Common Sense Media Review
By Tracy Moore
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Campy sci-fi undersea adventure features mild peril.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 10+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
Admiral Nelson (Walter Pidgeon) is taking his new submarine, the Seaview, on diving trials when they discover that the Van Allen radiation belts are heating up Earth's temperature by two degrees every 24 hours. Nelson and his crew, including his secretary, Lieutenant Cathy Connors (Barbara Eden), and her fiancé, Captain Crane (Robert Sterling), must act fast, and as time wears on and destruction is nigh, crew members are tested, and it isn't helping that there appear to be one or more saboteurs on board. If they can't find a way to stop the broiling "sky fire" and identify the traitors, Earth has only three weeks to live -- or faces cremation.
Is It Any Good?
VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA is a campy, funny sci-fi movie of its era. The special effects are neat (giant squid, octopus) and the cast is all-star for its day. Some of the deep-blue-sea and fiery-sky shots and wrestling with giant sea creatures are fantastic for the time, and the other era-specific tells -- the casual smoking, the zoom-in on a shaking behind -- could be interesting conversation starters about changing attitudes over the past half-century toward both women's bodies and cigarettes. Other attitudes have only slightly shifted: Women won't make up 20 percent of crews serving on submarines until 2020.
For kids interested in submarines, science fiction, and old movies, this is a pretty tame introduction to those genres, and parents (or grandparents) of a certain age can still swoon over Barbara Eden and Frankie Avalon or laugh about the advancements we've made in understanding our own universe.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about apocalyptic scenarios in films. How does this film compare to other movies you've seen with a doomsday scenario? Is it realistic? Why, or why not?
The film centers on concern for the Van Allen radiation belts, at the time considered a real concern. What do we know now about the Belts that filmmakers at the time did not? Visit NASA to read more about these invisible particles.
Visit the Navy's FAQ to read more about what life is really like on a submarine, including when women can serve on them.
Movie Details
- In theaters : July 12, 1961
- On DVD or streaming : June 5, 2007
- Cast : Barbara Eden , Frankie Avalon , Walter Pidgeon
- Director : Irwin Allen
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Fox Searchlight
- Genre : Science Fiction
- Topics : Adventures , Animals ( Ocean Creatures ) , STEM
- Run time : 105 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : September 29, 2025
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