Review: Atlantis

I was expecting to have my eyes dilated on friday during my visit to the optometrist, but fortunately, it wasn't to be. Dilated pupils couldn't save me from the wretchedness that was Tomb Raider, but the upside is I did get to see Atlantis, the latest Disney animated mega blockbuster (once again from the pair of directors that brought us Beauty and the Beast way back when). Keep reading to see my opinions, and then tell me I'm all wrong for having them, and that I should just shut up because I'm evil and dear god does this website suck now. Oh, the short review, I dug it. There might be minor spoilers, so if you wanna avoid them, flee now.

A new Disney Animated Feature is a happy day for me. I've filed in to see them all for so many years now. Even if they are wretched (Pocohantes anyone?) I'm there, usually opening night, hoping for the magic that I've found in so many of them (Fantasia, Bambi, The Little Mermaid). I love animation. I love eye candy. And so help me, I love a good 75 minute action/comedy animated by Disney, and written by the disney-borg-committee that panders to a lowest common denominator of blandness and PC blah. And this time I was surprised.

Atlantis is good. Not knock-your-socks-off good, but solidly entertaining. It has its shortcomings (more on that later) but at its core it is a solid adventure movie, with great visuals and a plot that keeps you wondering what's going to happen next. I found the characters weak for my tastes (but nothing compared to Suck Raider which I saw only hours before and simply wanted every character to die a painful death just as soon as possible).

Allright, the general plot. We've all heard of Atlantis right? Well Milo wants to find it. Of course his Grandpa was an archaeologist too. A master researcher in the field who's long left our hero. Milo lucks out by finding a wealthy old man who's going to back his search for the lost city because he owes the old man a favor. A crew of misfits is assembled, and they set out for the city. Of course they discover the city, have a few adventures, scuffle with the locals, an enemy is revealed from among them, and gigantic battles and sacrifices must be made to save Atlantis, and perhaps even the whole world.

Nothing hugely original. And neither are the characters. Milo is of course the geeky one. In this case Linguist and Cartographer voiced by Michael J Fox. He's fairly unoriginal, and while capably voiced, I can't help but having a problem with Fox. I keep expecting him to proclaim that if the submarine can only get up to 88 miles an hour, then they'll be able to save the professor. I know, its my fault.

The captain is voiced by James Garner, and his sexy (and uniquely designed for a disney character) assistant solier Claudia Christian for all you Bab 5 fans. We also have a cast of misfits including the bland, forgettable and obnoxious Mole obviously inserted to appeal to the brain dead. A crazy flourist turned bomb specialist who has most of the best funny lines. "Cookie" the cook is voiced by Jim 'Hey Vern' Varney in his last role unless there are Earnest movies in hell. And who are we kidding, there will be.

The major Atlantians are the predictable king type voiced not unsurprisingly my Leonard Nemoy, and Princess Kida, the Love Interest, voiced by Cree Summers (most familiar as the white chick on A Different World, but she's been doing voices for cartoons for awhile including Elmyra on Tiny Toons, and Penny on Inspector Gadget. Not the freaky looking broderick flick, the TV show. Doesn't that one take ya back?) who does a pretty darn solid job considering the part seemed sorta weak.

The story is fairly predictable, but never boring. The dialog is fairly sharp, all the voice work is respectable. Except when The Mole does anything the movie is entertaining.

Largely this is due to the excellent visuals throughout. From the submarine, to the first battle with a monstrous sea robot at the mouth of the cave that leads to Atlantis, right to the final battle between the Good Guys and The Bad Guys, each action sequence looks good. The computer effects are seamlessly integrated with the 2D hand drawn stuff. And even more scary is the amazing shots where the backgrounds are actually more or less fully 3D sets, but look convincingly 2D even as we rotate around them. The guys responsible for those shots deserve pats on the back.

Basically, what we have here is a finely crafted film. Skilled film makers have created a fun ride. Most surprisingly is that this one panders a lot less to children then, say, The Emperors New Groove. The kid jokes are there, but they're much more spaced out for a change, and instead, we get to enjoy a story.

I wish the characters were stronger. Most disney movies we get a few characters that hold their own, but I feel like none of the characters here are exceptional. They look good. They sound good. But they don't feel so good. If it wasn't for the fact that the plot is fun and doesn't take any breaks, we'd probably notice that they're fairly bland.

Anyway I recommend this one to anyone who likes Disney, Animation, or a decent Adventure story told with great visuals. It doesn't have the Magic of Beauty and the Beast, but then again, it never breaks out into a terrible song either. It's definitely a different direction for a Disney flick, but I think its worth the time.

Comments

Saw it today myself...

[Masem]

I really hope that this does well, if only to help tell Disney that animation need not be rated-G, contain 200 million songs, and have annoying but cutsy comic relief. The right use of animation will set up a world that is impractical to do with live action, but can come alive with animation. For example, some of the last few Dinsey films, such as Hunchback, Pocahontas, and Mulan, had mostly humans and realistic settings, and could have easily been done by live actors. On the other hand, you could not do Beauty and the Beast, Lion King, or Atlantis, without a major major special effects budget.

While I did not see Titan AE, I did see WB's "The Iron Giant", which takes the attitude and approach of this film one step further with a few more deeper insights (eg nuke war) without candy coating it. It got snubbed at the theaters, mostly due to poor advertizing by WB.

What I thought was most impressive here was that people did die from violent actions as well as a few 'monstrosities' as determined lately by Disney. For example, the communcations lady was smoking most of the time; Disney has taken some liberal edits in the past to cut out all references to smoking in some of their films from the 60s released to VHS today. Given the attitude of late of "won't someone think of the children!" this was a nice thing to see that they are facing up the realities of the genre.

The other thing that I liked was that there was humor, not forced, and in some cases rather subtle. It's not a laugh-riot throughout like "Emporer's New Groove", but it certainly helps to liven up some of the slower parts. And the humor is not just kiddie-stuff; there's some that will put a smile on adults' faces as well.

Overall, it's not a waste of $5-$8 (depending on when you see it), at least to see how Disney tackles 'serious animation'. However, because of Shrek's early appearence in the summer, I suspect this will barely break even (it doesn't have the repeat viewing for kids as Lion King did), and will probably have Disney revert back to the Song and Dance animation that people typically expect.

Re: Dear God does this website suck now

[heroine]

Not true. Lots of people agonize over whether the 7th bit in word 4 of the 5th start packet in is set to true or false and how it relates to the 's latest attempt to subvert individual freedom.

By the way. For a much more insightful review:

http://www.suntimes.com/output/ebert1/atlan15f.h tm l

Re:You asked for it

[toofast]

Indeed, Taco is a frustrated journalist / editorialist / Public Web Site Owner Trying To Please The Public.

Taco: you're doing a good job buddy. Keep 'em coming ... You don't suck, people do.

Not German, Italian!

[Gorimek]

I love the fact that this movie is politically correct. Yes, you have a german person (heavy accent, too) who looks basically like hitler and who loves blowing things up. But he's a florist.

Don't know it this makes it more or less politically correct, but demolition expert Vincenzo Santorini is Italian. From Palermo. The heavy accent is Italian, not German.

All too familiar

[nihilogos]

and then tell me I'm wrong for having them, and that I should just shut up because I'm evil and dear god does this website suck now

Ahhh yes. First come the dilated pupils, then come the paranoid delusions of persecution. This is a path I know well. Go with the feelings Taco - don't try to fight it.

Re:I'm a broken record

[Maurice]

It's even more EMBARRASSING that there is a double R in the word EMBARRASSING.

Ms. Cree Summer

[hrieke]

She's Native American - and has quite the voice over resume. http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Vine/4993/ It looks as if she's been doing this stuff forever...

Re:Tomb Raider represents a leap forward in gaming

[chowda]

I especially liked how I was so much more involved in the changing of clothes between levels!

Usually:
1) I finish a level.. .
2) screen goes dark...
3) lara has new clothes...

this version:
1) finish level...
2) DAMN <whistle/>!!!
3) lara has new clothes...

Tomb Raider

[chowda]

"I hated seeing the hottest woman in hollywood shoot guns and kill things... but this new disney cartoon rocks!" -CmdrTaco

Re:The Good News: Taco is a Poet

[flikx]

I thought that CmdrTaco reads the Filthy Critic.. he could at least pick up a few gems in there. He sounds like the local sour movie critic you expect in a city newspaper.

A good example from a reader of said site: "I saw this movie on an airplane, and despite the obvious danger, I almost walked out."

--

Um...Color Blind?

[swein515]

"...the Love Interest, voiced by Cree Summers (most familiar as the white chick on A Different World..." Hahah nice. Taco you're color blind, which is a noble thing, but hello, Cree Summer is African American. The "white chick" you are referring to is most certainly Marisa "Oscar Fluke" Tomei. Sheesh.

No Singing!

[NeuroManson]

That alone made it worth watching for me...

Roight! Stop that! Stop that singing!

A comment.

[3-State Bit]

I have a few comments to make.

1. I love the fact that this movie is politically correct. Yes, you have a german person (heavy accent, too) who looks basically like hitler and who loves blowing things up. But he's a florist.
   
2. Yes the african american (Note: this is the first african american human character drawn by disney, according to the society of disney haters ) is a hulking, large african who lifts the main character effortlessly up in his brawny arms and cracks his head to the side in chiropracty. But he's a doctor with a degree from a prestigious university.
   
3. The mechanic is a very young girl who was accepted into the role her father had wanted for a brother but was willing to give her when he got no son.
   
4. Spoiler (this subpoint only): The antagonist among them is a white, somewhat elderly, solid, dignified decorated general type Capitalist ("Don't call me a heartless fiend just because the only reason I braved all this difficult mission into the beautiful atlantis with you all was to loot it of its precious resources. Call me an adventure capitalist."), which is one of those lines I refer to in a later subpoint at which I expect some of the audience to laugh but none did. Anyway this characterization is : end spoiler
5. as opposed to such classics as The Lion king, where (think about this now...) the antagonist had patently homosexual mannerisms (watch the movie if you can't picture this now -- imagine the part where he's absently looking at his paw while issuing orders) and ALL of the hyenas were not only dark-skinned, but voiced by black voice talents (Whoopi Goldberg).
6. I agree with Taco that the mole character was hardly compelling. Most of the characterization in fact was pretty shallow. This is not one of those Disney movies where the script writers sneak in very Simpsons-esq subtle, funny humor. In the few places that they tried, it seemed out of place and the audience did not laugh, although it was large-part adult.
7. There is a larger amount of suspension of disbelief than the movie initially makes you aware of needing. If the movie had started out establishing a somewhat more fantastic atmosphere than it did, perhaps many of the later scenes would have been more enjoyable.
8. SHOULD YOU SEE IT? Definitely. It'll get a little childish places, after the first half of the movie I kind of fell back a step behind actively anticipating "what now, what'll happen", which is a terrible thing in this kind of eye-candy movie because if you're not paying attention actively you feel more like "yeah, okay. what happens now", but instead just get a slow panning for a long time. There was very little dialog throughout. And around the time where they cut out all subtitles, the dialog takes a steep dive toward the lowest common denominator (children). BUT the plot, no more the conceit in the circumstance generally that you must believe, is definitely rich enough to keep you thinking about it throughout the movie, and afterward also. The one thing missing was three minutes of silence as a character takes in the profundity of her new environment, or his. Rather, there is always very phantasmagoric 2001: type Awe-Inspiring music to go with the eye-candy, which of course doesn't help to get you into the character's shoes. See it. Enjoy it. Remember the plot and conceit. Forget the experience. For those of you who LOVED Castaway (as I did), and got to see it before the spoiler trailers were released, this movie will be somewhat of a disappointment. For those of you who like the dialog in a cartoon show like the old Teenaged Mutant Ninja Turtles, or in the Simpsons, this movie will be somewhat of a disappointment. For those of you who want to veg. out and follow a not-too-deep passage of eye-candy with awe-inspiring music, quirky, shallow characters, and a cute protagonist who doesn't quite happen to do anything, you will love this. It's easy to call this movie "dumb", though, so if there's no child in you (I'm looking at you General Slashdot Troll), don't go see it or pretend to have gone to see it just so you can tell us how dumb it was. It's pretty engrossing, but not wholly engrossing, and it does get a little..."nouveau cliche", let's say, or just uninspiring because it's mundane. There is eyecandy near the end that will make every grown man go "coooool".

Some questions about Taco's review: "And even more scary is the amazing shots where the backgrounds are actually more or less fully 3D sets, but look convincingly 2D even as we rotate around them. The guys responsible for those shots deserve pats on the back. "
Does he mean "more or less 2d but manage to LOOK convinciginly 3d?" Why would anyone want something to look convincingly 2d?
And secondly,
I found the characters weak for my tastes (but nothing compared to Suck Raider which I saw only hours before and simply wanted every character to die a painful death just as soon as possible).
I agree with you that the characters are weak, but how on Earth did you manage to come up with an off-topic phrase like "Suck Raider" just so you can include it in the sentence?? C'mon Taco. And "wanted every character to die a painful death just as soon as possible" is so unoriginal that the last time I laughed at that I fell off my stegosaurus.
And last, but not least, Taco, pal, I value your opinion, however evil you may be and dear god however much this website sucks now. C'mere you big lug.
~

Interesting Stuff

[Johnny Starrock]

Saw this over at Memepool:

http://www.newgrounds.com/frames.php?location=/lit /atlantis.html

(warning: pop-ups aplenty)

Climax, Characters, Era, PG

[SilentChris]

Saw it tonight. A few comments.

What I found unusual was that even though Roger Ebert said the ending had a "turning, brilliant climax" the ending itself was actually really weak. You pretty much know halfway through how it's going to end, and the movie doesn't really excite in that sense.

I thought some of the characters were more memorable than the actual plot, and the guy who blows stuff up is one of the funniest Disney characters in a long time. My favorite part is when he's describing his childhood: "My parents worked in a flower store. We had to make those little flowers people wore to proms. And they'd come in and say 'This doesn't match my dress!' But then, one day, I saw a gas explosion across the street. No more Chinese laundry. I had found my calling."

The time period (it's supposed to be 1920-30) also leads to a few weird instances. Not with the technology (which you can let go in a flick), but the montage of characters, who are suprisingly mixed for a "undersea crew" of the 1920's. There's a black doctor, and even a noticable female Spanish mechanic. Didn't know political correctness was ripe back then. :)

Finally, I was more than a little confused by the movie's rating: PG. I wracked my brain and couldn't think of any previous Disney feature cartoons that were rated anything other than G (I know a few of the live-action movies are automatically PG and above). What was really strange is that the violence was no worse than some previous Disney cartoons. Most villians die in their flicks (Oliver & Company had a car hit by a train, The Great Mouse Detective had the villian fall from Big Ben), but there wasn't one kid in the theater even remotely perturbed by the explosions (presumably with people in them). I remember more kids crying when Bambi died (which was rated G).

Overall, it's a pretty good flick. Definitely "matinee" material, but if you have kids you really can't go wrong (lines like: "I have the four basic food groups: Bacon, Grease, Whiskey, and Lard" are for the adults). Also, very much different than most Disney animated films (not a musical, only action) so catch the anime-like goodness while they're free to copy it. :)

The Good News: Taco is a Poet

[Zen Mastuh]

Dilated pupils couldn't save me from the wretchedness that was Tomb Raider

Such a brave metaphor for someone who is famous for flagrantly violating certain rules of spelling and construction. I think our Commander has been holding out on us, and will soon inundate us with such opulent metaphors as "this film sucked with the voracity, but not the skill, of Monica Lewinsky" or "rough winds do shake the darling buds of May". Everyone will soon be talking about "that guy who started slashdot".

Taco: You're a poet, though you don't know it.