Walt Disney Studios has a long track record of success. From the earliest ventures into 2D animation through present day, Disney has been known to push the boundaries of creativity and story telling. But in 2001, the release of Atlantis: The Lost Empire proved that Disney had to make a change. Not only was Atlantis: The Lost Empire a huge box office failure, it made Disney rethink their whole strategy moving forward.
#disney #atlantisthelostempire #nerdstalgic
SOURCES
www.polygon.com/animation-car...
y-cast-voices-theme-park-don-hahn-tab-murphy-memes
collider.com/disney-atlantis-...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlanti...
Cant believe this was a flop. I remember rewatching this movie so many times as a kid because it was so good!
It's absolutely underrated.
I owned the movie on VHS twice cause I watched the first one so much the video tape came out and I had to get a new then got it on DVD so yeah I was obsessed too 😂❤
Agreed! As an adult I still watch it every so often because it’s so good.
When you consider the nature of classics, they're often never appreciated in their time. You see it in film, tv shows, books. Some of our highly regarded pieces of art were not very successful when they released
Same
This and Treasure Planet were hugely underrated disney classics
Agreed.
Hunchback as well
I totally agree. Those two were so underappreciated
Both deserve the Pirates of the Caribbean treatment. Hell a mini-series with all the plot points they had to shave off for the OG film would be perfect D+ material.
YES! And Meet the Robinsons (since it's the best Disney film from their post-Renaissance era).
"lacking a creative spark in its heart"? Bruh. Although it's the tried and true adventure movie formula, Atlantis is one of the most creative pieces of animation I've ever seen. Sound design, vehicle design, pre WW2 industrial look to clash the sleek mother culture aesthetic of Atlantis, the more geometric and angular animation style derived from Mignola's work. I would say it's far from lacking a creative spark.
Atlantis is, as far as I'm concerned, a spiritual member of the Indiana Jones series, probably because of the point and click adventure game "I Diana Jones and the quest for atlantis". Milo Thatch could be a young Henry Jones senior.
I really disliked the angular style initially and still don't really see the appeal.
@@suarezguyok.
Another reason why Atlantis: The Lost Empire has failed very hard at the box office was because it was overshadowed by other summer blockbuster movies of 2001 such as The Mummy Returns, Shrek, Pearl Harbor, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, The Fast and the Furious, Cats and Dogs, Legally Blonde, Jurassic Park 3, Tim Burton’s Planet of the Apes, Rush Hour 2, and American Pie 2. This also happened to two other animated box office flops like Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within and Osmosis Jones which both were also released the same year.
Jeez what a line up of movies to release back then. Better days..
How did that one summer have so many movies that we're still talking about 20+ years later, and now we don't seem to get 2 movies in the same year that'll even be discussed next year?
Ooof, now you put it like that, indeed that's some EPIC competition!
@@SoybeanAKWe DID get 2 movies last year that they won't shut up about: Barbie and Oppenheimer. And if they'd been released in 2001, not only would one be a guaranteed flop, but it would've sparked outrage.
@@SoybeanAK likely cause they learned the lesson not to release so many competing movies at the same time like that. It's in their best interest to postpone a movie's release if there's to many high profile competitors at a given time.
Even though it didn’t make as much money, I don’t think it was a total loss. A lot of people (me included) remember the film and enjoyed it as a child. I really appreciated the way they did something different outside of musicals (I have never been a big fan of musicals)
I remember it, but remember not liking it. Sure the world of Atlantis was cool but none of the characters were that iconic imo. The Atlantians in particular were hard to relate to
I like musical, but not every movie needs a music and shows that are musical don’t need songs in every episodes (looking at Sofia The First). That’s why I like about My Little Pony: FIM. They don’t play a song in every episode.
@@lawrencetalbot8346 that is true. It’s not very iconic at all. I just enjoyed having a mystical but not super childish. I grew up playing tomb raider at 5 so I feel that played a part in why I liked Atlantis. It’s not my top 5 but i would watch it again
Yeah they dont think like u at all. They Defitnitley see it as a failure
@@lawrencetalbot8346 I believe Vinnie (bomb guy) is the most memorable of them all.
Absolutely loved the movie when I was a kid. Still do to this day. It was a Disney movie with guns and fighting lol, definitely not something they do all too often
From all the cash grab live-action remakes made by Disney This is the one that truly deserves a worthy treatment Done by Guillermo Del Toro
I agree with that.
I'm usually against live action remakes, but one made by Guillermo del Toro would blow all the other remakes out of the water.
Tom Holland as Milo with Richard dean Anderson as Rourke
And not to be a Disney movie but an indie Del Toro instead. Like Pinocchio, which was the best adaptation that outdone both the Disney attempts. That man has talent.
Unfortunetly they would only remake surefire hits which are guranteed to make money and not movies that flopped.
When Disney wants us to watch something, they'll smother us to death with marketing But when they don't want us to watch something, they'll won't even bother promoting it
When John Carter was released it was one of the most expensive films ever made. And they didn't even care if it succeeded, because they were too busy focusing on their new Marvel acquisition.
@@SoybeanAKJohn Carter was fun too! I was quite curious to see where the story would go next. Such an imaginative premise!
If the company didnt want us to watch it then they would just not produce it. I think it has more to do with the fact marketing is expensive as hell and the executives place bets on wich movies will sell the most toys.
Uh they marketed the HELL out of Atlantis. I even remember Melissa Joan Hart doing this widely publicized special dedicated to it. It was well known at the time. But you could tell it didn’t look good.
But what is the point of burying movies they spent so much money on.
One of the very few animated Disney movies that I would personally like to see a live action remake for. Underrated gem.
this and Treasure Planet
As I watched it in the theater I had the thought that this story would actually be BETTER in live action
I'm with you, so long as the avoid trying to "modernize" it like what happened to Jumanji
@bigwaffle3018 I liked Jumanji and the explanation that it's not meant to be evil, but help you grow as a person, since Alan was able to confront his fears about his dad. It went from "Well at least he got something good out of it" to "that was the entire point of it. Just sucks it took so long for the guy." And becoming a video game hooks in the next generation in-universe, instead of being a board game that the youth could view as being "boring"
@@lonestar2078 to clarify, I like the new movie and that it built on the lore of the game. What I didn’t like was the “playable characters” aspect, that just turned it into a completely separate movie from the original for me. And if I’m honest hurt the moral of the story for me. I think it would have been a lot more powerful if in the game instead of becoming a different person, then became a “better version of them selves”. Like in the real world them wear ordinary/not too flashy clothes, and in the Jumanji world, Hollywood-ify them (if that makes sense)
Nerdstalgic was brutal, this was not as bad of a movie as they claim it to be, I didn't even knew it was a flop. It's certainly one of those movies that were trap in the transition era between 2D and 3D, what a shame because it was a new facet that Disney could have explored for a pre-teen or teenager audience
Honestly I've seen a lot harsher criticisms of this movie 😢 this felt almost mild and balanced
@@omgmo1962 This is actually the first negative review I've ever seen on youtube. Too be fair, I don't go searching for any reviews of it, but all of the ones that I come across tend to be rather positive, with an emphasis on how the Disney Company didn't actively advertise it. Same with Treasure Planet.
@@dustinwashburn1283same here. I always hear good things about the film. People really seem to love everything they critiqued in this video and all of those 2D films have been embraced. I hear/read more good about Atlantis, Treasure Planet, Princess and the Frog, and the Emperor’s New Groove than all of the famous Disney Princess movies combined.
What made Atlantis so good was it didn't hold our hands as kids, it respected that we were emotionally intelligent enough to follow what was happening and the emotional toll it had on the characters. this is true for some other stories from my millennial childhood that built cult-classics: Treasure Planet, Batman the animated series, Gargoyles, teen titans, and more. I loves hearing the production, but one thing I thing this video got wrong was the movie was lessened by "decreasing the bodycount". The scene after the leviathan destroys the sub, Rourke calls out "Sound off, who's alive" then they have a vigil with the helmets carrying candles. This made the scene more about the 100 that survived, rather than about the 1000 that were lost. Also, "milo's return" would have been so much better as a show than movie. that explains a lot about how... episodic it felt.
The line is "Alright, who's not dead? Soundoff." Which is even cooler and I definitely don't know that because I rewatch this movie religiously 😆
@@acsmars And it's said after they fall down the shaft when fleeing the burning camp.
I still think the film was a good idea. There are several reasons why this film failed... I chalk most of it up to timing and what majority audiences wanted that year because I LOVE this film. What saves the paper-thin story is the INSPIRED casting and incredible voice performances everyone was able to give. Seriously, there's not a single weak link in the cast. I mean, they even got frickin' James Garner!! I think the adventureland movie could be fresh again for Disney, especially today. I mean, I cannot even remember the names of the last 5 films they've produced, that's how bland it has gotten.
Don't forget the awe inspiring visuals.
They also got *Leonard Nimoy*, the legend himself!
Yes, that too.@@denverarnold6210
Did they actually ask the kids who watched the movie. Everyone I know who grew up with this movie loved it. All flop movies seem to be according to the grown ups?
I always thought it was a good mirror to Dreamworks' El Dorado. To this day I still enjoy watching this movie and am absolutely astonished by the work they put on developing a cultural and linguistical background to Atlantis.
Both great movies
The Road to El Dorado and The Emperor's New Groove are pure masterpieces! Even tho both of them came out on my birth year, it was hard to remember if I seen those movies in my lifetime.
Loved El Dorado, thought Atlantis was, despite some good parts, really underwhelming.
Atlantis is actually really good. That post-Renaissance era of Disney Animation where we got this, Treasure Planet, Fantasia 2000, and Emperor’s New Groove (which people forget that in its time was a flop) is very overlooked. Some interesting and really cool stuff came out of it
Emperor's new groove did end up being a success in dvd sales, which is where its more positive reputation compared to the others derives
@@ryanwilliams8723 I know, that’s why I’m saying that people forget it flopped at first. Even I forgot this, especially since in the latter half of the decade they made that Disney Channel show that XD reran all the time in it’s early days
I love Mulan and Tarzan but didn't like Atlantis, I like sci fi but Atlantis and Treasure Planet were too weird even for me.
Atlantis and Treasure Planet also failed because of the American bias that animation, especially Disney animation, is for "kids". These movies were targeting the kids who grew up on Beauty and the Beast and Little Mermaid and Lion King and were now teenagers watching that Japanese anime stuff. But the teen target audience saw the commercials and thought, "Disney movie. It's for six-year-olds." and didn't go. The parents saw the commercials with explosions and lasers and thought, "this ain't no movie for six-year-olds." and the didn't take their kids. But neither of the movies are bad movies - and so, since, a lot of people have discovered them and liked them.
Atlantis The Lost Empire is a classic tho but not without its flaws. I still love it to this day.
Same
@@claymathewselevator8121 💯
@@claymathewselevator8121 👍
I'm curious what flaws did it have? I'm not saying it's a perfect movie but it was a very solid film. I never felt it dragged or had unnecessary scenes.
@@quinnmach535 It has one massive plot-hole, in that the Atlanteans (or at the very least the royal family) are incredibly long-lived, yet they somehow forgot about their own technology despite wearing it around their necks. It's like everyone forgetting how to turn-on a car twenty years into the apocalypse.
I think the moral of the story is: in order to attract an audience, you have to advertise for it. I only found out about Atlantis after its release on DVD and I watched it so many times, I could speak the lines along. Absolutely brilliant film!
Justice for Atlantis. I still love the others from the Golden Broadway Era, but it is still my fav Disney movie.
one of the movies i have a very strong nostalgical attachment to. i was like 12 when we got that on DVD and we didn't own many DVDs at all, so i must have watched it at least 20 times with my little sister. can still quote some parts in german.
"the moral If tale and character don't come first the story is bound for disaster". Tell that to the Minions movie
As others have stated, Atlantis: The Lost Empire is such an underrated movie.
Such shame that Atlantis it was one of my favorite Disney movie in 2000s calling a movie a disaster was real tragedy since it movie truly great in term of storytelling characters aesthetics and theme that is departure from typical Disney formats and this movie stood the test of time that deserves recognition acknowledgment success and acclaim it rightfully deserved
Sooo true. I love it.
I used to love the game on ps1 too
@@mikey-bz4it me too I played original PlayStation game of Atlantis I enjoyed game but never finished past ice level in my childhood
I can understand why it didn't do very well, considering Pixar was at the top of their game, and Shrek just came out around that time and became a huge success, but that doesn't mean Atlantis is a terrible film in the slightest.
Completely this in our family aswell when I was little
Sadly, the trend of studios interfering with creative works is still alive and failing. They still don't understand that character and story are the most important aspects to people.
Atlantis was actually one of my top 5 disney movies growing up. Kids sure connect to characters, but sometimes they don't want to cry at the movie prologue, we just want some swashbuckling adventure. I wonder how the movie score would've turned out if the kids who saw it reviewed it instead of their parents. Still one of my all time favorites and I for one would've loved to see Disney take on more serious less happy fantasy movies earlier.
Atlantis The Lost Empire? A classic. Awesome, witty, memorable characters. The fact that it did not have any musical sequences is something I didn't reflect on until now--- All the more reason why it surprises me that it was a flop!!! People just didn't know any better I guess?
Atlantis is one of those movies you watch once and never go back to again. It didn't really stand out among all the other big Disney classics. Not to mention 3D animation was becoming big. A good animated movie, but lacked memorable characters.
I watched this over a 100 times dude, it was the best Disney movie ever made and I watched every Disney movie hundreds of times on VHS as a kid, but this one was dark and people died in it which was super cool
Only ones it failed for is the Executives. The fans were eating good.
I loved this movie as a kid and I still love it now! I watched it so many times. I can’t believe it “flopped”. It was an interesting and beautiful concept
I don't care it was a flop, I freaken love this movie as a kid. It blew my mind away. To me, it was the greatest animated adventure movie ever.
It's too Woke that's why it flopped
@@suzygirl1843"Woke" wasn't yet considered a thing back then. 😂
It still IS the greatest animated adventure movie ever! Though I also like Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas, Treasure Planet and The Rescuers Down Under. Oddly, The Road to El Dorado should be right up my alley, but it never impressed me much...
I would rather Disney do live action remakes of their flops than their successful classics tbh
Atlantis, Treasure Planet and Titan A.E are the triumvirate of underrated animated movies.
Don Bluth ✔️
One of those movies that really highlights the fickle nature of audiences and trends. I loved it as a kid and remember it fondly along side Titan AE. But kids like me werent driving box offices, we werent spending the money, and without an immediate path to merchandising nor repeat viewing with parents in tow. It was a movie that you bought a single VHS and let the sitter wear it out.
I really think animated action films that weren’t afraid to have higher body counts while still being technically ok for more adventurous younger audiences need to make a comeback.
@@phantomkrieger2744 I agree.
Couldn't disagree more on this one - this short Era of Tarzan/Atlantis/Treasure Planet is STILL my favorite Disney lineup. These seem like the obvious candidates for this live action "remakes" they've been doing too.
Loved this movie as a kid. Character designs and the story were just so cool. Sad it failed commercially, but it’s a bright spot for me personally.
I can still remember that when Atlantis was in theaters, the marketing in our movie theater only had the the word, "Atlantis" in fancy blue font so my grandma, who had taken us to the movies, refused to let us watch it. She didn't believe it was a cartoon or made for kids 😅
I didn't see it until like 2014-ish, but I LOVED it immediately. The most underrated/underseen Disney movie ever.
I remember watching this movie for the first time. The nasty feeling that something was missing/lacking has pursuited me throughout entire film.
This is one of my favorite 2d animated film of Disney. I hope there will be a live-action remake of it, for this film, is one of the most beautiful film i ever seen.
Same
I loved this movie but do not trust Disney with a remake. I'm done with them sucking the energy out of originals and thinking a race swap will somehow fix something, somewhere.
No! They need to STOP making all these stupid remakes!
@@MrEnte3000 I'm sorry i didn't mean to upset you. It's just this film looks so great, and i just hope there will a live-action version of it. Cause this film looks so beautiful. P.S. I hope you will accept my apology.
@@ikarizadeh5032 Mate, you havent's said or done anything to me to apologize for, I just disagreed with you.
Petition to make the massive original script a Disney+ series.
Did your VHS copy include the alternate "Viking Prologue" where icelandic warriors were searching for Atlantis? I think it wasn't in all distributed versions. The movie may have been a flop but that prologue where characters spoke actual archaic Iceland was so cool and showed a sense of realistic, almost dark and gritty touch from Disney, which I found refreshing after so many lighthearted musicals.
Quick clarification: The Submarine Voyage is at Disneyland, which was the one Atlantis was meant to replaced. They went as far to put up teaser banners for a day. The 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea attraction, which was at Disney World in Florida, had already been closed since 1994 and the subs had been destroyed.
if one of my favorite childhood disney movies is considered a "flop" i cant even imagine what today's disney movies and series would be considered.
Atlantis is a very special to me. I saw it on home video as a kid and in my very firm opinion it holds up to this day. While I find the revelation of its hasty, crippled budget origin disappointing, I'm certainly not disillusioned. With the obvious exception of Helga, the characters are fleshed out and all of them are likable, unique or at the very least interesting in some way. I always found the adventure serials inspired art style refreshing, functional, and well...just cool. I loved the heightened stakes created by the Leviathan's attack on the submarine. I loved the constantly relevant theme of a proud people struggling against a world that's forgotten them and selfish forces that seek to exploit them. I loved each and every vocal performance especially Whitmore by the late, great John Mahoney. I wish Disney would create a live action reboot for under-appreciated gems such as this and Treasure Planet instead of what we've seen over the past decade.
The reason it failed was because of Dinosaur. It wasn't the hit Disney hoped for so they slashed the budget of Atlantis so they had to condense the originally planned 155 minute version by dropping the 2nd act, cutting a bigger final battle, and the reveal of the crystal being of alien origin. Then since Atlantis bombed Disney cancelled the planned tv series which would have had a crossover with Gargoyles!!!
Do a video on how Mel Brooks seamlessly breaks the 4th wall. Please.
considering a lot of people loved this movie as a child, I think the box office flop can be attributed more to parents not wanting to take their children to a more mature and violent Disney film rather than kids themselves disliking the movie.
I really liked this movie! I'm of the firm belief that characters should be what drive the story, so it had a good start by trying characters that had strong personalities for us to like. However, I do agree that the plot is a bit cluttered/complicated. I think that if they had maybe condensed some characters and tried to connect the plot closer to character development then it woulve done a bit better. Some better marketing mightve helped as well.
I always like to say "Great characters can save a weak story but a great story cannot save weak characters."
I liked the concept but found it too convoluted at times and too many characters to follow. If it had been a TV series initially and we grew to love the characters over the course of 65 episodes instead of 1 90 minute movie things might be different.
Just rewatched this recently and was floored by how good it was to me. In retrospect, the story was too advanced for my childhood liking.
I loved this movie and Milo's Return as a kid. I didn't know Mignola was involved though. That explains why I love the art style so much.
Disney keeps making live action remakes of classics we didn't ask for, but this and Treasure Planet deserves a second shot as a live action movie.
One of my personal disney favorites. Its unfortunate this and Treasure Planet both suffered losses and were never revisited or touched on again by Disney. Both fantastic adventure films with good heart.
I truly miss movies like this. Really feels like an animated film from an era long gone now.
I loved this film as a kid, it had a few TV reruns and this is how I learned of it, together with the Home Video ads on Dinosaur. Honestly, there are a lot of underrated Disney movies but some of the best are Atlantis, Emperor's New Groove, Brother Bear, and Dinosaur, they're early 2000s gems.
Same loved it as kid and adult
Honestly the backstory of the production fits well with the plot of the movie, because they're both stories about a ragtag group of people thrown together to achieve a goal.
As a kid I remember loving the first half spacing off in the second half. Finding the city was all the excitement to me, once they found the city I remember feeling disappointed.
The part about lacking a creative spark is just plain nonsense. It's one of the more creative movies Disney has put out. not to mention the sheer brilliance of the villain reveal (there's a whole video about why he's the best twist villain Disney has come up with). This movie is amazing, and I wish it had been longer. It's criminally underrated.
I can't watch these late 90's / early 2000's game/animation studio Behind-The-Scenes documentaries because I keep wondering where all those professional studio CRT monitors ended up after being used in the production, they're 1000-2500 dollars in good condition now.
It was an injustice tbh. I loved it
Honestly, the biggest problem with the movie is the length of it. I like the world space but everything in it is rushed and not properly done. They should’ve made the movie like 30 minutes longer. And I think that would’ve fixed a lot of the films pacing issues.
Boy I love your videos essays I never miss any of them, well some which subject I don’t care about but I watch 99% of them.
I LOVED this movie growing up, lost count how many times I’ve watched it, and have a lot of childhood memories with that videotape.📼 I can’t believe how it wasn’t successful, I thought they nailed the adventure aspect and the characters. Watched it a few months ago and the music still gives me goosebumps. Nostalgia though hey; it’s a powerful thing.
Disney was such a powerhouse during this era that even their less successful films are beloved by a certain audience.
I had Atlantis, The Iron Giant, and The Emperor's New Groove on repeat 24/7 as a kid
Whoever wrote the script for this episode really has no clue how amazing this movie is. Another case of nerdstalgic getting it wrong.
I love Atlantis! But it does feel like it's a bit too short. I feel like we need about an extra 30 minutes in there somewhere. Maybe exploring milo and Kida's relationship more or learning more about the culture.
Just showed this to my 12y/o son and he loved it. Hopefully a new generation can discover this film and recognize it for what is.
Milo was my hero when I was little. 15 years later, I am finishing my master's degree in linguistics, specializing in dead languages. In my eyes, Atlantis is perfect.
Atlantis was a disaster? I feel attacked. It was one of my favourite childhood films
I never knew this existed till a few years ago from tumblr. I remember going to Tomb Raider in the theaters but never heard about Atlantis.
Hearing about how atlantis and treasure planet is insane too me, everyone i know from back then knows them, honestly where im from they are iconic i remember everyone going too the theaters and matinées too watch it when it was in. Sad honestly
I really enjoyed "Atlantis" when it came out. Having seen it again as an adult I can see its flaws better, but I think it would have benefited greatly from being a bit longer to focus on the journey, add action, and given more time to focus on the characters (I think that's what most people remember fondly from the film). As well as being less kid-friendly. If anything, I think "Atlantis" was ahead of its time. Imagine if they'd been able to make it an episodic streaming series for young adults.
I was so hyped for this movie as an 8 year old. I learned the Atlantian alphabet, drew the layout of the Atlantian world, and thought the world-building, EPIC scale of adventure, and kick-ass score were amazing. I don't understand why more people didn't go to see this.
Thank you, I didn't know any of this. I actually Loved Atlantis for the same reason they though people would. It was more adult and wasn't a musical. I never knew it failed because me and the people around me loved it. Now I know why I didn't see more animated movies of this type until much later. Thanks again dude!
Atlantis may not be flawless, but it's still one of my favorite movies Disney has ever made. Vinny is the absolute best character.
Soooo true. Kida is my favorite character
"With that... I would have white wine, I think..."
@@FreshTillDeath56 "We've done a lot of things we're not proud of. Robbing graves, eh, plundering tombs, double parking. But, nobody got hurt. Well, maybe somebody got hurt, but....nobody we _KNEW"_
Love Vinny
@@FreshTillDeath56 "Hey Milo, do you have something sporty, like a tuna?" If I remember that is one of his lines.
I used to mix this up with Treasure Planet. I used to those two movies were in the same franchise/universe.
I remember seeing this when it came out. There were moments that stuck with me, like the Don Novello character being, well, Don Novello, but it otherwise seemed unfocussed and dull. This is a shame, because the concept was so cool.
The movie have major identity crisis, an attempt to appeal family with 7 years old all the way to teenagers.. ending up neither edgy or family friendly. Ironically, Fox Animation released Titan AE (aka Anastasia in space) suffers similar dilemma as Atlantis. Japanese Anime have better aim with their target audience, predominantly teenage demographic.
I remember seeing it in theaters and it was my favorite movie. I was around six and loooooved Atlantis and couldn't fathom why my friends weren't obsessed as well.
Bro I had such a crush on Kida when I first saw this movie,
I saw this movie fort the first time a couple of weeks ago and it really felt like a lot of changes had been made during development. The opening scene felt especially out of place by already spoiling and showing Atlantis.
Oh god please do a video on treasure planet, Disney all but buried that movie and it’s such a hidden gem
I remember going to see this in theatres with our neighbors as kids. Since we were the only ones in the theatre, they let us just run around switching seats the whole time. Thanks to the box office failure, we got a fun childhood memory lol
A lot of people at the time weren’t into the idea of a Disney animated film that was not musical. It’s not a perfect film but it’s still amazing and one of my favorites to this day. I really wish they‘d picked that one up for Live Action instead of remaking movies that don’t really work outside of 2D. Fun fact: the Shepherd‘s Diary and a lot of the Atlantis lore in the film is partially based on Plato‘s description of Atlantis and partially mixed with the wild ravings of Edgar Cayce and just pure fantasy.
I was young at the time, but saw it opening weekend, and remember it very fondly. And it introduced me to the steam-punk aestetic that I still enjoy today😊
I was definitely the target audience for this when it came out, and I loved the one-two punch of this and Treasure Planet. It was exciting to see more mature stories coming from Disney where there were no songs, the peril was real and people died. Sad that both movies didn't get enough love for Disney to pursue this direction further.
this movie should’ve been done with another studio. and it should’ve kept its more darker tones
I love this movie, which considering these directors also did Beauty and the Beast and The Hunchback of Notre Dame, I'm not at all suprised!
Looking back, I wonder if Atlantis conceptually would work better serialized, rather than a movie, something like Gargoyles or (more recently) Attack on Titan. An episodic format would give more opportunity for character interaction and development as well as diverse action set pieces, and play more into the exploration, adventure, and worldbuilding possibilities
If you’ve seen the TV-pilot “Atlantis II: Milo’s Return” direct-video, it’s amazing how likable other characters suddenly become-instead of disturbingly looney and unpleasant school-bullies-once the story actually gives them a coherent plot with something to DO. Oh, and a story that explains what the heck is going on in the climax.
I do think this is a good movie worthy of people watching it today. Unfortunately the lack of solid direction clearly took up production time that could have been used to flesh out other stuff. Couple this with budget cuts and being overshadowed at the cinema on release and i can see why it flopped.
I watched this as a kid and loved it!! Hoping for a live action remake 🤞🏼
Atlantis is the best Disney movie (with Treasure Planet as a close 2nd)!! Yes, I'm now 30 years old and was the direct demographic for both of the mentioned movies. I don't care that they were box office flops.. I'm still pissed that Disney killed off their 2D (2.5D) efforts after these films!!
They really should have focused more on the adventure side of it. The journey towards something is always more enticing than what the destination looks like in stories. All Atlantis had to be was a sunken city that was technologically advanced but vulnerable, there's like a king, the daughter and some people here or there and when Milo meets the King and his court, he finds out that the mercenaries are going to pillage the city and he has to stop them. Road to El Dorado for example, took place more in the city than the journey to it and it worked for the type of movie it was trying to be.
God this was one of my favorite movies as a kid! Same with Treasure Island and The Dark Cauldron
The fact that this movie was given more creative license than other disney films really shines through because there is occult knowledge baked in. Definitely their most esoteric film, next to the hunchback of notre dame, not surprised to hear the same team made em. Absolutely adore this movie and I'd probably subscribe to this channel if you were kinder to it. It may be my favourite disney movie.
Even without ever seeing it as a kid, watching it for the first time in college was a really good experience and I love this movie to this day because of that. Highly underrated to mainstream audiences
Had no idea this failed financially, I loved Atlantis as a kid and a lot of the humor and characters still hold up for adults. Easily one of the best Disney movies ever made.
As one of many who saw it in theaters multiple times much to the detriment of my parents and my friends parents I cant fathom why
I remembered watching the advertisement for this as a kid! It always seemed so cool BECAUSE it was a huge step away from the Renaissance style, instead being more futuristic while mythological. Despite it didn’t have any songs aside the end credits, even the soundtrack was pretty good! I always got an Indiana Jones vibe from this movie. I think of the largest reasons why it was a flop was because Shrek came out about the same time, and oh course adults were going to be more interested in the adult swim version of Disney fairytales smooshed into a hilarious movie with mild adult humor sprinkled throughout. Yes the movie does have some problems in the story itself, but I still hope it gets another chance. I mean, if Sleeping Beauty got another chance so should Atlantis, considering SB came dangerously close to bankrupting the studio because of how much of a disaster it was.