Atlantis: The Lost Empire

A fabulously animated, grand-scale archeological adventure saddled with touches of the absurd and grossly unoriginal, Atlantis features Michael J. Fox lending his oh-so-apropos voice to Milo, a beanpole milquetoast amateur archeologist navigating an expedition to the fabled lost city. The story arc--Milo realizes he's led a band of mercenary plunderers to treasure and must now help save the Atlantians--is so shopworn it's virtually identical to a dozen movies from the last 10 years (such as DreamWorks' also formulaic 2000 'toon The Road to El Dorado). But thanks to zesty characters and funny dialogue, Disney's latest remains entertaining, in spite of inviting major misgivings about its strained narrative, overwrought machinations and unlikely racial balance of stock characters (e.g. the sassy teenage Latina tomboy mechanic). It's a good thing this is a cartoon, because in live-action it would be the kind of campy, glossy, bottom-rung syndicated stuff you find padding the prime-time schedules of the UPN and WB networks. Recommended. (R. Blackwelder)[Blu-ray Review—July 2, 2013—Walt Disney, 3 discs, 176 min., G/PG, $29.99—Making their first appearance on Blu-ray, 2001's Atlantis: The Lost Empire and 2003's Atlantis: Milo's Return both sport decent transfers and DTS-HD 5.1 soundtracks. Extras include audio commentary by producer Don Hahn and directors Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, a “making-of” documentary (120 min.), a “DisneyPedia: Fact or Fiction?” featurette (7 min.), “How to Speak Atlantean” (2 min.), a brief deleted scene, trailers, and bonus DVD copies of each film. Bottom line: a lesser but still entertaining Disney film and its sequel bow on Blu-ray in a bargain-priced package.]