Tag: computer animation

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Children Drew Movies

Disney Project 2014: Atlantis: The Lost Empire

Atlantis_-_The_Lost_Empire_Movie: Atlantis: The Lost Empire

Release year: 2001

Does this sound familiar to you? Or are you wondering what the heck I’m talking about? Because we are very definitely into that era of Disney that my generation was starting to miss out on.

It’s not a musical, and it has a different look to it than the animation of the “princess movies.” This one looks more like Hercules, but with a touch of 101 Dalmatians thrown in – I gather they were going for a “comic book” look which explains all the distinct angles, like Milo’s triangular fingernails.

Atlantis stars Michael J. Fox (then 40, but he definitely is voice-passing for 25) as Milo Thatch, a linguist and wannabe explorer, like his beloved late grandfather. He gets roped in to a mission to try to discover the lost empire of Atlantis, fulfilling his grandfather’s dream.

Imagine the team’s surprise when they actually reach Atlantis, but instead of crumbling ruins deep underneath the sea, they find a city still populated with people who are thousands of years old…and slowly dying. Milo wants to help them, but the captain of their team has different and more devious ideas about robbing the city of their power source in order to turn a profit aboveground.

It’s just occurred to me that I’m not sure how they were going to get back home (Washington, DC?). I thought their submarine was destroyed in a fight with a mechanical Leviathan. I must have missed something.

Don’t you want to watch this movie?! It’s filled with the early-2000s humor that I loved in The Emperor’s New Groove, and I’m a big Michael J. Fox fan anyway. Like when Milo is being seasick over the edge of the ship at the beginning, and he says, “Carrots, why does it always taste like carrots? I didn’t even eat carrots.” That’s bathroom humor at its best.

All in all, I’m a big fan of this one. This was a good weekend for catching up on Disney movies, so stay tuned. (And check out Atlantis: The Lost Empire!)

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(I don’t know what Drew is so shocked about here, unless it’s just the fact that we inexplicably own the 2-disc collector’s edition…)

 

Categories
Children Movies

Disney Project 2014: Dinosaur

Movie: Dinosaur

Release year: 2000

Let me answer your two questions right now: Yes, it’s been awhile since we fell off the Disney-movie-watching-train. But we were tracking down Dinosaur, which neither of us has ever seen, and which we finally got at the library (thank you, library!). And your second question: Dinosaur is a movie about a young iguanadon named Alador, raised by lemurs (I think?), who has to travel to the Great Valley Nesting Grounds when an asteroid destroys the island they live on.

It feels much like Disney’s answer to The Land Before Time. Except everyone saw and loved The Land Before Time.

Also, why do all of the dinosaur movies have to be about them combating asteroids and devastation and trying to cross deserts and volcanoes in search of water and green food? Because even if they find the Great Valley Nesting Grounds at the end, you know that this is really just a brief reprieve before they are extinct anyway.

Maybe that could be applied to any romantic comedy, in the grand scheme of things?

The animation is pretty impressive – it’s not what you see now, 14 years later, but it’s definitely a step in that direction. There are some amazing sweeping vistas, although according to wikipedia, many of the backgrounds were actually shot on location. But the dinosaurs are also very well-done.

Also, this is a pretty good ride at Disney World.

So that’s Dinosaur.

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