The story begins in ancient times, when the city of Atlantis is in danger. A young princess is hesitant to escape without her doll. Her mother ends up dying for her.

Centuries have passed. The year is now 1914. A young man named Milo Thatch, who is an archaeo-linguist, tries to share the history about Atlantis sinking. However, no colleague or professional will listen to him. They all leave the room where Milo is lecturing.

Luckily, he is given the opportunity to meet a guy, Preston B. Whitmore. Mr. Whitmore actually knew Milo’s latest grandfather, who died years ago.

Milo meets Mr. Whitmore, who is willing to take him on an excursion to the lost city of Atlantis. He also has a bunch of others join them, even if they don’t necessarily get along with Milo.

Shortly after their submarine departs, though, it gets destroyed. Sadly, most of the passengers die. However, Milo and his teammates survive. They continue their journey in small crafts.

At some point, Milo meets this young woman, who is Princess Kidagakash Nedakh. But she lets Milo call her Kida. Not only that, she is actually over 8,000 years old, yet still looks youthful.

Milo and his teammates meet Kida’s father, King Kashekim. He wants everyone to leave. But they request that they stay for one night. King Kashekim allows that.

Kida also discovers that Milo can read their native language, which shocks her since most people in the present cannot. Because of that, she asks him for help with uncovering more history about Atlantis.

One aspect that the two learn is how everyone from Atlantis who survived is still alive. That is because a gem called the Heart of Atlantis is keeping them around.

Unfortunately, Captain Rourke, who operated the submarine Milo and his teammates were on, betrays him and the Atlanteans. Stakes are rising faster than ever.

If that’s not bad enough, Kida gets forced into something that transforms her into a bubble-like figure. Milo worries about her.

What will happen next?

I will admit that this movie only engaged me a little bit – especially during the first half. However, the second half did get better with the tension levels rising.

One aspect that surprised me was how Cree Sumner, who voiced Kida, gave her a different voice than she did with other cartoon characters she portrayed. I thought she was going to sound like Susie from Rugrats or Numbuh 5 from Codename: Kids Next Door. But I do admire how strong and willing Kida was. She was nowhere near being a damsels-in-distress.

Milo was also likable due to his empathy, kindness, strength, and intelligence. I loved his relationship with Kida as well as his ability to be a leader.

Although this movie is supposed to be family-friendly, please note that there is some smoking and tobacco usage. Also, there is a character, Helga, who reveals that she sleeps in the nude. Even though no nakedness is shown, I thought that was a little too much information revealed in a PG-rated film.

This movie is around an hour and a half long. But the pacing seemed slow at times. And although it’s a 2D-animated Disney flick, it is not a musical. Yet that’s not a problem for me.

Overall, I thought Atlantis: The Lost Empire was decent. The second half might have been more exciting than the first. But I wish the whole movie was faster-paced and more engaging.

I give this film 3.5 out of 5 stars.