FLIP FEATURE
February 17, 2023
Atlantis: The Lost Empire is such a slept on movie and deserves more recognition. It’s been marked as a swept under the rug, an underrated, and forgettable movie that didn’t stand out in the 2000s era of Disney. Compared to Lilo and Stitch and The Princess Frog, I can see why. However, in this column, I will show you all the reasons you should watch this movie.
Reason number one:
Characters of color played by people of color, which is a step up considering that the major Disney movie released before Atlantis was The Emperor’s New Groove, which had a very pale cast compared to the 2001 movie. While Atlantis still has a majority white cast of voice actors, the characters of color, Kida (Cree Summer), Sweet (Phil Morris), and Audrey (Jaqueline Obradors), are all played by people of color. The only main character who isn’t is the king, which is voiced by Leonard Nimoy.
Reason number two:
It’s just funny. Vinny (Don Novello) is this Italian explosives guy who came from a family of florists and is just really witty. Mrs. Packard (Florence Stanley) is a gossipy, old lady who sleeps in the nude. There’s body humor, but it’s actually funny. It’s just funny!
Reason number three:
Gorgeous visuals, every second of it, even from the beginning where a whole continent is destroyed all the way to the sharp edges of the characters. Pretty movies deserve to be watched.
Reason number four:
Anti-Capitalism! Yes, you heard me. The main message of this movie is to not steal from other cultures in the name of “science” (see: BRITISH MUSEUM) and instead to learn respectfully. The bad guy also plans sell one of the most important things in the movie as a weapon. Then, he gets brutally killed, like Tarzan brutal.
There they are, the four reasons you should watch this movie. It has a pretty fanatic, cult following and has been on my top ten list for years.
