After finding an ancient text, a young scholar of the early 1900s is chosen to lead an expedition to find the mythical city of Atlantis.
Members of Disney's animation division sought to make an adventure film partially inspired by the works of writer Jules Verne (20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, Journey To The Center Of The Earth). The setting of Atlantis was chosen, with details about its makeup drawn from sources as varied as the writings of Greek philosopher Plato as well as the visions of famous psychic Edgar Cayce. This was to be the studio's first animated film with a science fiction story.
Research for the architecture and design of the ancient city included the animation team visiting New Mexico's extensive Carlsbad Caverns, and taking ideas from cultures all over the world including Mayan, Cambodian, and Tibetan. A new language was created for the film with its own alphabet and grammar. Buffy The Vampire Slayer writer Joss Whedon began work on the story, eventually completed by one of the project's leaders Tab Murphy, and running far longer than the typical Disney script.
Directors Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, coming off the successes of Beauty And The Beast and The Hunchback Of Notre Dame, made a decision to have no songs in the film, departing from the blueprint for the "Disney Renaissance" beginning in 1989 with The Little Mermaid. What was kept of the formula was a cast of eclectic, cartoonish characters from different backgrounds and ethnicities. The voice actors include Michael J. Fox, Leonard Nimoy, Jim Varney (from the "Ernest" films), James Garner, Phil Morris (Seinfeld's Jackie Chiles), and John Mahoney.
Separate animation teams in Burbank, Orlando, and Paris worked on the film. Another major departure from the norm was shooting the film in 70mm anamorphic format, to produce the widest screen framing, which required overhauls of the standard-format setup found on Disney's animation desks. Influences on the use of the 70mm format in terms of composition came from directors David Lean (Lawrence Of Arabia) and Akira Kurosawa (The Seven Samurai).
Another fresh approach came from Hellboy comic creator Mike Mignola, who worked on the design team. Mignola's trademark angular style of characters stood apart from the recognizable style used by Disney's animators. Mignola contributed "style guides" and character/background designs for the animators to follow, as well as story ideas. CGI was used for effects-heavy set pieces more than in any previous Disney feature. The inventive sound design was provided by Skywalker Sound, with the Indonesian-influenced musical score composed by James Newton Howard.
The box office performance was a disappointment compared to other recent Disney films, also competing in the marketplace with Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and Shrek. Moviegoer responses to the film were very positive, and the animators did receive much critical praise for the efforts. The lack of success led Disney to cancel a planned Atlantis ride at its theme parks, and a sequel went direct-to-video.
Running time is approx. 90 minutes.
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