20000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954)

Director:

Richard Fleischer

Writers:

Jules Verne (novel)
Earl Felton (screenplay)

Release Date:

23 December 1954 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Family | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Walt Disney's Mighty, Magnificent, Memorable 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea!

Plot:

A ship sent to investigate a wave of mysterious sinkings encounters the advanced submarine, the Nautilus, commanded by Captain Nemo.

Plot Keywords:

U Boat | Guitar | Fish | Kraken | Captain

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 2 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Tue. July 8

11:30 AM

TCM

Cast

Kirk Douglas	...	Ned Land
James Mason	...	Captain Nemo
Paul Lukas	...	Prof. Pierre Arronax
Peter Lorre	...	Conseil
Robert J. Wilke	...	First Mate of the Nautilus
Ted de Corsia	...	Capt. Farragut
Carleton Young	...	John Howard
J.M. Kerrigan	...	Old Billy
Percy Helton	...	Coach Driver
Ted Cooper	...	Mate on 'Lincoln'

Also Known As:

Jules Verne's 20000 Leagues Under the Sea (USA) (complete title)
Walt Disney's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (USA) (poster title)

Runtime:

127 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

Finland:K-12 (1955) | Canada:G (video rating) | Australia:G (TV rating) | Portugal:M/6 | Finland:K-8 (1976) | Iceland:L | Australia:PG | Canada:F (Ontario) | France:U | Norway:11 | Spain:T | Sweden:15 | UK:U | USA:Approved (PCA #17073) | Canada:G (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Quebec) | USA:G (re-rating) (1970) | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Walt Disney Productions

Trivia:

One of the models of the Nautilus created by Harper Goff was a "squeezed" version which could be filmed with a standard lens and still look normal when projected in Cinemascope.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The film opens on what purports to be a copy of Jules Verne's original novel. The book is turned to Chapter One, which is titled "Alarming Rumours!" The actual title to Chapter One in Verne's novel is "A Shifting Reef."

Quotes:

Captain Nemo: Do you know the meaning of love, professor?
Professor Pierre Aronnax, narrator: I believe I do.
Captain Nemo: What you fail to understand is the power of hate. It can fill the heart as surely as love can.
Professor Pierre Aronnax, narrator: I'm sorry for you. That's a bitter substitute.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Itchy & Scratchy in Miniature Golf Madness! (1993) (VG)

Soundtrack:

A Whale of a Tale

The Greatest Disney Film Ever

Disney`s version of 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA is rightly remembered for the classic scene featuring the giant squid , but it should be remembered for more than that . Captain Nemo is a wonderfully written anti-hero who`s what would be described nowadays as an environmentalist , but don`t dare confuse him with being some sort of yogurt knitting tree hugger because this is a man waging a violent crusade against warmongers and anyone else he sees fit to exterminate . It`s a really intriguing character study and Nemo is played superbly by James Mason . Compare Mason`s performance as Nemo to that of Steven Seagal`s role as ecowarrior Forrest Taft in ON DEADLY GROUND . Done so ? A laughable contrast isn`t it . Kirk Douglas may disappoint as Ned Land but his real function is to act as a physical square jawed hero alongside the academic and somewhat ambigious Professor Arronnax.

I also appreciated the fact that Disney resisted the temptation to invent a child character in order to make the film appeal to children more by way of audience identification , nor is there any sort of mawkish sentiment or frivolity that`s spoiled many a Disney film . In fact this is such an exciting thoughtful adventure if it wasn`t for the presence of a seal I wouldn`t have believed it was a Disney film .

Did I mention there`s a great battle with a giant squid ?