Atlantis: The Lost Empire and Emotional Storytelling - A Video Essay 

I never understood why people didn’t like this movie. It was boss.

For some reason, I love that Audrey has to kick the door open twice? she kicked so hard it fell back shut, so she has to kick it again. It's such a small insignificant detail, but for me it always made the scene feel more alive.

"Why flooding the city makes the people forget their own script, even if they speak the language"? The writers were probably reading a lot about the Minoans. If they studied Atlantis, they probably studied the Minoans and their kinda but kinda not offshoot, the Mycenaeans, supposedly the inspiration for much of the Atlantis myth in their city on Thera (the island that blew up around 1100-1300 BC). The Minoans had a writing system, linear A, half inherited by the Mycenaeans, a satellite culture of their civilization. The Minoans are a mysterious culture unrelated to any other we know in terms of language and art, but they imported their culture, their ways and their script to the shores of Greece, where the Mycenaeans, ancestors of the Greeks, used the script of the Minoans and tweaked it. We can't translate Minoan, but we do know Mycenaean Greek and we can read Linear B. Here's the thing: The Greeks eventually forgot how to write. After the Bronze Age Collapse (1200 BC circa) the Mycenaean palaces burnt down and their system of government disappeared. Ancient Greece changed forever, no one knows why (whole empires crumbled at the same time; the Hittitles were defeated, Babylon collapsed and only Egypt survived, slowly sliding into a new period of division and crisis). The Greeks had lost their states, and thus they had lost their need for script. Centuries later, when the new city-states rose in Greece, they had forgotten how to read the strange symbols of the time of Odysseus, Achilles and Agamemnon, and adopted the Phoenician script to their own language, later putting the stories of the Mycenaean age in a foreign writing (the Illiad, the Odyssey, etc). The movie doesn't explain why the Atlanteans forgot about their own language, but it's very likely that the writers got this idea for their plot device from reading about Linear A and B. Sorry about the wall of text.

Kida was “naive” because Atlantis has never been at war in her memory, or even in contact with another culture.

This movie was, and still is, massively underrated.

I am 22 years old and it never even crossed my mind that Atlantis didn't have any singing in it, and I've seen this movie at least 6 times

Moral of the story: A piece of literature can be deeply flawed, but that doesn't diminish the emotional impact it can have.

To be fair, his line of "Sound off, who's not dead" is always hilarious haha

I just hope the writers, actors, artists, and every other crew member from Atlantis and Treasure Planet know how much we treasure them even if they weren't appreciated at the time.

The relationships are one of my favourite parts of this film. Milo never once tries to stop being so intellectual, or excited about the prospect of learning more, and even though the group are initially dismissive of him and make fun of him, Milo never changes who he is. He never gives up any part of his nerdiness, and they become his friends anyway, or even better because of it! I know there are many flaws but it was so important to little nerdy me, that a person could unapologetically be a nerd, and be loved because of it!

As a history nerd sweets is my favorite character he's a child of a Plains Indian woman and a Buffalo Soldier . hes a doctor he's explicitly indigenous and black throughout the movie I absolutely love him oh my God

Audrey was one of my favorite characters of the movie, as well. She's probably the sole reason a lot of my character art from that time had big clunky shoes with overlapping jeans and gloves with massive wrist bands. I still use very squared off folds in clothes when I doing a quick sketch.

Im glad that there are still people who are fascinated by this movie.

"I can't claim this movie is perfect but I can tell you that it was perfect for me." I want to cry for your beautiful words. I love it.

The first time I saw the teaser trailer for this, I was 11. The very end of it had Kida as a crystal with the voiceover of her saying “All will be well, Milo Thatch”, then snapping her eyes open. I wanted to see it that fucking day.

i'm still hurt from when i discovered that this film wasn't popular

Cree Summer emphatically states that Kida is her most favorite role throughout her career as a voice actress. Not only because she got to voice a Disney Princess (despite what the company tells you otherwise) but because during production the animators would often sketch her during recording, a practice common in most Disney films to better capture her performance in the character. It was something she never experienced before and would treasure always.

What I relate to most is that she has to kick the truck door twice. When you're pisses so you slam something open/closed only to have it fly right back.

I was literally 2 years old when this came out and the imagery of Kida's crystal-necklace-rising-and-her-floating-upward stuck with me so strongly that I re-created it with my dolls pretty much obsessively until I was 10-ish. Anyway, it's just a gorgeous movie.

"Rourke is never funny." Me as a normal movie watcher: All who's not dead? Sound off!

When Kida walks on water towards the crystal - I always get the most unsettling and ominous feeling.

This movie made me want to get into linguistics when I was a child, because I was so impressed with how Milo could decipher this ancient language. Today, while not exactly doing archeology and ancient languages, I'm studying English linguistics and cultural studies.

I love the movie so much, but man did we miss out on LAVA WHALES.

*Plays Mya song* Me: Eww turn that off *Plays OG score* Me: Ahhh yes there it is

Honestly, the only thing I didn't like about this movie was that it was too short. I remember wishing they'd spent more time traveling to Atlantis.

I became so emotional watching this video because Atlantis The Lost Empire is the film that made me fall in love with movies and cinema

Everyone keeps mentioning how much they want there to be a live action version of this film. But, as a die-hard fan of the original, I just wish Disney would recognize the original for how awesome it is, first. As in, GIMME MORE MERCHANDISE THAN JUST OLD MCDONALD'S TOYS, DAMMIT!!!! ...And THEN they have my permission to make a live action version.

The score in this film is phenomenal and when I first saw this film I distinctly remember getting chills at that scene of Kida walking across the water and the score that went with it!

The best part of Audrey is the second kick of the door. It really sells her emotional conflict. She really doesn't want to get out of the truck but she knows she has to. She knows she has to because if she doesn't she'll always know that blood paid for her shop. Maybe I'm reading into it too much, but someone took the time to animate that door being kicked twice and I'll always appreciate it.

The mention of hellboy made me imagine an Atlantis live action reboot directed by Guillermo del toro and now I Want It

ngl in 13:39 when you said “when you put him next to other disney villains, do you notice a slight difference?” i went “he’s not gay? OH-“

That bit where the Leviathan's blast lances through the heart of the Ulysses is how I've been picturing cool sci-fi explosions for basically 20 years now.

One blink and you'll miss it touch that I adore from this movie is Milo's 'fight' with Rourke that is just the most anticlimactic 'holy crap this guy stands ZERO chance' beating I've ever seen put to film. Pretty much exactly what you'd expect to happen if a linguist picked a fight with a longtime mercenary.

"I can't tell you that this movie was perfect, but I can tell you that it was perfect for me." I've never heard that sentiment put so perfectly.

Atlantis is a very Romantic story (in all senses) which is exceedingly rare for Disney nowadays, I find it to be a breath of fresh air. It’s just a good old Verne-esque fantasy adventure with fun characters, legitimately threatening villains, breathtaking scenery, a wholesome leading couple, and a compelling story. I can’t believe I never saw this movie as a kid, and I saw basically every Disney movie from the late 90s-early 2000s era.

As soon as you put up that little slideshow of nerdy early 200s characters, I felt called out 😂 those were inevitably my favorite characters when I was watching those shows. Also I feel SO VALIDATED! Audrey going back for Milo in the third act also haunted me as a kid. Like, literally anytime I get so whipped into a moral outrage that all I can do froth at the mouth, Audrey’s “this is wrong and you know it” plays in my head on repeat. This movie meant so much to me as a kid.

19:14 if you pay attention to Sweet throughout the entire turncoat sequence, he's the only member of the entire crew who never picks up a weapon. Maybe it's because it's against his morals or it's because he's a doctor, but that always stuck with me as a kid. The doctor never picked up a gun.

This movie and like Eldorado are like the best underrated movie's

The early 2000s animated sci-fi trilogy: Atlantis: The Lost Empire Treasure Planet Titan A.E.

Thank you for this. I adored this movie as a kid, even wrote my own language after being transfixed by the journal. So many flaws, but considering all that came before it, it made leaps and bounds in ways I wish were recognised today. The music alone is exceptional (aside from that credit song of course). The strong female characters still stick with me as some of the first of my childhood

"the movie is old enough to vote now" OKAY YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MAKES ME FEEL B A D

Did you know there was originally going to be an atlantis world in kingdom hearts one? Yeah I feel robbed too

I feel the same way about Treasure Planet that you do about Atlantis. I saw it in theaters, was completely enamored, and didn't realize it was badly received until YEARS later. Of course, most of the reason it flopped is that Disney barely marketed it and released it under the shadow of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. They didn't even try to make it a success.

“It’s 18 years old” **remembers I was born the same year this movie came out** shit

When I was a kid, I’d watch Atlantis, Mulan, and Hercules on repeat. They were like my holy trinity lmao

This movie makes me all fuzzy inside, Im a mixed girl (european african) and.... Kida is exactly what I needed when I was young, she's badass and caring and she looked like me but with white hair (I love her hair) and I've always like nerdy boys ( cf : My fiance ). And now I still inspire to be as cool, badass, gorgeous and loving as Kida. It is and will always be my favorite movie.

Mulan, Hunchback of Notre Dame, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Treasure Planet, and The Black Cauldron are my top five Disney movies hands down. No particular order but all loved and are dear to me. Those films shaped me as a person and really semented the type of stories I enjoy. I remember seeing Mulan in theaters as my first movie going experience but Atlantis was the film that shook me to the core! The opening is enough to chill your bones!

"Probably gonna sell it off to the Kaiser." "I prefer the term, adventure capitalist."

"Or how about the fact that we still haven't gotten an Atlantis level in the Kingdom Hearts series. Which is, a crime." THANK YOU!!!

This almost made me cry. Hearing you explain 'emotional storytelling', isn't that just another way of explaining the ancient story type of the fairy tale? The plot elements may not all make sense logically, there may be a lot of stuff that's contrived or silly, but this isn't about that. It's about the journeys the characters go on. Some additional reasons I love the movie: - It's a very rare movie that even briefly addresses imperialism and the violence and destruction behind such seemingly innocent sciences like archaeology (Rourke's chilling quote along the lines of "If we gave back all the artifacts and stolen treasure, the museums would be empty"). While Milo's love of learning is genuinely pure, he can't escape the responsibility of the fact that other people may use his work for profit and destruction - in this case, he is the one who led Rourke to Atlantis and who located the crystal. He then has to make a choice between his science (exposing Atlantis to the world, prove he's not a nutcase to everyone who ever doubted him, go down in history as the man who discovered Atlantis) and the safety of the people who would be affected if he revealed the truth. In the end, he and the crew choose to lie and pretend the expedition was a failure rather than endanger them. That is incredibly powerful, a complex narrative, and remains relevant and under-depicted to this day. I mean, how many Disney characters are scientists, period? For the more adult/educated audience, this message is heightened even more by setting the movie at the beginning of the 20th century: much like Milo, still innocently clinging to old traditions (that are not-so-innocent), unaware of what is to come. - It's a rare movie to have a protagonist driven by a passion for science and discovery, as opposed to becoming rich, finding love, or [insert other objective here] - The crew dialogue/banter just works. Joss Whedon in his prime, I guess? Fantastic essay, by the way.

This movie was THE movie to make me realise I’m gay now. But seriously, this is such an underrated gem, and it never had singing in it, because it never needed one. This will always be in my list of favourites animated movies!

These kinds of love letter essays to underrated gems of old are some of the best content on youtube

Audrey was always my favorite character in the movie and then Kida. Helga was an interesting villain. The females in this movie just killed it overall.

This movie made me addicted to glow sticks as a child. Go on expeditions with friends, And diving underwater, and "exploring" cave drawings by water parks. Also writing with coded letters and walking on water. I mean, this is such a treat for the imagination.

Oh my god, the hug thing has always reminded me so much of Pacific Rim and I'm so glad you brought up the comparisons between them.

Atlantis is so good. The animation, stylization and characters are so distinct and all things considered I think it will always have a place in my heart.

Honestly speaking Atlantis and treasure planet are both so good and so over looked. I am so glad now I have video essays to point to how good they are.

The crystal chamber scene gives me chills still after 18 years. Literally every time i watch it.

Since I was a child and first saw this film, it was and has remained my favorite Disney film, followed only by Treasure Planet and Emperor's New Groove. It's art, it's world building, it's characters and plot. They all capture some deep sense of adventure in me like none other. I'm glad it's creators took a risk and went out of their way to make something different and unconventional.

As for people of color wearing less clothes, outside of Muslim cultures, *this is the truth.* WE WEAR LESS CLOTHES IN THE ISLANDS. ITS HOT. And we got larger busts (front & back) than most other races. *So it makes sense we'd get portrayed that way* compared to white women who typically wear more (European cold climates) and are typically fatter front and back. I don't see the problem with this. 😐 Besides, *the 18 yr old Hispanic* (sorry I forgot her name) in this film *is a person of color, right? She's fully covered* in the SAME film that's being criticized for not giving Kiva enough clothes!!

It puzzles me how people missed this gem!

As a black kid I loved Kida! I loved magical brown people like Storm in X-Men and while there's definitely a design problem of being scantily dressed and of a particular build, her personality of being fun loving as well as strong was really aspirational to me. I watched the dvd so MUCH growing up! Atlantis should've made so much more money!

This movie was one of my absolute favorites growing up. Kida’s transformation sequence burned into my memory and still gives me chills.

The animation in this movie is a triumph. I remember it from childhood, marveled at it as an adult, and still get the goosebumps while watching this video. It’s so obvious the animators loved this project; it’s in every cell.

10:43 Okay why is Milo’s concept art so freaking CUTE?? He looks a model posing for shots!

I never had an issue with the atlanteans design at all as a person of color. They are brown skinned and colored its obvious but not all colored skinned people are the same so what's the issue with her eyes or hair? There are colored people of many looks and designs and they are all different, kinky hair or straight or small nose or big. They aren't black they are atlantean and no one knows what that looks like so someone being mad at how they are portrayed is kind of stupid imho. They could be bald for all we know cuz they saw hair as vanity or some outlandish thing like that we dont know. I dont think it needs to be stated at all cuz that couldve also been bad. There are colored people with blonde hair. They aren't black if that's what that person was getting at or trying to and they aren't even seen in real life to tie them down to what we say they should be. As a kid I thought Kidagakash was beautiful, the way she is shown and I never once was like oh she's gotta be like black or related to some form of that or this. She was kida, an atlantean. Though I get the whole sexual thing. The Kida was disposed thing shouldn't be an issue, it is foreshadowed alot that she will be chosen next. On the note of why they lost their language and ability to teach. I think that it kinda goes with how languages we know in real life due out. They are so focused after the great flood on survival and survival alone. Whatever else is left to the side. They are now confined to a small area and most of what they had is lost now and destroyed. Just like in real life most young folk aren't interested in learning the language they will rather learn to defend themselves and their home now that they are weakend. Though I do believe it was the father who really took control of that. Those who did know the language more then likely died out by then and tried passing what they could but it wasn't enough. Her father sees it as they are preserved, no one can know now what they did there if found, no one will steal their ways or power. For all we know the king probably put it into act they won't learn the language, forget their past and move on. That is until the shephard comes with his journal and studies their language and such and dissects it and learns himself. I dont mind Milo coming in and teaching what he knows cuz never did I feel he felt like it was his duty or that he got an ego from it. He knew what they lost, had a piece of their life in that journal and returned it to where it belongs and was willing to stay there to help them grow and he didnt have too.

this movie was one of my inspirations to become an archaeologist, I simply love it

I’m so glad you talked about Audrey because... yes. This movie and I were born the same year so I’ve never lived a conscious life without it, I don’t remember the first time I saw it or anything like that, but I’ve never forgotten it and I’ve never forgotten Audrey. In a movie with a female character like Kida you’d imagine that all of Disney’s “compelling character for women juice” would have been used up already and all the other female characters would be forgettable and under-baked but Audrey is anything but. She’s always been my favorite character in these movies and always felt incredibly relatable to me. I just love her dearly and I’m glad other people do too

I met Mike at Lightbox this year. His booth was set up for Hellboy but when I told him I only wanted to talk to him about Atlantis he perked right up. He told me about how he felt like he was scamming Disney. Which I thought was an odd remark, but this video has clarified that he just wasn't aware of how much of an influence he was. Then he told me he didn't think they should have opened with the destruction scene and I told him he was wrong, which dampened the convo but not even Mike Mignola is going to sway me from that. Also yes, Hunchback is another one of my favorites for the same reasons. We gotta be best friends now.

This was my absolute favorite movie growing up--it was one of the only "big kid" movies that was at my local library, and introduced me to high-stakes adventure storytelling. It actually inspired me to be a Linguist, and I've only ever told one person that's why I picked my major.

Atlantis is the greatest, most underrated Disney movie ever. The animation, style, characters, and story were amazing. And the soundtrack...wow! I love listening to it whenever I’m in the Port Discovery area of Tokyo Disney Sea where they play it in the background once in a while. 🥰 I wish theyd make a live action version of it

I loved this movie as a kid so much!!! I know people say this a lot, but I ADORED Audrey because for the first time ever there was a girl in a movie that looked exactly like me! I probably first watched it on 2007 because movies used to take a lot of time to be available in my country (I live in Chile), but I was obsessed with her character, her skin, her hair, her lips and her attitude!! I've always loved animation, and as a kid I must've rewatched this movie more than 15 times. It's always given me Ghibli Studio vibes, and now that I've seen your video I reckon it must be because of the steampunk aesthetic, the mysterious but fascinating setting and the flying vehicles. Your video also shed light on something that annoyed me a lot as a kid and I couldn't explain why: Kia becoming that weird crystal vessel (cool concept & imagery but I missed her when she wasn't talking) and the weird naivety that the people of Atlantis had, weren't they such a great civilization? Can't say I don't love this movie regardless, but still, haha.

*Me when I see videos about movies I've always loved but don't get as much appreciation as they should:* vinDiCaTION!!!!!!

Honestly thinking back, the most impactful scene from my child brain at the time was when the main submarine was being crushed. The scene of the sailors running for their lives to the bulkhead doors as water rapidly floods in and just seeing that girl shut the door as three poor sailors look on in horror as it shuts, knowing that they're going to die there. It really stuck with me. Seeing the immediate reality of just how much was lost, and then of course feeling further dread as each of the smaller submarines crash and explode as they try to flee. Leaving the expedition with only... two submarines? Of like ten that escaped. Sorta influenced my outlook on loss of life. Although the influence came in later years, but still, a heavy load to process as a kid.

This movie, more than any other, influenced my love for science fiction, fantasy, and just plain adventure over romance. Now that I think about it, this movie even changed my favorite color from pink to blue. That's how much I loved this movie as a kid. I never understood why there weren't more movies like it; Treasure Planet was the only one that I found similar at the time. Words cannot express how much I love this movie.

Glad to see this movie getting some credit for being AMAZING. It will always be one of my absolute rewatchable favorites. And I agree, one can acknowledge a movie's shortcomings while still loving and enjoying the heck out of it for it's strengths. Also, I hope 2D movies make a comeback someday.

I have to say my favorite thing about this movie is the music, especially IN Atlantis. The use of the gamelan really made it feel like we were in a lost empire. And the Crystal Chamber is a BOMB song.

I've been saying this for years a live action movie would crush it at the box office.

Just really LOVING these magical video essays of yours!! Yaaaaaaasss!!!!!!

Atlantis was one of my favorite movies growing up. I love it so much I named a recurring RPG character I play after Kida. Everything about this movie was FANTASTIC and it's a shame more people don't talk about or love it. I wish we'd get a new DVD release of it because I would by that up in a freaking heartbeat. I agree that we need an Atlantis world in Kingdom Hearts. If we can get one for Tron and Tron Legacy, we can get one for Atlantis.

Genuine question: How is Kida being a person of color NOT obvious?

This film made me bi. Helga is a babe.

Please please please... Stop making me cry. It keeps happening and it makes it really draining to watch these videos that hit me right at my core.

fun fact i've been visually and emotionally obsessed with the scene where kida gets transported by the light since i first saw it. i dont know what it is about it that just mesmerizes me and just i cant ever forget it.

This was my favorite movie as a kid. I never realized it didn’t have a single song until... today.

Listen, I'm not gonna lie, this is my all time favorite Disney movie. It may be my favorite animated movie. And everytime the soundtrack plays in this video, my heart goes nuts, and I get this overwhelming feeling of wonder just like I had as a kid

The part that got to me was this underrated scene when they were fighting the leviathan and Audrey sealed the door on some crew after the haul had been breached to save the rest of the ship. They were running to the door as the hall was fillinh with water and she didnt even hesitate to sacrifice them.

"When you put him next to other Disney villains, do you notice a slight difference?" Him and Frollo are just about the only villains among those without layers upon layers of queercoding? Oh is that not what you were leading to?

Atlantis: The Lost Empire is still my favorite underrated Disney movie. I don't understand how more people haven't seen this movie in all honesty, whenever I try bringing up this movie with some of friends and or peers they have to Google what I'm talking about. The thing I think I love the most about this movie is the incredible flow of hand-drawn animation and CGI, as well as the style they went with to make this movie. I love Pixar and Disney and how beautiful and realistic they can make their animation, but I wish they made more stylistic movies like Atlantis because they feel/become more memorable and unique. Overall, I thought this video was amazing (Thanks RU-vid recommendations) and excuse me as I'm now going to watch Atlantis on Disney+.

This will forever be my favorite Disney movie.

This movie is along with Prince of Egypt had a deep place in my Heart

I was so happy for hellfire as a kid, it really vindicated everything I felt about priests and their general unpleasantness, lecherous gazes, condescending attitudes and what not.

After the submarine launch this movie was already in my top ten animated movies. After the secret swim it was number one. And then came the crystal cave scene... Yes, Atlantis is my favorite movie of all time.

I’m so glad there are real people who are as in love with Atlantis: The Last Empire as I am.

The production of Atlantis reminds me of the production for Avatar (2009). They had a ton of ideas and wanted to synthesize a bunch of cultures, ideas and stuff into one epic movie, and ended up creating a more modern Pocahontas. Still, everyone who has seen it remembers it and found it visually impressive at the time. If I was 9 or 10 years old in 2009 and saw Avatar, I would have been mindblown, like I did when I saw Atlantis back then.

This movie was everything to me as a child. I was around 4-5 when it came out. I had the VHS tape. Still have it. This movie was different from other Disney films at the time and I think that’s why I loved it so much as a child and still as an adult. I didn’t find it scary or anything just really cool. I think this was Disneys like first animated sci-fi film. Shame it did poorly that box office at the time but it gained occult following over the 20+ years it’s been out.

The weird crystal monster that Rourke turns into terrified me as a kid, but Atlantis was one of the few movies that scared me that I would still watch because of how cool I thought it was.

This was awesome. You clearly did tons of research, brought up limitations and counter-arguments to your own points, and made compelling qualitative and quantitative arguments for the positive elements of this movie. Thanks for all the work you put in, I really enjoyed it and learned a lot!

I swear Packard is like my grandma. Audrey is my tomboy inspiration. I love her.

arguably the finest movie disney ever made.... so unfair that it wasn't more successful.