After a drama whose visuals failed to grab me, I felt like seeing a fanciful animation. Alas, it's getting hard to think of promising ones I haven't seen yet. As usual for late-'90s or early-'00s Disney, this one underperformed a bit upon release but still gets mentioned positively in my circles now and then. Would I join the cult fandom?
In 1914, adorkable archaeologist Milo (Michael J. Fox) is disrespected even in scholarly circles for obsessing over the possibility of finding the legendary ruins of Atlantis. He finally gets a break when a rich man (John Mahoney) who knew Milo's grandfather finances an expedition, with Milo serving primarily to read instructions in an ancient language. To the entire party's surprise, Atlantis is still populated, and Milo grows pretty close to their princess, Kida (Cree Summer). But most of the explorers are in it just for wealth, and the less scrupulous among them, especially Commander Rourke (James Garner), are willing to steal the very crystal that allows Atlanteans to live in their air pocket space: the Heart of Atlantis.
To be clear, the Atlanteans are not amphibious superhumans like Aquaman or Namor. They're more like the Wakandans, an isolated human civilization that looks primitive on the surface but relies on a rare power source that puts them far above others. This power, partly encapsulated in shards on lanyards, allows them to heal rapidly -- and never age, judging from the fact that Kida is about 8,800 years old and seems 20 apart from her white hair. (Might I say, in terms of appearance alone, she may be the hottest Disney toon in my eyes.) I'm not sure whether the Heart also enables them to speak modern languages from elsewhere, but they do, with little attempt at in-story justification.
Yes, I kept thinking of comic book characters, because it has a bit of that aesthetic and writing style. With that in mind, be warned that it earns a PG rating more clearly than the next year's Lilo & Stitch, for moments of pretty intense action. Although we see few dead bodies, the death toll must be upwards of 100. And if you're looking for a cute animal companion, move along; even Milo's cat barely appears.
Not to say there isn't a fair bit of comic relief, provided primarily by more than half the named members of the expedition party. Milo's gawkiness is just the start. Vinny (Don Novello) is careless with his many explosives. Audrey (Jacqueline Obradors) is young and small but disarmingly tough. Dr. Sweet (Phil Morris) is an effective medic but with a somewhat obtrusive approach. Cookie (Jim Varney in his final role) is a hillbilly with terrible cuisine. Ms. Packard (Florence Stanley), the radio operator, seems constantly bored and dismissive. And Mole (Corey Burton) has such poor people skills you'd think he was raised by literal moles. Only Rourke and second-in-command Helga (Claudia Christian) are played straight, being the most villainous. Even they may strike you somewhat amusing in their ironic, satirical take on historically common archaeology practices.
A college friend of mine said that the movie could have been great if it weren't in such a hurry. While I wouldn't call the results rushed, I know what he means. Dialogue is frequently rapid, as if the makers just had to limit themselves to 96 minutes. We never dwell long on interesting aspects of Atlantis, such as how it differs from what it was like before the cataclysm that cut it off from the rest of the world. Supposedly, the still beautiful culture is just a shadow of its former glory. I have trouble believing that it's been fading consistently for millennia. Of course, it's rather silly for everyone to be still dressing the same way after all this time (and I thought the Star Wars galaxy was short on long-term progress). Perhaps the story would have worked better as a TV series or miniseries.
Then again, maybe not. When I think about it, the plot is awfully sparse, and the premises aren't exactly groundbreaking (sorry, Mole). It would take more creative writers to fill more than two hours without boring us.
A:TLE is fun enough that I'm not surprised it got a sequel before long. Neither am I surprised that the sequel bombed. Consider me a casual fan.
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