Atlantis: The Lost Empire

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Atlantis: The Lost Empire

PG

Released Jun 15, 2001

1h 35m

Kids & Family

Fantasy

Sci-Fi

Action

Adventure

Animation

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

48%

Tomatometer

144 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.

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Critics Consensus

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

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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

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Nell Minow

Common Sense Media

Entertaining but intense adventure for tweens and up.

Rated: 3/5

Dec 22, 2010

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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

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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

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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

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Juju S

Une histoire vue et revue...

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

09/01/25

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Paul S

This movie was fantastic! It's an amazing adventure and treasure hunt film, with awesome characters and an incredibly compelling story that made me happy to go along with the ride. I definitely recommend it!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/31/25

Full Review

Tonya A.

Forgotten classic even though it it got a direct to video sequel. The art is lovely, the voice cast is on point. A bit mature compared to other Disney films, people die in this one, mainly background characters. Genocide is OK as long as you can make millions. Might be mature BuT there is a happy ending. Kida should be more popular, Disney needs to include her more.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

07/27/25

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Caleb K

This movie is very okay

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

07/20/25

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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

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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

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Gary Trousdale

Director

Kirk Wise

Director

Michael J. Fox

Milo Thatch

James Garner

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Leonard Nimoy

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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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