Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2011)
Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2011)
"A Disney film revolving around the lost city of Atlantis? How would anybody be interested in that?" That's exactly what Michael Eisner asked Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise approached him with an idea for an Atlantis film in 1997 after development on "Peter Pan" wrapped up. Eisner shot down the project before it had even begun and Atlantis stayed in the shelves. It wasn't until 2005 when Bob Iger took over Eisner's position when he greenlit the Atlantis project, however instead of traditional animation as originally planned, the film was animated in CGI. Because of Disney's troubled situation at the time, Atlantis took 6 years to make and wasn't completed until Halloween of 2011, but all the hard work put into the film eventually paid off.
In 6800BC, a huge tsunami attacks the ancient city of Atlantis, the royal family protects their daughter Princess Kida in a capsule and gets engulfed by the tsunami. A few millennia later in a cyberpunk 21st Century (Trousdale stated in an interview that the film takes place in the year 2080), archeologist Milo is intrigued with the lost empire of Atlantis, and discovers an ancient manuscript written by the emperor of Atlantis shortly before the tsunami. Gathering a crew of scientists, Milo sets off to rediscover the lost empire, bringing his close associate Judson along.
It took the crew one year, but eventually they found the lost empire of Atlantis, where Princess Kida's ageless body resides. Milo meets the princess and agrees to help her restore Atlantis. However, the two overhear a conversation between Judson and the crew. Judson wants to exploit Atlantis by destroying the ancient empire and selling its remains for a high price. Milo and Kida expose Judson but are thrown into a crate, leaving Judson to continue with his misdeeds. The crew members, feeling sorry for Milo, free him and turn on Judson. With the help of the spirits of Atlantis, Judson is defeated and killed by the spirit of the king and queen, leaving him to die in a replica of the tsunami which killed them both. Milo and the crew are granted access to Atlantis any time they want, and Kida allows Milo to keep the ancient manuscript he had found as a memo.
"Atlantis: The Lost Empire" premiered on November 1st 2011 and released nationwide on November 10th. The film became a huge box office success and broke records within the first week of release. Audience and critic reception was also positive, after two package films, audiences applauded Disney's grand return to classic storytelling and praised Wise and Trousdale's work on the film. Sadly, even though the film is credited for kickstarting the "Revival Era/ Second Renaissance Era", Disney itself would disregard the film and give all praise to the film set to release in 2013.
"Atlantis: The Lost Empire" was also known for one more thing: Don Bluth had no involvement with the film and left all work to Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise. Bluth would return for the film that followed Atlantis...
"A Disney film revolving around the lost city of Atlantis? How would anybody be interested in that?" That's exactly what Michael Eisner asked Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise approached him with an idea for an Atlantis film in 1997 after development on "Peter Pan" wrapped up. Eisner shot down the project before it had even begun and Atlantis stayed in the shelves. It wasn't until 2005 when Bob Iger took over Eisner's position when he greenlit the Atlantis project, however instead of traditional animation as originally planned, the film was animated in CGI. Because of Disney's troubled situation at the time, Atlantis took 6 years to make and wasn't completed until Halloween of 2011, but all the hard work put into the film eventually paid off.
In 6800BC, a huge tsunami attacks the ancient city of Atlantis, the royal family protects their daughter Princess Kida in a capsule and gets engulfed by the tsunami. A few millennia later in a cyberpunk 21st Century (Trousdale stated in an interview that the film takes place in the year 2080), archeologist Milo is intrigued with the lost empire of Atlantis, and discovers an ancient manuscript written by the emperor of Atlantis shortly before the tsunami. Gathering a crew of scientists, Milo sets off to rediscover the lost empire, bringing his close associate Judson along.
It took the crew one year, but eventually they found the lost empire of Atlantis, where Princess Kida's ageless body resides. Milo meets the princess and agrees to help her restore Atlantis. However, the two overhear a conversation between Judson and the crew. Judson wants to exploit Atlantis by destroying the ancient empire and selling its remains for a high price. Milo and Kida expose Judson but are thrown into a crate, leaving Judson to continue with his misdeeds. The crew members, feeling sorry for Milo, free him and turn on Judson. With the help of the spirits of Atlantis, Judson is defeated and killed by the spirit of the king and queen, leaving him to die in a replica of the tsunami which killed them both. Milo and the crew are granted access to Atlantis any time they want, and Kida allows Milo to keep the ancient manuscript he had found as a memo.
"Atlantis: The Lost Empire" premiered on November 1st 2011 and released nationwide on November 10th. The film became a huge box office success and broke records within the first week of release. Audience and critic reception was also positive, after two package films, audiences applauded Disney's grand return to classic storytelling and praised Wise and Trousdale's work on the film. Sadly, even though the film is credited for kickstarting the "Revival Era/ Second Renaissance Era", Disney itself would disregard the film and give all praise to the film set to release in 2013.
"Atlantis: The Lost Empire" was also known for one more thing: Don Bluth had no involvement with the film and left all work to Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise. Bluth would return for the film that followed Atlantis...
