“Atlantis: The Lost Empire” centers on Milo Thatch, voiced by Michael J. Fox, a linguist and cartographer who stumbles upon the legendary city of Atlantis. His journey leads him to Kida Nedakh, the city’s princess, with whom he develops a romantic connection, much to the chagrin of her father, King Nedakh, portrayed by Nimoy. Disney had high aspirations for “Atlantis,” envisioning it as the cornerstone of a promising new franchise. Despite significant marketing efforts, these dreams were quickly dashed due to the film’s tepid box office performance.

Before “Atlantis” even premiered, doubts loomed over its potential success, primarily due to fierce competition from animated powerhouses like “Shrek” and “Monsters, Inc.” Critics were not kind to “Atlantis,” resulting in low scores on platforms like Rotten Tomatoes. The film, with its substantial production cost estimated at $120 million, struggled to break even domestically, grossing just over $100 million. Globally, it amassed $186 million, which was insufficient to offset the hefty marketing expenses, marking it as a financial disappointment.

It was speculated even before “Atlantis: The Lost Empire” hit theaters that Disney’s costly gamble wasn’t going to pay off, largely due to some very stiff competition from “Shrek” and “Monsters, Inc.” Its fate was sealed when critics started dunking hard on it: “Atlantis” joined the ranks of Disney animated movies with a rotten score on Rotten Tomatoes. “Atlantis” is said to have cost as much as $120 million to produce, a figure it failed to recoup at the domestic box office, where it made a little over $100 million. The total worldwide haul was $186 million, but, after marketing costs, it still wasn’t enough to make the movie a success.

We never got to see the planned “Atlantis” sequel, with the only follow-up being a direct-to-video affair that was put together using episodes of a scrapped tie-in TV series. However, time has been kind to “Atlantis.” It is now generally considered to be an underrated gem, with its ever-growing fandom arguing that it was a victim of a poorly-timed release and overspending by Disney. More and more people are now discovering “Atlantis” on Disney+ and are surprised that such a delightful fantasy sci-fi adventure is considered little more than a footnote in the history of Disney animated movies.