Parents' Guide to

Atlantis: The Lost Empire

By Nell Minow, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 8+

Entertaining but intense adventure for tweens and up.

Movie PG 2001 95 minutes
Atlantis: The Lost Empire Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

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age 8+

Based on 8 parent reviews

Xiaoluya
Xiaoluya Adult
October 21, 2018
age 8+

A movie waiting to be rediscovered

If you like sci-fi, adventure and period films, this is a great animated film to see set in the World War 1 era. Not a typical Disney movie, it's focus is on the lead's spirit of adventure and love for history and the past. It does not shield young viewers from the villains' greed, quirky passions and cynicism. There is violence but not glorified and nor bloody. The style is old cell animation fluid drawings. If your child is reading books like Eragon, Lord of the Rings,the Unwanteds, this is a movie they will enjoy. The characters have more panache to them and references a lot to movie making of the past. The female characters are strong, the band of treasure hunters flawed but some with a change of heart in the end. There is a princess, she is smart, beautiful and saves her people in the end. But she does not sing songs nor parades in pretty gowns. The film sort of has an avatar twist to it. Some sexuality and lots of stereotypes, but if taken in context, it does work well. The first part of the story drags a little, but once you get to Atlantis, things get really interesting. And the advanced space-age technology of the Atlantians is pretty cool. See it first if you aren't sure. If your kids don't end up watching it, you at least treat yourself to a great Disney animation pre-digital age.
3 people found this helpful.
valentinD
valentinD Adult
September 19, 2016
age 7+

good disney movie for 7 and up.

I love you atlantis the lost empire

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
Too much violence
3 people found this helpful.
See all 8 parent reviews

What's the Story?

In this action-packed animated adventure, scholar and linguist Milo Thatch (voiced by Michael J. Fox) dreams of finding the lost city of Atlantis, which had been his grandfather's quest. A wealthy friend of his grandfather's offers to fund an expedition, and Milo sets off on a submarine led by Commander Lyle T. Rourke (James Garner). The expedition culminates in a ferocious battle with the monstrous Leviathan, which destroys the ship and kills most of the crew. The survivors face obstacles but finally make it to Atlantis, where they meet Princess Kida (Cree Summer). She wants to make friends with the strangers, but her father wants them killed so that no one else will find Atlantis. Can Milo find a way to save what's become his real home?

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (8):
Kids say (27):

Disney departs from its traditional animation formula with this nonmusical, intense action adventure about the search for the legendary city that mysteriously disappeared in ancient times. Fox appealingly provides Milo's voice, and the movie does a good job of showing a diverse group of characters working well together -- plus, there are both male and female good guys and bad guys.

But parents should know that this is a decidedly different Disney animated feature -- it's rated PG for violence, and it earns that rating. There are many intense action scenes, the characters are mean to each other, and some are killed. One character chain smokes, and there are jokes about whiskey and sleeping in the nude.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about how the action violence in this movie compares to other animated movies. Does it seem more intense? What if it was live action?

  • An anachronism is something appearing in a time different from the one it belongs to (i.e. a phone showing up in a movie set in ancient Greece). Are there anachronisms in this movie? Does that bother you?

  • Kids might want to learn more about the legends of Atlantis and read about the Greek Island of Santorini, which may be the source for some of them.

Movie Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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