Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows FanStore News Showtimes

Atlantis: The Lost Empire

Play trailer Poster for Atlantis: The Lost Empire PG Released Jun 15, 2001 1h 35m Kids & Family Fantasy Sci-Fi Action Adventure Animation Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
48% Tomatometer 145 Reviews 55% Popcornmeter 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.
Watch on Fandango at Home Buy Now

Where to Watch

Atlantis: The Lost Empire

Atlantis: The Lost Empire

What to Know

Critics Consensus

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

Read Critics Reviews

Critics Reviews

View All (145)
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 Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (1000+)
prawnda s this is probably disney's best conventionally animated film. the writing, voice acting, animation, character development, everything is amazing. the only major complaint i have is that it all feels slightly too fast paced, as if everyone had a few too many "nose clams". regardless, it's very enjoyable and somewhat educational for all ages. yes, the basic story beats are essentially the same as treasure planet, but i could easily watch both back to back without a complaint. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 07/15/25 Full Review Oskar R Undoubtedly one of Disney's best animated films, which is criminally underrated. from the beautiful and stunning animation that really fits the vibe of the movie, to the reveal of the villain which was executed similarly to Hans in Frozen but far cleaner and actually made sense. The interactions between the entire cast is my favorite part of the movie, each character has their own personality and are given time to show it by conversing and working with each other. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/08/25 Full Review Audience Member This is a criminally underrated movie: 1 Its attempt to branch out into the sci-fi genre and appeal to an older audience is a pretty interesting take for an animated Disney film. 2 The animation style is pretty unique, giving the appearance of a comic book or graphic novel 3 Milo and a lot of the side characters have charm to them, which shows in several scenes, with characters such as Vinnie, Cookie, Mrs. Packard, and Sweet giving some pretty good one-liners 4 Kida is pretty cool, proving to be fully capable of taking on several men by herself (she actually knees one in the groin, grabs another by the head and tosses him away and pulls a knife on a third) 5 The Atlantean language is pretty original, and is stated to be the source of all other languages throughout the world 6 There is actually lots of creativity done with the world of Atlantis, such as having technology centuries before every other country in the world and having crystals that can heal and keep people alive for centuries. What's especially cool is how they have vehicles based on various sea creatures 7 The action scenes are cool to watch 8 Each of the side characters gets a chance to show how useful they are, and gives the audience a chance to know them and how they got into their respective careers which led them into joining the expedition 9 There is the rare moment where the romantic couple, Milo and Kida, only give a hug rather than kiss and/or get married. To have an animated film do something like this with romantic leads is extremely rare Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/05/25 Full Review Luke R. It’s a pretty good childhood movie. I like the idea of the historical architecture of this version of Atlantis. It also got some The Emperor’s New Groove animation. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 07/05/25 Full Review Daniel R Absolutely amazing film. The animation is unique and high quality. The story is heartful and deep. Definitely a must watch. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 06/19/25 Full Review Michael School K When I watched with my friend we were shocked just SHOCKED. Why is this even Disney? DISNEY FELL OFF. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 06/18/25 Full Review Read all reviews
Atlantis: The Lost Empire

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW
The Iron Giant 96% 90% The Iron Giant Watchlist TRAILER for The Iron Giant Thunderbirds 19% 37% Thunderbirds Watchlist Journey to the Center of the Earth 60% 51% Journey to the Center of the Earth Watchlist TRAILER for Journey to the Center of the Earth Treasure Planet 69% 73% Treasure Planet Watchlist Pete's Dragon 88% 72% Pete's Dragon Watchlist TRAILER for Pete's Dragon Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

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)
Most Popular at Home Now