Disney’s 41st feature length animation – their first animated science fiction film – was released in a new film-going climate, one where their supremacy in the young target audience that had always been their financial bread and butter was being challenged. It went into general release in the States a month after DreamWorks’ Shrek and only five months before both the first of the Harry Potter films and Pixar’s hugely popular Monsters, Inc. were released. Suddenly there was far more product than ever before for parents to spend on keeping their children entertained and the “Disney renaissance” that had started with the release of The Little Mermaid (1989) and been consolidated by the runaway successes of Beauty and the Beast (1991), Aladdin (1992) and The Lion King (1994) had just about run its course. Disney were going to have to up their game to stay relevant.

What they came up with was a rollicking action-adventure film inspired by Jules Verne (particularly Vingt mille lieues sous les mers/Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea) which broke with tradition by being pitched at a slightly older audience and including no songs (other than a piece sung by Mya over the end credits) and no cute animal sidekicks. Unfortunately for Disney, they opened it on the same weekend that the live-action adaptation of the popular computer game Lara Croft  Tomb Raider was in cinemas and audiences opted for the more familiar brand over the harder to sell Atlantis.

A brief prologue sets up the back story: in 6,800 BC, a tsunami threatens the city of Atlantis. The Queen sacrificed herself, lifted into a floating crystal to form a protective dome over the city just before it disappears beneath the waves. In 1914, Milo Thatch (voiced by Michael J. Fox), is a Smithsonian Institution linguist obsessed with solving the mystery of the lost city. He meets Helga Sinclair (Claudia Christian) who in turns introduces him to eccentric millionaire Preston B. Whitmore (John Mahoney) who made a bet with Milo’s late grandfather Thaddeus to fund an expedition in search of the city. Giving Milo a book, The Shepherd’s Journal, which supposedly reveals its location, Whitmore invites him to join his expedition alongside Helga, Commander Rourke (James Garner), demolitions expert Vinny (Don Novello), geologist Molière (Corey Burton), medical officer Dr Sweet (Phil Morris), mechanic Audrey (Jacqueline Obradors), radio operator Mrs Packard (Florence Stanley) and chef Cookie (Jim Varney) among the crew of a huge whale-like submarine, the Ulysses. Most of the crew are lost when the submarine is destroyed by a mechanical leviathan that guards the entrance to Atlantis and the survivors are found by the still young Princess Kida (Cree Summer). She wants the surface-dwellers’ help to restore Atlantis to its former glory but unbeknownst to Milo, many of the crew have only come along in search of the riches supposed to be found in the city. Can Milo restore the city and keep its fortunes from the clutches of the greedy crew?

Atlantis  The Lost Empire (in the film, Atlantis seems to be just one big city, not an actual empire) isn’t a particularly big hitter when set against the other Disney feature length animations but it is a fun, solid adventure, mixing in bits and pieces from Voyage au centre de la Terre/Journey to the Centre of the Earth with a dash or  two of anime and some steampunk, mixing it all up with strong vocal performances and eye-catching designs from comic artist Mike Mignola of Hellboy fame. Directors Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise had already co-directed Beauty and the Beast and The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) so the film was in safe pairs of hands, but still managed to underperform to a degree that neither man directed for Disney again. Technically, it’s another triumph for Disney and in the final shot, a breath-taking reverse track away from Atlantis revealing the city in all its restored glory (the atypical use of full widescreen as opposed to Disney animation’s traditional 1.66:1 aspect ratio is fully justified here), the directors pulled off the trickiest single shot so far attempted by Disney.

Had it had the playing field to itself, Atlantis  The Lost Empire should have done a lot better. There’s little actually wrong with it and indeed some of it is as strong as anything that Disney had been doing over the previous decade or two – the submarine setting sale is a gorgeous CGI set-piece, the supporting characters are a pleasingly eccentric bunch, particularly Stanley’s scene-stealing turn as the sub’s cynical, chain-smoking old radio operator, and the directors give it the same serial-0like appeal as the Star Wars and Indiana Jones films. It has been suggested that the film may – just may – have been one of James Cameron’s seemingly endless inspirations for Avatar and they certainly share one thing in common – the look of Avatar had very frequently been similar to the works of artist Roger Dean and when the explorers here first glimpse Atlantis, it’s a shot highly reminiscent of Dean’s centre spread for the Yes 1972 album Close to the Edge.

It borrows from elsewhere too – the exhilarating climactic battle owes debts to The Matrix (1999) and various Star Wars instalments and Its magpie borrowings landed Disney in hot water when fans started to note the many points of similarity between Atlantis  The Lost Empire and the Japanese animated television series Fushigi no Umi no Nadia/Nadia  The Secret of Blue Water (1990-1991) and subsequent feature film spin-off. Producers Gainax were minded to sue Disney for plagiarism, but parent companies NHK and Toho ultimately decided against it.

Atlantis The Lost Empire
Close to the Edge

But for all its borrowings, acknowledged or otherwise, Atlantis  The Lost Empire is still a great deal of very stylish fun. Once the submarine sets sail, the action barely lets up, the characters are great, the design work admirable, the Atlantean language (created by Mark Okrand of Klingon fame) feels real and the climax, featuring hot-air balloons, flying fish craft that Stingray (1964-1965)’s WASP would have been proud to add to the fleet, an erupting volcano and giant protector robots rising from the sea betters anything that the Disney live-action unit had ever made.

And yet, it failed to click with audiences. Today, it has its army of devoted fans, but back in 2001 it was regarded as a box office disappointment and has always struggled to find favour with the critics. Its poor showing in cinemas put paid to Team Atlantis, a proposed television series follow up. The first three episodes had been scripted and were later combined into the underwhelming direct-to-DVD sequel, Atlantis  Milo’s Return (2003). The planned Atlantis ride at Disneyland wasn’t so lucky – the revival of the existing Submarine Voyage attraction went ahead but was rebranded Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage after the Pixar film performed far more impressively than the Disney.