Atlantis: The Lost Empire

Review - I went into Atlantis: The Lost Empire expecting a dramatic change of pace from the animation goliath, Disney.  It wasn't exactly what I got.

Gone from Disney's tried and tired formula this time around, are the songs and any kind of cuddly talking counterpart (animal, inanimate object, or otherwise).  However Disney has failed to fill the emptiness with anything, new or even tangible.  A critical flaw if Disney expects to maintain a level of competition with rival studio DreamWorks.  Perhaps that's not Disney's motivation, and if so, I conceded the point but it still makes Atlantis: The Lost Empire less than it's centerpiece hopes to be.

In my opinion Disney doesn't make "bad" animated films.  I want that clear.  However I'm finding them more difficult to watch because they've ceased to evolve.  It's only a little troubling.  Some would say the films aren't even marketed to my demographic and I may I agree, but I simply can't let go of wanting something from Disney that at least feels fresh.

Casting as always, for Disney films, is a joy.  This cast in no exception, they bring tremendous character to these films.  Michael J. Fox, James Garner, Claudia Christian (Babylon5), Jim Varney (who recently passed away), John Mahoney, Corey Burton (Disney's Hercules), Cree Summer (Lenny Kravitz produced singer), Leonard Nimoy (yea baby, yea), Jacqueline Obradors (Six Days, Seven Nights), Don Novello (Father Guido Sarducci), Phil Morris (Jingle All The Way),  David Ogden Stiers (a Disney favorite), Florence Stanley, and Mark Hamill (this gets me because I don't remember him in the film, at all.  And I cannot find any listing of the character he may have played.  Most sites don't even list him in the credits. 

Go figure.

-m-