Atlantis: The Lost Empire

PG

Released Jun 15, 2001

1h 35m

Kids & Family

Fantasy

Sci-Fi

Action

Adventure

Animation

List

49%

Tomatometer

146 Reviews

55%

Audience Score

250,000+ Ratings

An inexperienced young adventurer becomes the key to unraveling an ancient mystery when he joins up with a group of daredevil explorers to find the legendary lost empire of Atlantis. A naive-but-determined museum cartographer Milo Thatch (Michael J. Fox), dreams of completing the quest begun by his late grandfather, a famous explorer. When a journal surfaces, an eccentric billionaire funds an expedition and the action shifts to high gear.

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Critics Consensus

Atlantis provides a fast-paced spectacle, but stints on such things as character development and a coherent plot.

Read Critics Reviews

Lisa Alspector

Chicago Reader

Visually imaginative and even persuasively spiritual, this animated adventure has some unusually complex villains and heroes, and some of the plot and dialogue transcends what's typical in movies intended for a broad or youthful audience.

Jan 25, 2011

Full Review

Nell Minow

Common Sense Media

Entertaining but intense adventure for tweens and up.

Rated: 3/5

Dec 22, 2010

Full Review

Todd McCarthy

Variety

This blandly conceived and executed attempt at a juve-style Indiana Jones with Jules Verne trappings recycles familiar adventure and cartoon devices with minimal wit and flair.

Aug 7, 2008

Full Review

Michael D. Reid

Victoria Times Colonist (B.C., Canada)

Disney's summer animation entry, mercifully bereft of cloying musical numbers, falls into the "good enough" category.

Rated: 2.5/5

Apr 30, 2024

Full Review

Dan DiNicola

The Daily Gazette (Schenectady, NY)

This feature plays more like the best Disney animated film of 1981 than 2001. The unfortunate retrograde look of this cartoon is further hindered by the conventional nature of the characters and weak dialogue.

Rated: C

Apr 30, 2024

Full Review

Carson Timar

ButteredPopcorn

While the style and technical ability of Atlantis: The Lost Empire is clear, the bland storytelling and the overused emotional beats cause the film to ultimately become forgettable and dull.

Jan 20, 2023

Full Review

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Emiliano G

The plot was good, the villain was good, the main characters were good, everything was good, I recommend this movie.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/25/24

Full Review

Alysha S

The story is good enough. It even only had one hole, for what it's worth. It would have been cool if the film were live action, but it's fine. Also, a nearly extended dialogue-only scene tried to make up for Milo being with the main characters. However, I do still recall the story a character said in that scene.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

07/13/24

Full Review

Thomas G

The best Disney film

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/13/24

Full Review

Dale R

Michael J. Fox voices Milo Thatch, a linguist and cartographer for the Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C. who wants to prove his grandfather right by finding the lost city of Atlantis. This movie has a lot going for it: The animation style is unique and based on comic book artist Mike Mignola’s work; The story is interesting and well put together and the characters are very memorable and well voice acted. The Atlantean King is voiced by Leonard Nimoy, so a few extra points there. The score is well done by James Newton Howard and has some moments of brilliance. There are a few truly epic looking scenes that are assisted by a good use of computer graphics. The world building is also well done here and I would have loved to have seen more of Atlantis in some fashion. However, there are a few things that keep this movie down. First, Milo is the most forgettable character in the movie and he is also the main protagonist, being out-shined by the supporting cast. The tone is also inconsistent, not as bad as The Hunchback of Notre Dame, but cartoon antics followed by epic scenes can lose an audience. This is one of the underappreciated Disney animated movies, I encourage you to give it a watch.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

07/07/24

Full Review

Renan L

Never i thought i would see such a extraordinary material from a cartoon, specially from Disney. When 2D animation was still a thing to praise to this company. All the characters have appealing traits, and jokes for both adults and kids

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/24/24

Full Review

Lisa M

One of the most underrated Disney movies ever. I can't find a single thing wrong with it. The only problem was that it bombed at the box office, so Disney will make sure you don't remember it as in their eyes it is a failure. Not so in my eyes.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/19/24

Full Review

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Gary Trousdale

Director

Kirk Wise

Director

Michael J. Fox

Milo Thatch

James Garner

Commander Rourke

Cree Summer

Princess Kida

Leonard Nimoy

The King of Atlantis

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Synopsis

An inexperienced young adventurer becomes the key to unraveling an ancient mystery when he joins up with a group of daredevil explorers to find the legendary lost empire of Atlantis. A naive-but-determined museum cartographer Milo Thatch (Michael J. Fox), dreams of completing the quest begun by his late grandfather, a famous explorer. When a journal surfaces, an eccentric billionaire funds an expedition and the action shifts to high gear.

Director: Gary Trousdale, Kirk Wise
Producer: Don Hahn
Screenwriter: Tab Murphy, Kirk Wise, Gary Trousdale, Joss Whedon, Bryce Zabel, Jackie Zabel, Tab Murphy
Distributor: Walt Disney Pictures
Production Co: Walt Disney Productions
Rating: PG (Action/Violence)
Genre: Kids & Family, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Action, Adventure, Animation
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 15, 2001, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2014
Runtime: 1h 35m
Sound Mix: Dolby Stereo, Dolby A, SDDS, DTS, Surround, Dolby Digital, Dolby SR
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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