"... in a single day and night of misfortune,
the island of Atlantis disappeared into the depths of the sea."
Hello everyone!
I mean, if it's not Disney it's gonna be Bollywood, ya know.
I have to admit that I NEVER watched this as a kid. I remember it's initial release, because McDonald's did Happy Meals with toys from this thing in them, and I thought the princess, with her white hair and such, was super cool, but that's about it.
Dishonor on my cow, I know.
I finally got round to watching it a little bit ago (okay, a WHILE ago, but I had a chance to rewatch it since) and I have to say I'm dutifully impressed by the end results of it all.
Plus, I mean, this is about the legend of Atlantis, in Disney version. What's NOT to like with that sort of premise?
Buckle up and let's descend leagues under the sea, in Atlantis the Lost Empire.
I plan on eventually watching the movie's sequel, Milo's Return, too, but for the purpose of this blog, we'll only be focusing on the here and now, aka, The Lost Empire.
Taking place in 1914 (an ominous year, if there ever was one), young linguist Milo Thatch is OBSESSED (no, but seriously) with finding the lost city of Atlantis, believed to have sunk forever and an eon ago. Considering he's mostly kept around to have a boiler up and running, you can imagine that his bosses don't really think much of him OR his ideas, not even when they're from his legendary explorer grandfather, also keen on finding the same city.
That is, until an eccentric billionaire snatches Milo up, reveals that he found this book he can't read (titled Shepherd's Journal, I believe), and that it might hold the key to finding Atlantis after all.
He then outfits Milo with a submarine and an experienced crew, and off they go!
The commander and his blonde hench-woman are sleazy characters from the get-go, but the others, weirdos in their own right, are a kindly bunch, not counting the radio operator who's a chain smoker and all-around negative woman, which is lucky for them since the submarine gets attacked by a giant mechanical leviathan soon after descending into a network of caves.
Most of the crew perishes, but the survivors plod on, led by Milo, who painstakingly translates each page of the journal, noticing that one seems to be missing for some reason or other he can't yet figure out (trust me, the reason is a bad one).
Their progress under a dormant volcano is followed by tribe-like people, their faces covered with huge masks, but not stopped, as it seems the leviathan was the last defense Atlantis had to prevent anyone from finding it.
Milo does find it; and it turns out it's a sleepy sort of city in the middle of ancient ruins, and ruled by an elderly, blind king. His daughter Kida is the one who welcomes our lot and brings them to her father, who suspects ulterior, dastardly motives, and orders them to leave.
The commander plays pretend, saying they'll just rest before they go, and Milo's so smitten with Kida he doesn't notice something's off. Instead, he's busy following her around as she shows him what Atlantis USED to be like, but in the millennia since the city sank, they've all but fallen into decay, forgetting most of what used to make them great, and she hopes Milo - and his journal - can help them achieve greatness again.
I mean, considering they've also forgotten their own language, that's saying something, but at least Milo discovers how his new belle can be over eight thousand years old (yup, you read right!) and look like a young woman: the Heart of Atlantis, a crystal that prevents/slows decay, which helps Atlanteans in their longevity by the crystals they, too, wear.
At this point the commander reveals his true colours, giving the king the killing blow: he's going to steal the Heart for profit, despite knowing that'll doom the rest of the people in the city.
Disgusted, both with himself and the others for helping him, Milo refuses to have any part in this, and is shocked by the Heart merging with Kida, as if sensing an imminent threat. The crystalized princess is taken along by the thieves, but Milo stays with the dying king and learns a rather awful truth.
The Heart of Atlantis may be what keeps the Atlanteans young and spry, but it's also why the city sank in the first place, as the current king tried weaponizing it for ulterior motives, causing a megatsunami. The crystal merged with Kida's mother, then-Queen, and protected the inner district, saving at least part of the city and its civilization, but Kida's mother never returned.
To protect Kida in case the crystal ever tried wooing another female of the family again, the king hid it, which inevitably caused his peoples' decline, and he now warns Milo he has a limited time to separate the two before she's lost forever.
Having figured out that the Heart of Atlantis is basically the be all and end all, Milo uses the smaller crystals all Atlanteans wear to power their ancient-to-them but advanced-to-everyone-else flying machines, taking on the commander and his hench-woman.
He ends up killing the commander with a crystal shard, but the battle wakes up the previously-dormant volcano, and they hustle the crystalized Kida back to Atlantis.
Just in time, too, because she ascends into the air as the volcano erupts, and awakens the Stone Guardians, huge stone warriors around the district, who erect a barrier that protects the city from the lava. As it's safe, Kida separates from the crystal, and it stays hanging up there in the sky, revealed once more for all to see.
Having fallen in love with Kida, Milo chooses to stay behind in Atlantis while the others all take the smaller crystals (one each) and part of the treasure as they return to the surface, with a message for the eccentric billionaire from Milo, thanking him, as well as a crystal of his own. They agree to keep Atlantis a secret, understanding just how dangerous the Heart would be in the wrong hands, particularly at this time in the world.
Down below, newly-crowned Queen Kida and Milo carve another stone effigy, this one of her father, that rises to join the others surrounding the Heart, while the city around them stands restored to its former glory.
The end!
Charming, chuckle-inducing, and all-around worth the watch, The Lost Empire does a really good job in a relatively short period of time: it manages to introduce a long-lost civilization, have a central conflict about the bit of said civilization that's both the best and worst thing that could happen to them, and also has our main character falling for the princess. It's got witty lines, the supporting characters are each interesting in their own right, and all in all, this is a great movie to watch if you have an hour and a half to spare.
Plus, the voice talents are amazing. Definitely recommend!
xx
*images and video not mine
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