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“Atlantis” Interviews

Walt Disney Pictures–the head honcho, the king, the pioneer of animation–once strove to bring fresh and innovative techniques to the big screen with each and every movie. Classic films like Snow White and Peter Pan, and the studio’s amazing regeneration in the ’80s with The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King, set Disney worlds apart from the competition. It seemed no one could touch the Mouse House.


But just lately, Disney animated films have been in a rut, relying too much on the formula that made them successful. The story line, with its hero, love interest, hilarious sidekick, awful villain and songs–lots of songs–grew stale after a decade or two, and the animation needed an infusion of new talent and technology.


But who says an old dog can’t learn new tricks?


Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Disney’s entry into this year’s summer blockbuster fray, marries traditional, hand-drawn animation with computer-generated images (CGI), making it one of the most ambitious effects movies Disney animation has ever done. True, a Disney film must have its pen and paper; somehow in this world of high-tech wizardry, audiences still expect that sweet simplicity when they hear the ‘D’ word. But they also want the bells and whistles, so that famous ‘D’ has to stand for “digital” technology, too, if Disney wants to keep ahead of the game.


As for the story, it’s different, too. Atlantis has a hero all right, but he’s mixed in with a group of colorful characters, each with their own story. You could call them a collective sidekick. And yes, there’s a love interest, but she’s a warrior princess from a lost civilization, and she doesn’t need rescuing–just protecting.


Set in 1914, the film centers on Milo Thatch, a young and naïve museum cartographer/linguistics expert who dreams of following his late grandfather’s footsteps in searching for the lost city of Atlantis. When a long lost journal surfaces and provides new clues to the location, an eccentric billionaire agrees to fund an expedition, using the latest in technology. Milo joins the team of veteran mercenaries, led by Commander Rourke, as they discover the elusive undersea kingdom. But what they find there defies their expectations and triggers an explosive series of events only Milo can resolve.


The film’s action-adventure spin, so unlike Disney fare of late, recalls the great ’50s Disney live-action films like 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Swiss Family Robinson. Producer David Hahn, whose work on this film reunites him with directors Kirk Wise and Gary Trousdale, said the decision to return to the past was deliberate.


“We wanted to make a big wide-screen epic movie in animation,” he said at a recent press conference. “There’s a whole land at Disneyland called Adventureland, so we decided, let’s go there. Instead of going down Main Street and through the castle to Fantasyland, where we’ve been so many times before (and thankfully so), we thought we’d make a turn left at the hub and go into Adventureland and have some fun there.”


These guys should know how to have fun–and how to make a successful animated film. Together, the three-man team brought audiences the Academy-Award winning Beauty and the Beast and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. They also know how to assemble a talented vocal cast: for Atlantis, they’ve got Michael J. Fox as Milo, James Garner as Commander Rourke and Leonard Nimoy as the Atlantean king.


But most importantly, they know what to leave out. And this time, they’ve skipped the songs. It’s a definite departure for King Disney–but a welcomed one–to see that Atlantis is completely devoid of love ballads, “I want” songs and big musical numbers.


Atlantis: The Lost Empire opens in New York and Los Angeles on June 8, and expands wide on June 15.

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