Rating: 
Summary: Disney's most mature work to date.
Review: "Atlantis: The Lost Empire" (2001)To be straight with you, I had known nothing of the Atlantis legend before I saw Disney's Atlantis: The Lost Empire, so I didn't know if this was really going to interest me. Surprisingly, I actually learnt a lot about the legend after coming out of this movie. I like a movie where I come out of the cinema knowing something I hadn't known before, and that is what Atlantis: The Lost Empire was like. I really loved this film as a result, and I think it's one of Disney's best works in ages. I was very surprised when I heard this movie was called only average by most critics. When I was watching this movie I was enthralled by the story and style. The way the movie pulled me deep into the story was not forced and cheesy, I was shocked at how naturally the movie moved along. It didn't need any songs or corny-as-hell lines to get Atlantis: The Lost Empire on a roll. Most of the critics these days are adults too, and I for one thought this certainly wasn't as much of a kid's movie as it was an adult's. This is more mature than The Land Before Time and Dinosaur, and more watchable and stunning than any amount of Pokemon's. Kids will still love it, but I think adults may appreciate the whole concept more than children. So I didn't see anything to dislike with the film, but I did see a lot to like and appreciate. I liked the way the characters were developed too. Milo Thatch is developed very early into the movie but there is one scene where the team has made their way to Atlantis and are camping and they tell each other about their history. I learnt about the rest of these animated treasures' past and personality quicker than you can snap your fingers, and I didn't forget about them either. I would've liked to know more about the funny dirt-loving Mole though. One of the characters mentions that Milo "wouldn't want to know" about Mole's past, but I expected the characters' history to come back and hit me in the face as a plot twist later. It never did, and that was disappointing. The animation in the movie is outstanding. The opening sequence where Atlantis is pulled into the waves is breathtaking. The accuracy and design of the animation and computer generated effects is literally stunning and had me very excited. There could've been more detail in the characters' face, but the main zoom-outs and action sequences were amazing animation-wise. Speaking of action sequences, did I happen to mention Atlantis: The Lost Empire has some of the most exciting and involving action set-pieces ever designed and made for an animated film. The final battle is particularly one to cherish, it is tense, imaginative and very well constructed. Only not knowing about Mole's history and one slight detail in animation problem really stop Atlantis: The Lost Empire from being a masterpiece of animation cinema. It does come very close, because the voicing is perfect, the movie looks great, it has an excellent story and overall it's a whole heap of fun, but it had those slight problems that I couldn't quite ignore. Never the less, Atlantis: The Lost Empire is a fabulous, memorable, witty, intelligent and involving must-see film for 2001. MY GRADE: A-
Rating: 
Summary: Nice departure for Disney
Review: ...Hello, this is just a piece of entertainment! Get over the flaws!" Also its a cartoon, not a documentury.
That said, I enjoyed this movie, and was ENTERTAINED. It was fun and had a good story. Something I could watch with my 7 yr old daughter and not get bored my self. The animation was very skillfuly done as always with Disney. The music was also very good. On par with say "Gladiator". I was glad to see a Disney cartoon get away from the cutsy kuddly animals and song and dance numbers (not that I don't enjoy that) and try something new. The DVD was full of extras. If you like fun and enjoy adventure you'll enjoy this. If your a black hearted person who hates puppies and picks apart cartoons skip this one.
I had to take one star back, because I thought they got rid of the big sub too soon. Should have had a few more min tuoring the sub.
Rating:
Summary: wonderful
Review: I really enjoyed Atlantis. Most scenes were hysterical and many took me by surprize. This is definitely a keeper for Disney cartoon lovers!
Rating: 
Summary: No story, no sense, no fun.
Review: Here's a Disney cartoon that is so careless about self-consistency, so heedless of logic and common sense, and offends the viewer's intellect and sensibility so constantly, that after watching you will be either very disappointed or very confused. The good first: "Atlantis" is both pretty and funny. Not spectacular by any means, but it has its moments. Almost every one was featured in a commercial ("Look: I made a bridge!"), but you can expect a pretty picture and a chuckle now and then. The characters are wild exaggerations, memorable and amply humorous. The rest, however, fares much worse. The story - a feeble distillation of the themes of Arthur Conan Doyle's classic "The Lost World" through the artless violence and brooding tone of Fox's "Titan A.E." - is extremely vague and evasive when it comes to the telling. The film clings resolutely to the most brain-dead, auto-pilot cliches there are: a bumbling genius no one believes, scheming military, ancient technology, exotic yet noble natives... I got confused just trying to remember whether I was watching "Atlantis" or "Stargate". The perspective darts from place to place. The image is often dark, or obscured, or distant, or in motion; the viewer constantly strains for a better look. The action scenes are strangely bowdlerized. Think James Cameron's "Abyss" edited for children. You see a pilot, then you see his vehicle explode, but you aren't allowed to make the connection. "Atlantis" does not even try to make sense. You will frequently see characters defy the laws of physics and logical, sane storytelling. As a sort of caveat, below is an abbreviated list of questions that popped into my head while watching. Let's see: Atlantis exists underwater... in a cave? In an air pocket? Why is there blue sky with clouds above it? If there is a river of lava and a waterfall in Atlantis, shouldn't it be continually bathed in scalding steam? How do you suspend a weight from one chain, when four have already snapped? When attacking a dirigible while riding a mechanical laser-beam-spewing fish, why hack at the balloon with a bone saw? Why not just shoot it? Why, for that matter, does a hot-air balloon burn? How did Rourke hide his death troopers (and their machine guns and motor gliders) on the lifeboats with no one noticing? How did the Atlanteans lose all their advanced technology if it's all still right there, and they're immortal? Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. Thus, to reiterate: it is impossible to watch "Atlantis" without laughing at all the wrong moments, except as a lights show.
Rating: 
Summary: Skillfully made, but doesn't quite work (great DVD edition!)
Review: Milo, a mild-mannered linguist, is recruited by a reclusive billionaire to participate on a quest to find the lost continent of Atlantis. Joining him on the trek are a motley assortment of colourful characters, and together they battle subterrainian monsters and eventually find the lost continent. However, not all the characters have noble motivations..... This film was meant to be a departure from the standard song-and-dance musicals that we are used to from Disney; instead, Atlantis offers up a Japanimation vision and an action-packed thrill ride that never quite comes together. The film is visually fantastic, seamlessly blending traditional 2-D hand-drawn main characters with 3-D computer-generated vehicles and landscapes. For any given scene, you can't tell the difference, showing the skill of the animators (and the directors for getting everyone on the same page). In addition, the sound and score are flawless. Unfortunately, the story and characters don't quite live up to the visuals and sound. The secondary characters get equal screen time, and Milo never develops a comraderie with most of them. This becomes glaringly obvious when it comes time to choose up sides for the confrontation between the noble explorers and the greedy plunderers. The motivation of the characters seems driven by the plot instead of vice versa. This Special 2-DVD Edition has everything you could ever want to know. There are numerous little documentaries covering all aspects of the filming. The most interesting are those covering the voice actors (it's always interesting to see the real faces behind the voices). In addition, there are some cut scenes (most of which are crudely drawn and never finished) and over 1000 (!) storyboards and concept drawings covering all aspects of the development of the film. There is a directors' commentary voiced-over the film iteself, along with cut-aways showing development aspects that blend into the film. That the extras on disc 2 rarely duplicate the extras spliced into the directors' commentary is a testament to the care with which this DVD edition was put together. Thus, although the film is a treat to watch and listen to, I found it a little contrived and it never quite worked for me. As a child, I never liked musical numbers in animated films, but Atlantis seems to be missing its soul because of the lack of songs. This Special Edition DVD is better than the film deserves, I think, and anyone interested in the creative process behind making a Disney animated feature will find a lot in the extra features.
Rating:
Summary: Great Disney Movie!
Review: I just bought this DVD and the sound on it is great for surround sound systems. I liked the cast of charachters on the movie. My family, ranging in ages from 4 to 35 watched it together on a recent holiday. The younger kids (4 year old) did not seem to be that thrilled with it. But the older kids (6 on up) appeared to be "into it" and watched it from beginning to end. It is basically about the search for Atlantis with a linguist specialist named Milo Thatch (Michael J. Fox) teaming up with a group of "explorers" to find it. Of course, there is a conflict between the true scientists and the people that are just in it for the money...the demise of Atlantis and it's power source hinges on the expedition. The bonus material on the DVD includes the story of the Vikings that would prelude this movie's time period. Overall, worth the price and having in my collection of Disney movies.
Rating:
Summary: A few words in Disney's (and Atlantis's) defense
Review: First of all, in response to the editorialized review above, the reason why Princess Kida did not know how to read her language is because she was only a TODDLER when Atlantis sank. I can remember bits and pieces from when I was a little girl, such as trips my family took or random little incidents here and there, but come on! Unless you're a child prodigy, you don't read at age four! Second, the crew didn't know that Atlanteans lived for centuries BEFORE they found Atlantis because (duh) incredibly little is known today about the society itself, or whether or not it even exists. They obviously LEARNED about it seiing as the king is 20,000 years old and still kicking! Sigh. Lastly, PLEASE get off Atlantis for stealing Nadia. I'd never even HEARD of Nadia until this whole stupid controversy came up, and several magazine investigations proved that the Disney animators and production team hadn't, either. I'm not going to say that Atlantis is perfect. Goodness knows that the animation, for the most part, was a disgrace to the Disney name, with the squared edges and all. And of course it borrows bits and pieces from other things, but it is physically impossible not to have ANY similarities with other movies. You could just as easily accuse them of stealing The Road to El Dorado (ehich is probably more plausible because it is more recent and more well-publicized than Nadia) or Star Trek! I guess what I'm saying is, take those reviews with a grain of salt. If you like sci-fi/fantasy or you like animation, then see Atlantis. I didn't think I'd like it, but it's now my favorite movie, so don't let rumors discourage you from seeing what is in itself A GOOD MOVIE.
Rating:
Summary: REALLY COOL MOVIE!!!!!!!!
Review: I thought this movie was really good! (my BFF thinks so to) Alot of people think that this movie wasn't any good. But it's SO much better that fuzzy bunnys or gargoils breaking in to song and dance every 5 minutes. The reason (in my and Lauren's oppion) that no one can read Atlantean is that this was part of the curse to destroy the city. (rember Princess Kida's conversation with Milo?) and the people can live for so long because of the crystal. I don't see why people say the movie is no good. It was funny and exciting. It's my favorite movie (even over Harry Potter which could have been better) Watch it, it is REALLY good.
Rating:
Summary: Great Entertainment
Review: What I enjoyed more than the storyline and the action scenes was the design look of the film. It was quite unique. The artist did a fantastic job on the actual city of Atlantis.
THe film is innovative and imaginative. Great entertainment.
Rating:
Summary: Disney's Best Yet!
Review: Far from the land of Agrabah, or the Enchanted Forest, lies the city of Atlantis. This voyage under the sea proved to be even better than first expected. The humor is well woven throughout the film, as well as several action sequences that will make hold your breath. This movie is a delight for young and old alike, although, true to Disney's fashion of late, the are a few jokes that are aimed for older viewers. I had bought this movie without ever seeing it, and was not disappointed. The artwork Disney puts out has never looked better, with seamless combinations of hand drawn and computer graphics. Disney fans will love this movie, and evn those who aren't should pick it up anyway.
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