Atlantis: The Lost Empire

PG

Released Jun 15, 2001

1 hr. 35 min.

Kids & Family

Fantasy

Sci-Fi

Action

Adventure

Animation

List

49%

144 Reviews

Tomatometer

54%

250,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

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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Mia R

Must watch, amazing sound design and animation for its time. Underrated for sure.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/15/24

Full Review

Matt M

Too many critics of this film have obviously had traumatic childhoods and need a hug. The animation in this film was Disney at some of it's best, the story is compelling, despite it's detractors crying otherwise. The villainous Commander Rourke and Gaetan The Mole should be recognized in the Disney pantheon as some of the better characters created for animated film. Disney's villains are best when their motives are one of the seven deadly sins, in this case, greed. The Mole has a near tragic storyline that makes him a lovable little freak. Kida, being a princess without marriage to a prince, should be recognized in the Princess lineup as the strong, independent character she is. Don't like Atlantis? Perhaps you should re-evaluate why you had to become a critic and were never able to work on a film yourself.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/09/24

Full Review

Francesco A

An incredibly underrated story

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/31/24

Full Review

Demetri P

Underrated Sci-Fi movie that is a spectacle with twists and turns that add to the fun of the film. Milo was an okay character, but the story and explanations of the side characters were amazing and the villain was funny and pretty clever. A fun and pretty good film that definitely deserves a watch.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/23/24

Full Review

Joshua H

Well this was just fun, I found the way it presents the world of Atlantis to be very interesting, plus this just a really fun adventure story. I'm very much glad I watched it.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/22/24

Full Review

Ciaran S

Who wanted a mediocre film where a bunch of crew travel to Atlantis? Atlantis: The Lost Empire may suffer from a lackluster story & uninteresting characters but thanks to some strong animation that blends 2d & 3d animation together it makes the film worthwhile, the only reason why it bombed at the box-office was mainly due to competition with other movies at the time like Shrek & Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, so it's no wonder the 2000s was the worst decade for Disney.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/19/24

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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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

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

Danielle Solzman

Solzy at the Movies

The world of animation may have been changing in 2001 but Atlantis: The Last Empire is a solid action-adventure.

Jun 15, 2021

Full Review

Sergio Benítez

Espinof

Don't get me wrong, I value the effort of Trousdale and Wise to stage scenes that, amazing by themselves, end up being exhausting in their imprecise conjunction. [Full Review in Spanish]

May 14, 2020

Full Review

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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
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
Sound Mix: Dolby Stereo, Dolby A, SDDS, DTS, Surround, Dolby Digital, Dolby SR
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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