With "Atlantis", Disney is experimenting with its techniques in a new genre, an action movie, probably in order to win a more general audience. Of course, on the level of the plot, you wouldn't expect anything original or novel from Disney, and, in fact, the story of "Atlantis" is as flat and trivial as could be. The events are haphazard and barely motivated and much has been seen somewhere else (e.g., Milo manages to speak a language which has been dead for thousands of years even faster than James Spader did in "Stargate"; with a short moralistic appeal he manages to win tough mercenaries for his cause ... you get the idea). At the beginning, the film is filled with annoying silly and corny gags. Finally, the characters are extremely poorly developed, even for a Disney movie.
This said, "Atlantis" is still a movie worth watching, because of its fantastic visual style. From the design of the characters to the beautiful landscapes, the look of "Atlantis" is almost overwhelming. This makes "Atlantis" an experience despite its non-existing story.
Certainly, Disney's animation department is in full possession of state of the art artistic and technical means, but the studio is still lacking a unifying spirit like Walt Disney who has a vision of the whole and brings together all the talents in order to create a lasting masterpiece. Since "Aladdin", Disney has failed to create another classic, and I am afraid "Atlantis" won't be one either. For this, its story and characters are simply too undistinguished.
This said, "Atlantis" is still a movie worth watching, because of its fantastic visual style. From the design of the characters to the beautiful landscapes, the look of "Atlantis" is almost overwhelming. This makes "Atlantis" an experience despite its non-existing story.
Certainly, Disney's animation department is in full possession of state of the art artistic and technical means, but the studio is still lacking a unifying spirit like Walt Disney who has a vision of the whole and brings together all the talents in order to create a lasting masterpiece. Since "Aladdin", Disney has failed to create another classic, and I am afraid "Atlantis" won't be one either. For this, its story and characters are simply too undistinguished.
