Atlantis - The Lost Empire

Rating:
Summary: kewl movie
Review: this is a very good movie! it is also very funny. i like the part when milo has to drive the truck. i thought is was sad though. i thought it was sad when kida's father passed away. :( anywho it is a very good movie. rent it or buy it. but... if u buy it at certain stores u get free mini-oreos! bye

Rating:
Summary: Please stop recommending this movie to me!
Review: I saw this movie in the theatre. Here's what I found out:

If you push the little button on my watch--it lights up.

I can tie and re-tie my shoes twice in one minute.

I really need a manicure.

This movie stinks like day old lutefisk. Avoid it at all costs.

Rating:
Summary: Atlantis- The Lost Empire
Review: If you want to teach your children to smoke buy this
movie.

Rating:
Summary: Mixed bag...entertaining...but..
Review: Excellent animation and graphics. Canned feel, like is sometimes said about Disney. Story not great, somebody's imagination went way out. Worth watching once, but not for buying.

Rating:
Summary: Disney: The Lost Empire
Review: Midway through watching Atlantis: The Lost Empire, I began to wonder about Disney, The Lost Empire. What on earth is going on in the corporate suites of this icon of children's entertainment? Are its leaders merely victims of an unstoppable downturn in the cycle of [business] life, or have they simply run out of visions? Either way, they have given us a movie that is fundamentally, though not quite fatally, flawed...

The movie begins in Washington, DC, circa 1914. Milo [voice of Michael J. Fox] works in a museum and is forever touting his deceased grandfather's theories about the lost continent of Atlantis. One day a mysterious woman brings him to a fabulously wealthy man who invites Milo to go on an expedition to find it. He accepts and soon is aboard a gigantic submarine that is peopled with some very eccentric characters. They find Atlantis, which is alive but not so well. Since it sank all those centuries ago, it has existed undersea in a giant air bubble, kept going by some strange energy force. Who knew? Milo meets the locals, including the prerequisite Disney princess. Meanwhile, the crew has some rather evil plans for the place, and its up to Milo and his new friends to stop them.

The basic story line is fine, but its execution is a mess. The Atlantis scenes themselves are okay, full of silly, colorful fantasy. The advantage of having a tale unfold in a mythical time and place is that you can do anything you want there. With but one or two exceptions, all the great animated Disney movies have been set in such places.

Atlantis, though, has portions that take place in a real place at a specific date. It's this part that's so bad, not to mention a bit irresponsible. The characters use equipment that did not exist back then. This includes fearsome automatic rifles and other weapons. One character is shown with her hair full of plastic curlers, which were not invented until the 1950s. These are but a few examples, and no explanation is offered as to why so many things are in the wrong time period. The characters often use phrases that came into use much later. Even their goals in life are anachronistic. One girl's dream is to be a middleweight boxing champion. In 1914? I don't think so. Either no one thought research was necessary, or those who adhere to the policy of 'dumbing down' the audience felt that kids today can only relate to their time and space.

My point is this: I think it is perfectly okay to create fantasy entertainment for children, but, in doing so, the makers should stay within that realm. If they chose to venture into real times and place, they should not treat those areas as total fantasy also. How are children to know the difference between what is real and what isn't if adults don't show them? My advice? Let the kids watch Shrek or Beauty and the Beast or A Bug's Life again. They delight and educate kids without ever once straying out of their magical kingdoms.

Rating:
Summary: Very pretty, very entertaining
Review: This is, unsurprisingly, a very pretty movie. While the animation isn't on the scale of, say, "Final Fantasy," it's very good, and the colors the animators chose are really beautiful. There is some tremendous voice talent, including Michael J. Fox, James Garner, Don Novello, Claudia Christian, Jim Varney, John Mahoney, and Leonard Nimoy. The plot is a classic fairy tale plot, with the powers of good v. evil, a civilization in danger, and boy meets girl. It's predictable, but I didn't mind it being
predictable because we all knew how it was going to end, it was the getting there that was fun. There were no, repeat *no* musical numbers, which was a very pleasant surprise, and the submarine and fish-vehicles were great.

The moral of the picture is one I enjoyed, (which is always nice,) and most of the plot points are fairly well-explained. I loved the magical elements of the story, and Michael J. Fox does a superb job of portraying the somewhat blundering hero. Great film.

Rating:
Summary: What, No Singing?
Review: Now this is a Disney feature animated film for everyone! It's action-packed sequences keep you on the edge of your seat entertainment. *And* for the first time in a *long* time, Disney has decided to cut to the action and take out your cherry, little animated musical. Which I think is superb for Disney.

This film starts out with a bang. (Literally) And takes us back to when Atlantis was first born. It was terrorized by invaders from another world, and soon a gigantic tsunami aroses from the surface, chasing the Atlantians.

And then we meet young KIDA and her mother whom suddenly gets abucted by this ship and takes her up, leaving Kida all by herself.

Well, to make it short, I would have to say, great job Disney! If your into action-packed animated features, then *Atlantis: The Lost Empire* is the family film for you! No questions about it. What are you waiting for? Go out and grab you a copy. I know I did.

Also, the Collector's Edition is packed with special features on the film. Which is fascinating to watch if you love exploring the DVDs.

Michael J. Fox does a wonderful performance on the nerdy scientist, Milo Thatch who rediscovers the world of Atlantis. Along with many great others.

Like I said before, this Disney animated feature has *no* singing in it whatsoever. It's straight foreward action adventure and mysterious things to come for the whole family.

*Stop reading these reviews and grab ya a copy of Atlantis: The Lost Empire!!*

Rating:
Summary: Atlantis The Lost Empire
Review: I was one of those people who thought that Atlantis would [be bad], but due to my parents buying it and telling me to give it a chance, I actually liked it. The plot,the animation and the charactor development was excellent. One of the things that I like the most about this movie was that the charactors were cultrually diverse instead of the usual same race. This( in a way) gave the characters more of a personality than how they acted. Another thing that I really enjoyed was the Atlantean culture and how they gave us some insight on how they lived and came to be under the ocean. In my opinion the movie gets a 5 star rating. The DVD is another matter entirely. The special features include An Audio Commentary( With prducer Don Hahn and Directors Kirk Wise and Gary Trousdale)which i think is done very nicely, A deleted scene, a Fact or Fiction section(This is one of those things that you want to see once or twice),Virtual looks at Two Cg models, and a class(?) on how to speak Atlantean( This is taught by the man that developed the Atlantean language). The DVD has nice graphics and is very simple, which is an important feature. All in all the DVD gets a 4 1/2.

Rating:
Summary: Not exactly your typical Disney
Review: .... animated film. The animation is good -- everything you'd expect from a Disney production; but the story is a little diffuse and lacks the song titles which have given Disney animated films their charm. I also felt the plot was a little 'forced'.

In all truth, this is not a bad movie, just not as good as some of their other titles. For all the advertisement that preceeded the release (both theatrical and the DVD release) I guess I just expected more.

The DVD itself is clean and crisp and contains some bonus material -- something the earlier animated films lacked. Bonus material includes an audio commentary with the producer, deleted scenes, a virtual tour of the CG model of the sub 'Ulyses' and the leviathan, and a guide on how to speak 'Atantean' (useless but interesting).

All in all, one of the weaker titles but still worth a look.

** mildly recommended **
~P~

Rating:
Summary: Nice break from the Disney routine
Review: After seeing this in the theater, with very little hype from the studio, I decided to buy the Collector's Edition. The reason was that though this animated feature was not perfect it definitely rose above the Disney standard. There was an effort to write an ensemble cast, great design work from Mike Mignola (of the critically acclaimed comic, Hellboy) and no sappy music, or talking animals or any of that "I'm not worthy" drek that has saturated most animated film fare from the USA and particularly Disney Studios. A little more originality (come on, with the manga following in this country how did Disney really expect not to be criticized as copping the manga hit Nadia's story premise?) and less 'big finish' special effects and this could easily have rated 5 stars. This had a chance but relied too heavily on the studio feel to deliver Disney to the audience. On a side note Disney is better at delivering these cult classics than they are at making there hits feel sincere. The high point is the characterization and the steller voice casting. This was a treat. Michael J. Fox, Claudia Christiansen, John Mahoney, James Garner, Jim Varney, the whole cast was great! And there were some genuinely funny moments that have to be seen and heard. The feeling was that these were people living their lines not reading them.Final note: I cared for Milo and the crew and so did my family. I hope that the poor ticket sales do not discourage Disney from taking more chances like this one. We think it was a noble effort. I like the more traditional animation and that CGI Shrek had it's moments but as a whole was a disappointment. I came into Atlantis with no real expectations and I was pleasantly surprised. Upon another viewing I liked it even more.Wow! Atlantis, and The Emperor's New Groove! Two in a row that I really like from Disney. It just doesn't get any stranger.