On June 15th, 2001 Disney released Atlantis: The Lost Empire, an animated action-adventure film that sought to do “something different” than all the previous Disney films at that time.

Being directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, with Don Hahn serving as producer and Tab Murphy helming the screenplay, the project was meant to take a different approach than their previous work.

Gary and Kirk directed Beauty and the Beast and The Hunchback of Notre Dame while Tab wrote Tarzan and, well, Hunchback, while Don helped produced most Disney films coming out at that time like The Lion King and some of the films I already mentioned.

They had been doing a bunch of “Fantasyland Movies” in reference to the section at Disneyland, and now they wanted to try and make an “Adventureland Movie”, taking inspiration from 1954’s 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea and other Live Action Disney Films from that era, as well as other Jules Verne stories like Journey to the Center of the Earth.

In fact during production the crew wore shirts that said “Fewer Songs, More Explosions”, so it was full on Indiana Jones style Action.

The main idea was to have this group of ragtag explorers searching for a lost civilization, which of course was the legendary City of Atlantis from Greek Mythology. 

However, this Atlantis would be unique and different from the previous incarnations in popular culture, less to do with the Greek myth and more a society that harnessed an ancient power that overwhelmed and sent them to the bottom of the sea. Not to mention this Atlantis was more set in the Atlantic Ocean than the Mediterranean Sea.

Comic book Artist Mike Mignola was brought on for the character designs as the filmmakers were fans of his and wanted the film to look different than their previous films, adding more of an angular look than the traditionally smooth lines.



This group of explorers included Milo Thatch, played by actor Michael J. Fox, who at the same time was offered the role of Cale from Fox’s Titan A.E. but Fox asked his son to pick for him, he picked Atlantis. Milo is the linguist and expert on all things Atlantis.

James Garner played Commander Rourke, the at first Head of the Expedition but then turns out to be a mercenary who wants to steal Atlantis’ Power Crystal. Actress Claudia Christian played Lt. Helga Sinclair, Rouke’s second in command who, at first, seemed like a possible love interest for Milo (Which Tab Murphy confirmed in an earlier draft) but turns out is in it for the paycheck and betrays Milo.

Comedian Don Novello played Vinny, the dry, sarcastic, explosives expert of the group, who is often considered a fan favorite for his comedic delivery. Actor Phil Morris played Dr. Sweet, the head medic of the group with heart of gold. Actress Jacqueline Obradros played Audrey, the young teenage mechanic who has a slinky personality.

Voice Actor Corey Burton played Molière or “Mole”, the expert Geologist who is animal like in nature but does have a high intelligence when it comes to the Earth. Actor Jim Varney played Cookie, the head cook with a cowboy attitude. Sadly Jim passed away from Throat Cancer before the film was finished.

Actress Florence Stanley played Packard, the sarcastic radio/communications operator known for her catchphrase “We’re all gonna die”. John Mahoney played Preston Whitmore, the philanthropist funding the exposition and friend of Milo’s Grandfather.

Voice Actress Cree Summer played Princess Kida of Atlantis. A strong and caring princess who later in the film becomes Queen. Even though she isn’t part of the Official Disney Princess Lineup Kida is technically Disney’s first Black Princess.

And to end things off Legendary Actor Leonard Nimoy played King Nedakh, Kida’s Father and the secretive King of Atlantis.

Of course there was plenty of merchandise from a toy deal with Mattel, Happy Meal Toys at McDonalds, multiple videos games for Windows PC and PlayStation. There was even an event called “Destination Atlantis” held next to the El Capitan Theater in Los Angeles where you could experience various activities and see recreations from the film, almost seems like a prototype for an Atlantis Area at the Disney Parks.

The film did something that Disney hasn’t done at the time or since, a hand-drawn animated film with the main focus being action and a story with a strong cast of characters who didn’t need to sing and dance.

The film released on June 15th, 2001 to a mixed critical reception. Many critics at the time were turned off by the film not being more “Disney”, meaning that when many saw the name “Disney” they expected the usual song and dance, and instead got something more “mature.”

Other critics like the well respected Roger Ebert, enjoyed the film and he even compared it to the works of Hayao Miyazaki and his film Princess Mononoke. There was a controversy of some saying that Atlantis ripped off the Japanese Anime Nadia Secret of Blue Water, which is funny because Nadia itself is criticized for stealing from Hayao Miyazaki’s Castle in the Sky. It was just another Kimba the White Lion Situation.



The film wasn’t a financial failure for Disney, just breaking even with a little profit, but just breaking even wasn’t seen a good sign by the higher ups.

The reasons as to why Atlantis didn’t make a whole lot of money were due to multiple factors:

The animation industry was changing, as only a month earlier Dreamwork’s Shrek was released and broke records so everyone went and saw that instead.

Other films like Monster’s Inc. and the Jimmy Neutron Movie also released that year were making lots of profit, meaning that CGI was on the rise and 2D was slowly loosing prominence. Even at the 2002 Academy Awards, the first show to have the “Best Animated Feature” award Atlantis wasn’t even nominated, and Shrek of course won the award.



Believe it or not Atlantis was meant to be a Huge Franchise.

A Theatrical Sequel was in the works called Atlantis: The Shards of Chaos with Kirk Wise saying in an interview that the main villain would be a “Darth Vader” like individual who plans to take over Atlantis with a group mercenaries, Milo’s Friends have to rush back to Atlantis and save it from an invasion.

In the end the Villain is released to be * Spoilers * Helga, who somehow survived the volcano blast at the end, meaning that it’s technically cannon that she survived.

There was also meant to be a Saturday Morning Cartoon called Team Atlantis where the team would travel the world finding mythological creatures connected to Atlantis’ past. The series itself was scrapped but three episodes were developed and edited into a Direct-to-Video “Sequel” Atlantis: Milo’s Return.

One episode would have been a Crossover with the popular Gargoyles TV Series where Demona would appear in Paris. There are also unconfirmed reports there would have been a crossover with the Legend of Tarzan TV series which also ran around that time.



The Biggest thing to be canceled was at the Theme Parks.

Disneyland had closed the submarine voyage attraction indefinitely, but plans were underway to Re-theme the Ride to Atlantis where you’d go in a submarine and visit the Lost City. At Walt Disney World a section called “Fire Mountain” was planned to be between Pirates and The Jungle Cruse.

You would visit a expedition camp established by Mr. Whitmore and you would board a rollercoaster that was on-rail the first half then would switch to a suspended coaster the rest of the way, pretty advanced.

These attractions were victims of the 9/11 terror attacks which left the tourism industry in tatters and lead to both projects being canceled. Honestly I think they should revisit the idea.

Since 2001 the film has gained a cult following from many Disney Fans, primarily from those who saw the film as kids. There have been many asking for a remake of Atlantis, but in all honesty those who haven’t seen or heard about the original film might see it as a ripoff of James Cameron’s Avatar, despite Atlantis releasing first. Very little merchandise has been released of the film since then so sadly Disney has seemingly forgotten the film, but its fans and creators definitely have not. If The Black Cauldron was the Cult Disney Classic of the 1980s then Atlantis is the Cult Disney Classic of the 2000s.



If you have never seen this film before, Now, on the 20th anniversary, is the perfect time to watch it. It is unlike any other film Disney has released then or since. You’ll love all the great characters, action, world and story. If you love Indiana Jones or Pirates of the Caribbean, then you’ll love this. You can find it on Disney Plus or on a Special Blu-ray that also includes Atlantis: Milo’s Return. Rediscover this Lost Treasure like the Explorers from the film who found Atlantis. Who knows if Disney will ever revisit this IP or if Kida will ever become a Disney Princess, the only thing for sure, is that Atlantis is waiting….