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Disney catch of the day
[Photos: Walt Disney Pictures]
A giant mechanical crustaceanlike creature guards the entry to Atlantis and battles with escape pods from the submarine Ulysses. |
By STEVE PERSALL
© St. Petersburg Times,
published June 14, 2001
Gone are the hummable tunes and comic sidekicks. Atlantis succeeds instead with sophisticated animation and an action-filled plot.
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Judging the effectiveness of any animated film comes down to two simple questions: Would audiences want to see this story told with live action? And, would live action tell the story better?
The first answer should always be yes. Good plotting and characters aren't exclusive to either format. Even an all-animal tale such as Bambi can be performed with real wildlife in Hollywood's post-Babe era.
The meek Milo Thatch, with the voice of Michael J. Fox, leads an expedition to Atlantis: The Lost Empire.
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The second answer is trickier. Can Bambi be improved with live deer and rabbits digitally lip-synching and obeying trainer commands? Not likely. Animation shouldn't be simply a gimmick, but a means of conveying fantasies too elaborate or expensive for live-action filmmakers to manage. Its chief purpose is to show us things that can't exist.
Would live action tell the story better than animation? That reply should always be no.
Atlantis: The Lost Empire gets it right on both counts. The plot is one of those gunpowder pipe dreams that live-action directors attempt all the time, and the result usually looks phony. Even with a bottomless bank account, it's improbable that Michael Bay or Renny Harlin could match the imagination and execution of Disney's animation crew.
This whale of a tale occurs in 1914, focused on meek linguist Milo Thatch (voice of Michael J. Fox), whose grandfather died before proving his theory that the sunken city of Atlantis survives. Milo locates a map, gets financial backing and assembles a crew.
Leading the mission is square-jawed Cmdr. Roarke (James Garner). His ship is a structural cousin to Capt. Nemo's Nautilus, an iron leviathan enjoying the best single shot in the film, sinking from sunlit surface into watery darkness, leaving nothing behind but bubbles. James Newton Howard's musical score is full of crescendos; that majestic image deserves one.
The crew is a culturally mixed bag: Vinny (Don Novello) is the Italian chain-smoking demolition expert. Mole (Corey Burton) is a French excavator obsessed with dirt, Audrey (Jacqueline Obradors) is a Hispanic mechanic, Dr. Sweet (Phil Harris) is an African-American physician, and Helga (Claudia Christian) is Roarke's German assistant.
Several close calls later -- the giant lobster is cool -- the crew discovers Atlantis and Milo uncovers deception. Someone wants to use the expedition for personal gain, even if it means genocide. Meanwhile, Milo is growing fond of Atlantean culture, especially Princess Kida (Cree Summer), daughter of King Nedakh (Leonard Nimoy). Tempers flare, then things blow up.
Atlantis: The Lost Empire sets an erratic pace, exciting when warriors zip around on seafood sleds and dull when people talk about their pasts. The opening catastrophe that sinks Atlantis arouses before the Washington, D.C., scenes grind the action to a halt. A thrilling climactic idea inspired by Japanese anime legend is blunted by cutting away to a typical death-grip fight.
At times, directors Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise seem more dedicated to imitating live-action adventures than improving them. Nothing fatal, but flawed nonetheless.
With live action, this movie might be Waterworld or, at best, an update of Disney's own 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. No ideas are original, yet the way they're expressed is always interesting.
Disney isn't writing a new chapter in animation with Atlantis: The Lost Empire, just polishing a few notes. The roller-coaster camera moves and 3-D illusions that made Tarzan visually exciting seem more assured. The maturation of Disney's story choices that got too serious with The Hunchback of Notre Dame is tempered. The silliness of Hercules is more focused.
Yet, the Mouse House is still tinkering. No musical numbers this time, no cuddly creatures. The violence factor is increased to PG levels of gunfire. Even comic relief sidekicks play it fairly straight. The most noticeable advances are the film's diverse characterizations, with an intelligent, complex background for Dr. Sweet and no nonsense for Audrey. Almost makes you overlook the cheap shots at French hygiene and German ruthlessness.
It will be interesting to see how the public reacts to Atlantis: The Lost Empire. The Disney publicity machine guarantees a healthy opening weekend, but that success may not last. This movie is essentially aimed at the same male teen audience that failed to make Titan A.E. successful. Can an animated movie survive without plush toys and pop songs? That's a good question.
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Movie review
Atlantis: The Lost Empire
- Grade: B+
- Directors: Gary Trousdale, Kirk Wise
- Cast: Voices of Michael J. Fox, James Garner, Don Novello, Phil Morris, Claudia Christian, Leonard Nimoy, Jim Varney, John Mahoney, Jacqueline Obradors
- Screenplay: Tab Murphy, Joss Whedon
- Rating: PG; violence, mild profanity
- Running time: 93 min.
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