Atlantis: The Lost Empire (June 15, 2001)

The most striking thing about this movie is its beautiful visuals. They are a great blend of CGI and 2D animation (while Dinosaur from the year prior is an example of the opposite!) Additionally, the soundtrack is perfect for the movie. The protagonist, Milo, is an amazing character. I love that he is a linguist and is able to use that unique knowledge to and contribute to the expedition in a meaningful way (I think linguistics should be given a bigger spotlight in more films!) The rest of the mercenary gang are also great. Kida, the main Atlantean, does not have much personality nor much usage outside of being a plot device, but her design and powers are really cool. Her relationship with milo is weird because she is thousands of years old but is pushed as a love interest. On the topic of Atlanteans I also wish they were more fleshed out as a people and we could have explored their world (both past and present) more because it is so interesting and vivid. The movie reaches the city of Atlantis over halfway through and it is mainly used as a set piece for the climax. It adds to the ambiance of the film without being distracting. Overall, Atlantis: The Lost Empire is a great adventure film with lively animation and a great cast of characters. Unfortunately, because this film did not do well at the box office it signaled the beginning of the end of Disney’s use of 2D animation while Treasure Planet was the final nail in the coffin. I wish Disney would bring it back because it is such a wonderful medium and this movie is a great example of how it can work seamlessly with CGI and other new animation methods.

Final Rating: 7/10