REVIEW: 'ATLANTIS: THE LOST EMPIRE'
Atlantis: The Lost Empire
Rated: PG (action violence)
Starring: Michael J. Fox, James Garner, Claudia Christian, Jim Varney, Leonard Nimoy, John Mahoney>
Directed by: Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise
Written by: Tab Murphy
Distributed by: Walt Disney Pictures
Release Date: June 15, 2001
GateWorld Grade: B+
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In 1994, Dr. Daniel Jackson decoded an ancient language and unlocked the secrets of the Stargate, sending him and a military unit across the universe to a lost colony of humans. And in 2001, he did it again -- decoding the ancient Atlantean language to launch a quest to find the lost continent of Atlantis.
No, wait -- this isn't "Stargate II: The Wrath of Ra." It's Disney's "Atlantis: The Lost Empire," an animated adventure that has a story and visual look that bears conspicuous resemblance to the original "Stargate" film!
"Atlantis," though, is a film in it's own right, and certainly not a cheap knock-off of the movie that launched Stargate SG-1. Michael J. Fox (Spin City, "Back to the Future") stars as the voice of Milo Thatch, a brainy young archaeologist and linguist with some crazy ideas about the mythical lost city of Atlantis. His parents died when he was a child, and he was raised by his grandfather -- also an archaeologist in pursuit of Atlantis, but now deceased.
When the suits at Thatch's museum demonstrate their unending closed-mindedness, Thatch finds himself out of a job -- and with no resources left to pursue his life-long dream. Enter a mysterious stranger: Catherine Langford, voiced by John Mahoney (Martin Crane on Frasier). Wait, that's the wrong movie. Mahoney voices the wealthy and eccentric Preston Whitmore, an old friend of Thatch's grandfather, who finances the vast expedition beneath the surface of the ocean.
 Led by Commander Rourke (James Garner, of The Rockford Files and "Maverick"), a talented crew takes an advanced submarine in search of Atlantis. Guess what? They find it. And guess what? Milo falls in love with the king's beautiful and exotic daughter, Sha're. No, wait -- her name is Kida. (Good thing he can figure out how to speak her language -- and good thing that all the Atlanteans are also linguists, and speak fluent English.)
The adventure to Atlantis bears great resemblance to the first trip through the Stargate to the planet Abydos -- the greatest difference being the lack of a nasty alien posing as a god on the other side. But despite the similarities, "Atlantis" stands alone as one of Disney's most entertaining animated films of the last decade.
It's certainly very different from the studio's last several outings. The style is at times reminicient of classic films like the animated "101 Dalmations." The art direction smacks more of Fox's failed "Titan A.E." and the more successful "Anastasia," giving the human characters a harder, more realistic edge -- and leaving out the cute, fuzzy animals. This stands in sharp contrast to the last decade or so of Disney-animated humans, from Aladdin to Belle to Hercules.
 There's an improvement for Disney: "Atlantis" finally breaks out of the cute, talking animal sidekick mold. Although the team's digging expert "Mole" comes close, he's really just a soot-covered Frenchman. He may be responsible for the movie's obligatory burp joke, but at least he doesn't sing and dance.
The blend of cell and computer animation is seamless -- which is more than can be said for just about every other film to date that has tried to mix the two. In this technical area, "Atlantis" does stand out from the crowd.
What's not to like? The storyline is entertaining, but won't be breaking any new creative ground. The screenplay is sufficient to propel the plot, though much of the dialogue is a little too "realistic" for a fantasy film.
And although the cast of characters are unique and interesting, there's just too many of them for a story this small. Each supporting character is relegated to three or four good lines of dialogue, rendering any sense of character development wishful thinking. Any redemption that this band of misfits find at the end is unmoving, simply because we haven't had a chance to get to know who they are or where their priorities lie.
 And is this what Dr. Jackson would look like if he were animated? Rumor has it that Milo Thatch was in fact based on Marc Okrand, who created the Atlantean language for the film (he also is famous as the developer of Klingonese for "Star Trek").
Despite some intense action sequences, a big, scary mechanical lobster and a villian who -- as expected -- turns into something inhuman (rather than just being villianous in his character), "Atlantis" is a good family film. Take your kids to it, if they're old enough to handle a few minutes of fight-and-flight. Offensive language, suggestive jokes and the like are entirely absent.
"Stargate: The Animated Film" this isn't -- but it sure is a lot of fun. For those whose imaginations were captured by the wonder-filled adventure of Dr. Jackson, "Atlantis" will play to the same parts of the brain.
The film is, at the end of the day, a classic Disney movie -- in look, in feel, in form (though with current-day sensibilities about violence in kids' films). Though it does nothing to push the envelope in story, in characters or in acting, at least it is true to the studio's jewel-crowned history.
Can an "Atlantis: LE-1" television series be far behind?
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