago. Certainly an impressive spectacle, but the story didn’t seem to be any great shakes, which I suppose is par for the course when it comes to action-adventure films. Just give enough plot to string the set pieces together. My Dad and I both agreed the supporting players stole the show, particularly Novello and Morris’ characters.
Would this also be one of the earliest of examples of the now cliche Disney ‘twist’ villain?
In what I can only consider an example of the weird synchronicity of the universe. I just got back tonight from a family wedding where the groom’s younger brother said I look like Milo from this film, to find this article. Go figure.
One of my favorite Disney animated movies. The exploration crew are great characters (especially Vinny) and I like the comic book inspired art style.
It’s strange to me how many animated movies from the early 2000s underperformed because I think it was a great period.
I really admire the noirish introduction of Helga, her design, and her animation by Yoshimichi Tamura of the Paris unit.
That practice of distributing work worldwide, though, had downfalls when it came to stylistic consistency. It’s particularly notable with Helga, especially when she appears onscreen with, for example, Cookie, who, while in isolation a terrific design and character, is from a completely different movie. He feels like he belongs in an Ollie Johnston scene from around 1970. He and Helga should never have been put in a scene together, but they were.