Atlantis Review
by Tim Wick
I often wonder if I rank films that take chances higher simply because they
were willing to take risks. I loved Moulin Rouge partially because it
departed so dramatically from what most studios are putting out right now.
I hated Tomb Raider and The Mummy Returns in part because they played it
safe when they had the potential to do so much more. Since I see so many
movies (though nowhere near every movie available), that might be the case.
And that might be why I was especially pleased with Atlantis. While there
are several narrative gaps that don't stand up to scrutiny and some of the
character design in this feature was a little off, I couldn't help enjoying
this film because it signaled such a dramatic new direction for the Disney
animation department.
The film did not feature a single "cute" sidekick. It did not have a single
song. For the most part, the film was directed squarely at the adults and
older children in the audience. This was not a movie for kids. People died
in this movie. Things blew up in this movie. Characters were SEXY in this
movie. The film was rated PG for a reason. I appreciated that.
The very real fact is that American animation is driven by Disney. If they
don't take risks, neither will anyone else. Even Pixar owes their existence
as a viable production house to the fact that Disney distributes their
films. Pixar may be creating the best animated films in the country, but
no-one would watch them without the Disney brand on the ad (not so much any
more, but certainly Toy Story gained at least $50MM by being a Disney
release). Without Pixar, I don't think we would have seen a film like
Shrek and so on.
So if Disney is taking chances (and those chances are paying off), others
will take chances as well.
I love the old Disney formula when it is done well. The Little Mermaid,
Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King pretty much comprise
the second golden age of Disney animation. Since then, they have relied on
the formula perfected in those four films with varying degrees of success (I
would rate Hercules and Mulan as successful attempts and Pocahontas
and Tarzan as more unsuccessful ones - though I enjoy all four films). In
Hunchback of Notre Dame they took the first stab at adult material and
succeeded in making 1/2 of a fine film. They fell flat by relying on old
standby's such as amusing sidekicks and flashy production numbers in an
otherwise dark and creepy animated film. They did not trust themselves to
go further.
The last year has shown Disney sees the need to break from this tradition,
culminating in Atlantis. Dinosaur, though one of the worst films I've
seen from the Disney animation department, certainly made minor departures
from format. There were cute sidekicks, but there were no songs. The
Emperor's New Groove was an attempt to recall the frenetic days of 50's
Warner Brothers animation. For what it was, I thought it was extremely
good. Now Atlantis tries to do a science fiction film using animation.
Gone are the trappings of Disney. As I mentioned earlier, there are no
songs. There are no cute animals. There is simply story and animation.
The story doesn't always work, but I applaud the attempt. For the most
part, the biggest shortcoming of the story is the fact that it sometimes
feels rushed. The film runs over 1 hour and 45 minutes and that's at least
15 minutes longer than anything Disney has done prior to now. The length is
to allow the film to unfold slowly, but at times there was a rushed scene or
two so other scenes could take longer. I think another 10 minutes to flesh
out the rushed scenes would not have been wasted.
There are also a few "comic relief" characters in the film that are out of
place. They are clearly there because Disney was not quite willing to take
things all the way and instead needed to keep the trappings of the old
animated style. The Mole character in particular borders on the annoying.
Another thing I have admired in the latest Disney offerings is their
willingness to adapt the animation style to the story they are telling. In
the four films I mentioned as the second golden age, the animation style was
virtually identical. The last several films from Disney have shown a
willingness to get away from that with Atlantis again having a distinctive
animation style that departs dramatically from what has been done in the
past. As a result, the character design (most notably again, The Mole) is a
little inconsistent. It works for some characters and not others. Again,
full points for the attempt.
I also enjoyed the voice casting. I mean what other film could bring
together Michael J. Fox, James Garner, Leonard Nimoy, Cree Summer (best
known as Elmyra from Tiny Toons), Claudia Christian (Ivanova from Babylon
5) and Father Guido Sarduchi (Don Novello)? Fox has shown that he is a
very strong voice talent (his previous work with Stuart Little was equally
polished work) and the geek quotient of having Nimoy and Christian was
great. All of the actors did a good job with their roles and nobody seemed
to be grandstanding or attempting to steal focus.
Overall, this film is a grand experiment for Disney, and one I hope pays
off. I enjoyed much of this film and most of my criticisms are not major.
This will certainly find it's way into my DVD collection when released.
|
