June 15, 2001
4:08 AM   Subscribe

Disney steals a plot from anime once again, and here is the proof.
posted by Spanktacular (16 comments total)
 
The resemblance is uncanny. It's funny because every time I see an ad for Atlantis, where they show the submarine, I think it's an ad for Blue Submarine No. 6

Doesn't Atlantis use a CGI/cel combo technique similar to Blue Sub's? I think I read that somewhere.
posted by jpoulos at 7:09 AM on June 15, 2001


Phew. In which case I'll go rent Nadia and be spared from the inevitable Disney Musical Numbers.
posted by darukaru at 7:45 AM on June 15, 2001


Is it so much to ask for Di$ney to just acknowledge other animation creators? I don't think anyone wants to sue, but a little respect would be nice, especially considering you KNOW that everyone at Buena Vista is familiar with Gainax and Hideaki Anno (who also did Neon Genesis Evangelion), Osamu Tezuka (Kimba the White Lion), etc.

Evil Empire, baby, Evil Empire.
posted by J. R. Hughto at 7:45 AM on June 15, 2001


But don't forget to read the dissenting view, linked from the above page. Sounds plausible to me (even if the author does use the word "simular").
posted by mw at 8:05 AM on June 15, 2001


darukaru, you might want to skip it anyway, but this Disney movie has no musical numbers in it. just as an fyi.
posted by karen at 8:09 AM on June 15, 2001


Di$ney: Micro$oft for Children.
posted by SpecialK at 8:17 AM on June 15, 2001


jpoulos - Yeah, Disney used their usual traditional/CGI combo on this one. The characters are pencilled by hand, scanned in, and colored on computer. The vehicles are CG models that are rendered with filters to make 'em look like they're hand-drawn. At least, that's what I gathered from my roommate and my girlfriend who both worked on the film.

This was the first they'd heard of the whole Nadia/Atlantis deal, though there are plenty of anime fans on the Feature Animation staff. I could believe that the Higher Higher-Ups were clueless to all of this since I think they have all the cultural awareness of a tree stump, but I have a hard time agreeing with the directors who said they were clueless about Nadia. I mean, wouldn't you, as a filmmaker, want to see as much stuff as possible to get inspiration and steal ideas?

Either way, I'm still looking forward to this flick, just 'cause I think it's what Disney should have been doing all along: putting all that art and design talent towards creating something new and beautiful. Now if they could only hire some writers...
posted by RakDaddy at 9:40 AM on June 15, 2001


Hmmm. Now I know why I loved the Atlantis trailer so much...
posted by Kikkoman at 9:43 AM on June 15, 2001


I work for Disney (Interent division, not film...) and can only say that I am sorry.



And ashamed...
posted by TiggleTaggleTiger at 10:13 AM on June 15, 2001


Some Disney films are good and some are bad, just like with any studio. And any film released by any studio can be shown to contain elements and ideas seen in other movies. This is the world we live in, and Disney is not evil.
posted by Ben Grimm at 10:39 AM on June 15, 2001


Frankly, anything that makes people seek out more anime is a good thing in my book.

And maybe it's just because I'm gonna see it at the Pixar Animation Studios' screening room tomorrow, but I'm excited about Atlantis.

Man, I'm a shameless name-dropper. Or would that be 'place-dropper'?
posted by toddshot at 11:07 AM on June 15, 2001


Yeah, Disney stopped using Musical Numbers with Dinosaur. Any Disney movie with musical numbers goes straight to "Disney DVD" (whatever that is, when compared to conventional DVD).

That's my view.
posted by Cavatica at 11:30 AM on June 15, 2001


Ben, we're not talking about inspiration here. There have been many takes on a subterranean world full of dinosaurs, for example. What we're talking about is a complete rip-off of character design, plot points, theme, and I'd wager even dialogue if someone would take the time to compare.

Go and visit the site I've linked before you so off-handedly dismiss it.
posted by Spanktacular at 12:07 PM on June 15, 2001


Fine and good. I can't wait to see Disney's ripoff of Ghost in the Shell. Heh. At least then there would be a chance of a sequel. A mighty lame sequel, but a sequel nonetheless...
posted by fooljay at 1:10 PM on June 15, 2001


I could care less if a movie is a rip-off or not, as long as it is an enjoyable one. But I do not like any of the recent Disney flicks in the first place. If they used non-celebrity voice actors, I could probably enjoy some of the movies. But I keep getting this mental image of the person that is doing the voice acting and it drives me insane. Alex Keaton discovers Atlantis. That is just too strange.

Then again, I still find the Disney crap more enjoyable than any of the anime I have seen. I suppose I am just not a person that can enjoy animation that much overall.
posted by bargle at 1:23 PM on June 15, 2001


The release of Atlantis is proof enough how Disney is really losing their edge, falling prey to the effect of the Japanese invasion, as if they couldn't think of a better thing to do. What an anticlimax to a company that had been known to become a trendsetter rather than a follower of something else.

I don't have anything against anime nor I'm a Disney advocate either, but I can't help being outraged to see how they seem to be throwing away like dirt the legacy of Fred Moore, Woolie Reitherman, Frank Thomas, Ollie Johnston and a slew of talented people that made Disney what we become to familiarize with.

What's next - the Disney version of Pokémon for Saturday Morning TV?
posted by betobeto at 6:51 PM on June 24, 2001


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