`Atlantis' has no doubt been in the works for a long time. The last time Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise teamed up, they were making the under-appreciated `Hunchback of Notre Dame' and before that, `Beauty and the Beast.' Only this time, instead of the big song and dance, it's pure adrenaline-pumping action. So, after working on it for this long, how did these guys do at their first non-musical?
Well, `Atlantis' is no less visually stunning than any Disney ani-feature. In fact, the artwork and images overpower everything else about it. The story itself, while inventive, original, and basically sound, can't compete with the eye candy Disney's artists create. True, many of the ideas and story elements are borrowed from other places. But this material is presented in a visually inventive and interesting manner, you'd hesitate to accuse anyone of stealing. This alone earns this film the benefit of the doubt.
The story barrels forward so fast you barely have time to guess what might happen next. With any animated movie, parents are going to think take the kids,' so `Atlantis' keeps the action coming, giving you something interesting to look at at least once a minute. This film is most definitely built for this, the age of the short attention span. From first frame to last, `Atlantis' is lightning in a bottle. As for characters, there's a whole lot of them. Most seem to be there only to provide comic relief.
No other North American movie studio has figured out how to beat Disney at their own game. The formula that the Mouse House applies to each animation spectacle they release still works but is definitely showing some rust. `Atlantis' is a bit disappointing in that it doesn't jump up and bite you like some Disney works of the past. The studio raised the animation bar so high with the `Toy Story' films (thanks to Pixar), it's going to have difficulty living up to its own standards. In fact, `Atlantis' isn't as good as `Dinosaur' or even 1999's `Tarzan.' It's not a `masterpiece' (shame on all of you bandwagoners who have said that it is), it won't shake the foundations of the animation world, but it's still worth a look.
Grade: B-
Well, `Atlantis' is no less visually stunning than any Disney ani-feature. In fact, the artwork and images overpower everything else about it. The story itself, while inventive, original, and basically sound, can't compete with the eye candy Disney's artists create. True, many of the ideas and story elements are borrowed from other places. But this material is presented in a visually inventive and interesting manner, you'd hesitate to accuse anyone of stealing. This alone earns this film the benefit of the doubt.
The story barrels forward so fast you barely have time to guess what might happen next. With any animated movie, parents are going to think take the kids,' so `Atlantis' keeps the action coming, giving you something interesting to look at at least once a minute. This film is most definitely built for this, the age of the short attention span. From first frame to last, `Atlantis' is lightning in a bottle. As for characters, there's a whole lot of them. Most seem to be there only to provide comic relief.
No other North American movie studio has figured out how to beat Disney at their own game. The formula that the Mouse House applies to each animation spectacle they release still works but is definitely showing some rust. `Atlantis' is a bit disappointing in that it doesn't jump up and bite you like some Disney works of the past. The studio raised the animation bar so high with the `Toy Story' films (thanks to Pixar), it's going to have difficulty living up to its own standards. In fact, `Atlantis' isn't as good as `Dinosaur' or even 1999's `Tarzan.' It's not a `masterpiece' (shame on all of you bandwagoners who have said that it is), it won't shake the foundations of the animation world, but it's still worth a look.
Grade: B-