Disney’s ‘Atlantis: The Lost Empire’ Still a Film to be Treasured

Walt Disney Studios would like people to forget its films from the early 2000s. But what Disney and the so-called film critics failed to take into account was that the kids who were in the prime of their childhoods at that time and grew up watching Treasure Planet, Brother Bear, and so on, wouldn’t stay kids forever. We kids would grow up with those movies influencing us, and then they would use technology to voice our admiration for those films. 

The truth of the matter is that a good Disney film doesn’t have to be a musical or a fairy tale or both to be treasured by millions of adoring fans. Case in point, June fifteenth marked the twentieth anniversary of Atlantis: The Lost Empire. I’m prepared to bet I wasn’t the only person who remembered that date.

I was still at that phase that the stuff of my daydreams were made of the latest movie to come out or the newest television show I was watching. I was nine years old when I first saw the trailer attached to the movie Dinosaur, and I was probably obsessed with Atlantis from that moment forward. I had the date June 15th, 2001 burned in my brain as the date the film would be in theaters, the weekend my family was going to take me to see it. The Sunday before, ABC aired a documentary that was partly meant to promote the film which also explored some of the real history behind the legend of Atlantis. I also remember the McDonalds toys and a little booklet of the Atlantean alphabet that I used for coming up with secret messages.

We went to the movies on Saturday the 16th, we rented it on VHS in the years that followed and then I think we got our own copy as a Christmas present a year or so later.

The thing about Atlantis and the Disney films that came out around the same time is that they are from a period in Disney animation history called the Experimental era. A couple of films from this period, Lilo and Stich and The Emperor’s New Groove, are from what I can tell unquestionably loved among my peers (or if you don’t like them you really do have a stick up your butt). 

Disney Wiki

Atlantis and Treasure Planet…the appreciation here is more low-key, but it’s there. It’s palpable. I’ve heard it said that those films didn’t do so well because they were targeted to adolescent boys. That’s probably true, but here’s the thing: I don’t need to be a man to relate to anything a man is going through. You can’t tell me–or anyone for that matter–that they might enjoy a piece of media because the main character is from their demographic. But to be fair, Atlantis in particular has not one but three great female supporting characters that were not down for taking crap from men. I’ve always like that sort of female protagonist.

What was there in this movie for a kid like me to not love? The whole magic and fantasy of the Crystal influenced my own fantasies for years to come. I was also at that age where I liked rude humor and sassy characters. As a teenager, I started to collect books full of movie quotes, and several one-liners from Atlantis made the cut. Atlantis was just really cool.

I rewatched the film for the anniversary, and it turns out that I still love this movie a lot. 

10 More YouTube Channels for your Self-Isolation Indulgence

To quote Thomas Paine, “These are the times that try men’s souls.” It seems like things are slowly going back to “normal”–schools reopening, public gatherings resuming–but there’s a part of me that wonders if there is going to be any going back to “normal” at all. If any of the changes are lasting, we should hope that some of those changes are for the better. 

Remember my post about YouTube channels to help you survive quarantine? If you read it at all, I hope some of my recommendations made your life better. In spite of the pandemic and other circumstances, some of those YouTube channels are still putting out new content. Sergio and Rhoda just wrapped up a series about David and Goliath, visiting the Elah Valley and the archaeological remains of the ancient Philistines cities. Good stuff. 

Octo-lab, meanwhile, is still doing experiments with our favorite eight-armed friends. They have progressed with having octopuses escaping from various enclosures, as well as reacting to random stuff put in their tanks (or put just outside it). 

A personal update: I still have a sinus infection. The same one I had back in January. I have cold and flu-like symptoms but weirdly enough no COVID (at least that I can recognize). How good I feel varies a lot from day to day and I still spend a lot of time resting. So I’m still browsing YouTube for the coolest stuff in science, nature, history, and entertainment to watch.

In addition to watching and re-watching old favorites, I have discovered some new and very awesome content. I hope you will check out these videos and that they will entertain you as well, and if you are a parent or an older student looking to supplement educational materials do make use of this list. (No, really.) 

‘Frozen II’: An Incredible Film

I just saw Frozen II. Finally. It was amazing.

After weeks of waiting for it to show up on Disney+, I decided to do the smart thing and Google the information. Turns out, Disney is not loading new theatrical releases on the platform until six to eight months after their theatrical debut. Now you know. 

I’ve been NEEDING to see it because about a month ago my dad got a Frozen II piano book for my little sister and ever since she has been learning it and playing it.

The good news is, it is on Amazon Prime, rentable for a small feel. I was unable to see Frozen II in theaters because I was sick, but now I really wish I had because this is a movie that deserves the biggest screen you can get. The animation and the graphics are amazing. Most of the story is set out in an autumnal wilderness that is incredibly detailed. 

Side note: Elsa looks amazing with her hair all the way down and I really want to touch it because it looks so soft!

LOOK AT HER HAIR. LOOK AT IT! (We Heart It)

Minerva McGonagall: An Appreciation

It was on the corner of the street that he noticed the first sign of something peculiar–a cat reading a map. For a second, Mr. Dursley didn’t realize what he had seen–then he jerked his head around to look again. There was a tabby cat standing on the corner of Privet Drive, but there wasn’t a map in sight. …Mr. Dursley blinked and stared at the cat. It stared back.

~Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

The cat, we discover a few pages later, is not a cat at all, but a human witch who can transform into a cat. Her name is Minerva McGonagall, and she is the first wizarding character we meet in the series, though unknowingly through the disbelieving Muggle eyes of Vernon Dursley. 

Professor McGonagall is a Harry Potter character I have always admired. Since I got into cosplay I’ve been wanting to sew myself some emerald-green robes so I could BE her. This summer, I finally reached that goal, and wore the robes to a Harry Potter party hosted by my cousins down in Mesa (and in the middle of July, at that). 

A Short History of the MCU in Memes

If you’ve been able to see Avengers: Endgame, good on ya. There will be a review post coming soon, I hope. There has been a lot going on on my end. Keeping with the spirit of commemorating the last eleven or so years of Marvel films, here is a walk down memory lane that shows you the funnier side of this universe.

The early days of the Marvel Cinematic Universe were in the early days of the internet becoming a hub for social media and meme culture. Memes as a form of humor, to my recollection, exploded in 2012, around the time The Avengers came out. You could argue that Marvel fandom invented online fandom and memes. If not, you have to at least agree that this fandom and memes have more or less always gone hand in hand.

The MCU fandom has spawned billions of images with funny captions or screenshots of Twitter and Tumblr text posts.  This saga, that many are now referring to as the Infinity Saga, is the story that the digital generation grew up with. They have celebrated it in countless ways: the examples below are just a few.

1. Iron Man Not Having a Superhero Identity Crisis

*mic drop*

Hela’s Domination Plan (A Theory)

SparkNotes Version/Summary: My headcanon is that the end goal of Hela in Thor: Ragnarok was to turn the universe into a realm of the undead by enslaving the souls of the living in a trance-like state, similar to what Thor saw in his dream in Avengers: Age of Ultron. 

I wanted to do more for Women’s History Month in March. With the time crunch to an upcoming convention and Avengers: Endgame, I had to make some sacrifices. However, I feel this theory of mine is important enough to merit a blog post, and since it’s Marvel-related I can move forward with it. (If this reads like an English paper, please know that it’s how I’ve been trained to present an argument.)

Remember that tangent I went on in my Captain Marvel review about how Carol Danvers should consider the possibility of taking over the universe simply because she is that powerful and she can just blow up anyone who gets in her way?

It was while I was pursuing that line of thought that it occurred to me that the MCU has already featured an overpowered female character who wanted to do just that.

Since then, I’ve rewatched Thor: Ragnarok. The whole movie is great, but the best part for me is Cate Blanchett as Hela, the goddess of Death. Seriously, I can’t take my eyes off her. Especially when she’s got her hair down. She is just soooooo fabulous. And of course, I loved cosplaying her last fall at FanX.

Thor: Ragnarok has been criticized for being too much of a comedy, but then again what could be more dark and depressing than the scenes of Hela just killing…and killing…and killing?  Maybe the critics took home their blu-ray copies and just skipped all of Hela’s scenes.

Hela’s story in the movie is that she wants to conquer the entire universe simply because SHE CAN. She argues that it is Asgard’s responsibility because they are worthy to do so as the most superior people in the universe (not stated but definitely implied).  It’s also because her dad didn’t let her do that before, and now he’s not in the way.

“It’s come to my attention that you don’t know who I am.” (Jason Hsu)

After Ragnarok came out, there was something small about Hela that bothered me for a while. She is the goddess of Death, but how so? In the movie, she conjures weapons, slaughters the innocent, and raises an army of zombies so she can kill even more people. In the comics and in Norse mythology, however, Hel/Hela rules over an actual realm of the dead, which seems more like the trait of a goddess than just being an overpowered warrior and conqueror. What does Hela killing people with magic weapons have to do with her being a Death goddess, besides the obvious?

Stan Lee: A Life that Touched Ours for Good

The morning of Veterans’ Day (Nov. 12), I came home from eating out for breakfast to log onto my computer, and I discovered the sad news that Stan Lee had passed away only hours before.

I knew he had been suffering from some health problems in the last year. But I wasn’t ready for him to go.

The tributes that so many people in the entertainment industry have written have been touching and inspiring. I have written a few short tributes of my own already, but I feel the need to say more.

Why I do Cosplay

A blog is a good place for self-reflection as well as sharing thoughts and ideas. The truth is I haven’t been doing a lot with cosplay in the last few months, mostly because I have been trying to keep a job. Now I am not employed, and while I am negotiating my job situation, I also am having thoughts about getting back to cosplay. This has led me to think about why I got into cosplay in the first place and what I get out of it.

To Make Other People Smile

There’s a sense of wonder that comes with seeing your favorite characters at a convention, and not just on a TV screen. That wonder is seeing your favorite heroes and villains living and breathing. You know that it’s not really them, but they will say or do something that the character will do and for a moment it’s the real thing. And they’re interacting with you.