Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001)
- Gary Trousdale, Kirk Wise originally wanted a completely different ending for the film, but test audiences preferred the one we see today.
- Eagle-eyed viewers have noticed a hidden easter egg referencing Gary Trousdale, Kirk Wise's previous film in the background of the opening scene.
- The original script for Atlantis: The Lost Empire was written over a decade before production finally began in 2001.
Atlantis: The Lost Empire is a 2001 American animated science fiction adventure produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation, directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise. The film follows Milo Thatch, a young linguistics expert voiced by Michael J. Fox, who joins an expedition funded by an eccentric millionaire to find the legendary lost city of Atlantis deep beneath the ocean floor.
When the crew — an ensemble of colorful specialists including a tough female mechanic, a demolitions expert, a geologist, and a cynical medic — reaches the thriving Atlantean civilization, the expedition's true, exploitative purpose is revealed, and Milo must choose between his lifelong academic dream and protecting the Atlantean people. Atlantis was Disney's most ambitious departure from their musical formula, modeled on adventure serials and Jules Verne rather than fairy tales, with no songs and an action-oriented plot influenced by anime and comic books. Mike Mignola, creator of Hellboy, contributed to the distinctive angular art style.
Atlantis earned $186 million worldwide on a $120 million budget, a commercial disappointment.
