Atlantis: The Lost Empire is directed by Kirk Wise and Gary Trousdale, the pair behind Disney’’s Beauty and the Beast and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. The team looked to the original Disneyland Park for inspiration and realized that while the studio had successfully revived its “Fantasyland” side with popular musicals (The Lion King, Aladdin, etc.), it had been neglecting its “Adventureland” heritage. I still believe that the Aladdin ride belongs in Fantasyland, it was just convenient to put it in Adventureland.

Creating a Jules Verne-like original story about a voyage to the fabled city of Atlantis, the directors enlisted comic book artist Mike Mignola (Hellboy), known for his stark visual style, to design the key characters and settings for the piece. As far away from traditional Disney design as they could get, this nonmusical feature is a more mature Disney action-adventure that harkens back to such classic Disney live-action films as 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Kidnapped and Treasure Island. Atlantis premieres next June 2001.