What if Don Bluth returned to Disney?/Atlantis: The Lost Empire

Atlantis: The Lost Empire is a 2001 American animated science fiction adventure film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 41st Disney animated feature film, and the studio's first science-fiction film, it was directed by Don Bluth, Gary Goldman, Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise and produced by Don Hahn, from a screenplay written by Tab Murphy, and a story by Wise, Trousdale, Murphy, Joss Whedon, Bryce Zabel, and Jackie Zabel. The film features an ensemble voice cast that includes Michael J. Fox, Cree Summer, James Garner, Leonard Nimoy, Don Novello, Phil Morris, Claudia Christian, Jacqueline Obradors, Jim Varney (in his final film role), Florence Stanley, John Mahoney, David Ogden Stiers and Corey Burton. Set in 1914, the film tells the story of young linguist Milo Thatch, who gains possession of a sacred book, which he believes will guide him and a crew of mercenaries to the lost city of Atlantis.

Development of the film began after production had finished on The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996). Instead of another musical, directors Trousdale and Wise, producer Hahn, and screenwriter Murphy decided to do an action-adventure film inspired by the works of Jules Verne. Atlantis was notable for adopting the distinctive visual style of comic book creator Mike Mignola, one of the film's production designers. The film made greater use of computer-generated imagery (CGI) than any of Disney's previous traditionally animated features and remains one of the few to have been shot in anamorphic format. Linguist Marc Okrand constructed an Atlantean language specifically for use in Atlantis. James Newton Howard provided the film's musical score. The film was released at a time when audience interest in animated films was shifting away from hand-drawn animation toward films with full CGI.

Atlantis: The Lost Empire premiered at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles on June 3, 2001 and went into its general release on June 15. Despite receiving mixed reviews from critics and audiences, the film performed positively at the box office, grossing over $586 million worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing film of 2001 (behind Shrek); it gained a cult following and appraised from critics as a mistreated classic, due in part to Mignola's unique artistic influence. Atlantis: The Lost Empire was nominated for a number of awards, including seven Annie Awards, and won Best Sound Editing at the 2002 Golden Reel Awards. The film was released on VHS and DVD on January 29, 2002, and on Blu-ray on June 11, 2013. As a result of the film's commercial success, Disney spawned a spin-off television series Team Atlantis and a direct-to-video sequel, Atlantis: Milo's Return (2003).