Saturday, 26 November 2016

My Favourite Films - Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001)

I’ll never understand why the Disney animated films of the early 2000s continue to go unappreciated (And yes, all of them will be featured on this series eventually). Yes, Lilo & Stitch is considered a classic-as it deserves to be-but what about the others? The Emperor’s New Groove is still one of the funniest films Disney has produced-hell, one of the funniest films, period. Treasure Planet is a wildly creative movie with good characters and a strong moral. And the film we’ll be talking about today, Atlantis: The Lost Empire.

Why is that? Why is the last batch of traditionally animated films by the Big Mouse itself buried and forgotten? It’s not that they were all poorly received by critics at the time, if anything the reception on them ranged from mixed to okay. Even the box-office wasn’t really showing, in what world does a Disney animated movie not make money!? Especially seeing as they were still riding that Disney Renaissance era. After a long run of well received, box-office hits of their traditional fairy tale musicals, Disney were finally in a place financially stable enough to experiment, and let some of their biggest filmmakers tackle projects they were really passionate about. Treasure Planet was a passion project for Ron Clements and Jon Musker that they had wanted to do for years and only after making such hits as The Little Mermaid, Aladdin and Hercules were they finally allowed to do it. Emperor’s New Groove was supposed to be a traditional musical but they decided to go for a straight up slapstick comedy. And Atlantis was Disney’s attempt to make an Indiana Jones film-you know, before they ended up owning Indiana Jones-and was handed over to some of the best people in Disney’s pocket. They got the best directors, they got the best animators, they got the best voice talent, they got the best people in the industry to produce this film, heck, Disney was so confident they were already planning a spin-off TV Series and a theme park attraction. And despite all that effort, what did it end up with? Mediocre reviews from the critics and barely enough gross to break-even.

So do the critics have a point? Were audiences right? Is my love for this film mostly from a nostalgic point of view or is there something more valuable here? Well. Considering the title of this series is ‘My Favourite Films’ you probably already know the answer. But this isn’t just a case of nostalgia goggles making something seem better than it is, there is legit worth in this film and I want to explore it, I want to talk about how so many talented people came together to make a really-really good movie that deserves so much more attention. So, enough babbling, let’s get to it.

Atlantis: The Lost Empire was directed by Gary Trousdale & Kirk Wise and stars Michael J Fox, Cree Summer and a whole ensemble of people. The film follows the adventures of Milo Tatch, a cartographer who is drafted into an exploration to find the lost city of Atlantis. So let’s talk about those directors, do those names sound familiar? Trousdale & Wise were some of the most acclaimed directors at Disney at the time, also directing the highly-acclaimed Hunchback of Notre Dame, as well as Beauty & The Beast. You might have heard of it? The first animated film to be nominated for Best Picture? Often considered to be one of-if not-the greatest Disney films ever made? Yeah safe to say these guys were kind of well-respected at Disney, but they’re not the only talents on this film, when I say they got the best in the business, I mean they got the best in the business. The Production Designer was Mike Mignola, the creator and artist behind Hellboy, the music was composed by James Newton Howard, the first draft of the script was written by Joss Whedon, the Atlantean language was the product of Marc Okrand, the man behind Klingon. You could not ask for better people to be working on the film and boy did it pay off. But hey it’s one thing to say we’ve got a talented group, let’s actually talk about their work.

Mike Mignola’s work is of course fantastic, the man has a very distinct style in the realm of character designs, giving a lot of hard edges, lots of exaggerated features. Every character is distinct in their design and the look of Atlantis especially is beautiful, the culture, the technology, the people and it really helps make the films stand out amongst other Disney films. Lots of people complain-especially nowadays-that too many Disney characters look alike and considering that every Disney film is 3D animated these days, unfortunately that’s going to happen a lot more. This was still the time period where Disney was constantly trying new styles, it didn’t always work (Pocahontas) but at least they were trying, and it helped make all of their films stand out from one another, at least from an animation stand point, and this is just another one that falls under there.

James Newton Howard’s score is also incredible, it’s adventurous and upbeat when it needs to be, but what really stands out is the music for Atlantis itself. Everything here is so atmospheric and distinct, the use of choirs to create this spiritualistic sensation, making it seem larger than life, almost godly, it is really brilliantly done. Marc Okrand being brought on to create the language helps to flesh out the world of Atlantis and make everything seem a little bit more believable and consistent. The fact that they put so much effort into tiny little details like this really shows how hard people were working and how far they were willing to go in order to make a really good movie. Especially when it came to the culture of Atlantis, this was going to be the sticking point for a lot of people so they really saved their A-Game for that section of the film.

Moving on to my favourite part of the film, the characters, because of course those are always my favourite element to any film, this film has a wildly diverse cast, and I don’t just mean in terms of personalities-though there is plenty of that-I mean in the traditional sense. While big superhero blockbusters only seem to be able to give women and people of colour their own movies after 15 or so focusing on the white guys, this is a film filled with people of different race, nationalities, age and body types that you could practically have a UN meeting with them. Though yes the main character is still the archetypical straight white male, Milo himself is quite unconventional, he’s not a buff or traditionally handsome hero, he’s incredibly scrawny and awkward, but is the hero because of his intelligence and his bravery. Other members of the crew include Audrey: a Puerto Rican teenager who fills the role of head mechanic, who though being a tomboy never goes overboard into being stereotypical, she still has a soft side to her and is protective over Milo like he were her little brother (Even though he’s older). Sweet: A half-black, half-Native American doctor is incredibly energetic and lively, and considering this movie takes place in 1914 it’s highly unlikely he would be in the position he is but hey it’s an adventure movie, let’s just not bring that up. Vinny: An Italian demolition expert with a dead pan sense of humour who has a very interesting back story of owning a flower shop. Mole: A French Geologist, Cookie: A hillbilly cook and Bertha: an old chain-smoking radio operator, round up the eclectic gaggle of misfit crewmates who all come together for this adventure. A dysfunctional & diverse crew all going on a Fantasy adventure? Seriously it’s like this film was made specifically to tailor to me.

You might have noticed there’s one particular character that I didn’t mention and that’s because I wanted to save her for last: Kida, the Atlantean princess who discovers the crew, brings them to Atlantis and teaches them of their culture. Kida to me is one of the most underrated Disney characters of all time. Hell, it’s a wonder why she’s never featured amongst the Disney princesses. She’s a strong fighter with a kind heart, highly intelligent, acts as an actual Ambassador to her people and unlike most characters often featured in that line-up (Mulan, Belle, Cinderella) she actually is a princess! On top of that she’s also the first Disney princess of colour (So you can shut the hell up about Tiana) yet she constantly forgotten despite the fact she is breaking a lot of ground for a Disney character. She’s a three-dimensional character with plenty of admirable qualities and on top of that, her relationship with Milo is a very well developed one that plays out naturally over time, hell, they don’t even kiss at the end, they just get a hug.

While it’s not important for me that a film be diverse in order to say it’s good, it’s always a nice positive, especially when it’s done this well, no one draws attention to it in the context of the film, instead they let the characters be characters first and if it matters to the audience then they can focus on it in their own time. So if it does matter to you, and considering we live in an age where people are crying out for diversity in our cinemas then it probably does, this is a film that features more people of colour than it does white people, and that is for both the main ensemble, as well as the background characters.

I also respect how adult this film is, it was the last film Disney made where we would ever see characters smoke, but it’s more than that, we see characters bleed and even die. I know this might seem like an insignificant detail, but I always appreciate it when films take their audiences seriously, especially films aimed at children. Film should constantly challenge us and nowhere are we more challenged than as children, most films give us some new experience at the time because of our age, and I appreciated the film showing the violent aspects, it made it a more engaging and memorable experience. But it’s not overboard, it’s not trying to be edgy or controversial, it just shows enough to actually create tension and drama. Hell, the movie opens up with a mass genocide, and ends with one of the most brutal villain deaths I’ve seen in a Disney film.

Speaking of, let’s talk about them. Yeah, while overall I don’t think the criticism on this film is deserved, there are certain points of negativity that I just can’t ignore, mainly the antagonists. Not only are they the dullest characters in the film, but their motivations don’t make any sense. They just want money, I understand that, it’s the most simple and boring of all villain motivations, but why in the hell are they trying to kill Atlantis at the same time!? Hell, at the end of the movie the Atlanteans just give our heroes all of their gold, you would have been rich anyway! Why try and destroy a culture that has survived thousands of years just for a few dollars more!? I also have minor issues with how the exposition is handled, but nothing large enough to cause distain.

But to look the film as a whole? I think it is absolutely fantastic. Yes I’m sure some of my love does just come from childhood nostalgia, but I still think this film is brilliantly animated, has really unique and memorable characters, the culture of Atlantis is fleshed out, the storytelling is mature, and it really deserves to be remembered and praised more than it is. Unquestionably brilliant.

-Danny

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