Atlantis: Milo’s Return (2003)

atlantis-milos-return-movie-poster-review-walt-disney
3.0 Overall Score
Story: 3/10
Acting: 3/10
Visuals: 3/10

A follow-up adventure to the big screen film

Poor sequel to a poor film with bad art

Movie Info

Movie Name:  Atlantis:  Milo’s Return

Studio:  DisneyToon Studios

Genre(s):  Animated/Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Family

Release Date(s):  May 20, 2003

MPAA Rating:  G

atlantis-milos-return-movie-review-milo-and-kida-ending-walt-disney-animated-feature

Milo, we continue to be wonderfully boring

Atlantis is rebuilding after Milo’s restoration of the heart of Atlantis.  Unfortunately, the evil of her father’s actions which cased its sinking are still affecting the world.  Now, Milo, Kida, and their friends are headed out to stop the war machines created by her father and end the evil legacy so Atlantis can grow without the burden of its past.

Directed by Victor Cook, Toby Shelton, and Tad Stones, Atlantis:  Milo’s Return is a straight-to-video sequel to Disney’s 2001 film Atlantis:  The Lost Empire.  The movie is a result of the failure of Atlantis at the theaters and the cancellation of a big screen sequel called Atlantis:  Shards of Chaos.  The movie was largely negatively received.

Atlantis:  The Lost Empire was a bit of a snoozer.  The movie had some buzz in that Mike Mignola did the character designs and the fans of his art have latched on to it.  Here, the art and the style of Atlantis:  The Lost Empire is gone, and the story is horrible.

atlantis-milos-return-movie-review-frost-giant-surtur-asgard-ragnarok-disney

Can we be in the Thor movie?

The reason this movie seems very fragmented is that it was originally the first three episodes of a planned series called Team Atlantis.  The movie shaped the three episodes into a story, but they never quite gel into one story.  In addition to the film not flowing, it has a rather abrupt ending in which Atlantis is raised from the depths (which was the obvious ending to the series as a whole).

The movie lost Michael J. Fox who voiced Milo in the original but did manage to bring back most of the other cast.  Cree Summer, Corey Burton, Phil Morris, Don Novello, Jacqueline Obradors, and John Mahoney all came back to voice their characters.  The movie also was the last role of the prolific actress Florence Stanley who voiced Wilhelmina.

atlantis-milos-return-movie-review-city-ending-surface-disney-animated-feature

Yeah, Atlantis is saved, now let’s not visit it ever again!

The movie looks quite bad.  Not only does it lose the animation of the film, but the movie isn’t even up to par with other Disney cartoons from the late ‘80s.  The art is cheesy and cheap looking.  I get that the show was originally intended for different purposes, but this movie should have never made it to video.

Atlantis:  Milo’s Return just isn’t a very good follow-up or a movie for that matter.  It is a dull and boring sequel to a movie that is rather dull and boring.  Fortunately, the two movies’ poor performances at least guaranteed that Atlantis might be lost again forever…I wouldn’t shed a tear for it.

[easyazon-block align=”center” asin=”B00BWRKVTU” locale=”us”]

Related Links:

Atlantis:  The Lost Empire (2001)

Author: JPRoscoe View all posts by
Follow me on Twitter/Instagram/Letterboxd @JPRoscoe76! Loves all things pop-culture especially if it has a bit of a counter-culture twist. Plays video games (basically from the start when a neighbor brought home an Atari 2600), comic loving (for almost 30 years), and a true critic of movies. Enjoys the art house but also isn't afraid to let in one or two popular movies at the same time.

Leave A Response