The Island at the Top of the World (1974) User Reviews

Enjoyable Disney adventure.

[barnabyrudge · 7/10 · 23 October 2003]

The Island At The Top Of The World is based on a novel by Ian Cameron entitled The Lost Ones. The novel was set in modern times, but the film is set in Edwardian times. It is one of the better live-action Disney films, with an interesting and exciting plot, solid performances and an unusual setting. Only the weak special effects give the viewer something to gripe about.

Donald Sinden is splendid as Sir Anthony Ross, an elderly London gentleman who is desperate to find out what happened to his son Donald. Apparently, young Donald went off to the Arctic several months earlier in search of a mythical place "where whales go to die", but he disappeared during the expedition. Sir Anthony refuses to believe that his son is dead, so he assembles a search party and they set off for the freezing polar ice-cap aboard a French airship. As it turns out, right up at the top of the world there exists a lost colony of Viking throwbacks, hidden from the rest of the world and able to survive because the valley in which they live is heated by volcanic materials. Young Donald has been living with these folk since his strange disappearance, but the arrival of his father's search party causes trouble and the Viking elders vote to kill the intruders.

It's every bit as unusual and fascinating as it sounds, and is a truly worthwhile film for kids and adults alike. There are a few mis-calculations (few films, after all, are perfect) but not too many. The special effects, as already suggested, are somewhat below par. Also, much of the Viking dialect is translated by David Hartman's character, and the task of listening to it in one language, then again in English, is slightly tedious. However, all things considered, this is a very enjoyable and entertaining production.

A good family adventure...

[umlaut-3 · 7/10 · 3 February 2005]

As with several other reviewers, I also have fond memories of the theatrical release of this film from my youth, and this fantastic Jules Vernesque tale of a airship journey into the unknown arctic still holds up pretty well after all this time. There is some decent acting, a great score, a zeppelin,vikings in real viking longboats, real Scandinavian dialog, exploding volcanoes and vicious killer whales, what more do you want?

Some things are dated, such as the Eskimo vs. Inuit thing, the portrayal of Orca as man-eaters, etc. and the special effects have seen better days..but there are some surprisingly good sets with amazing matte paintings that are as good as anything you see on modern films (note the amazing viking hall on a hill top), great aerial footage, and a pretty decent story with good pace.

Break out the popcorn and enjoy it with your kids.

Great adventure for young boys

[kulltheconquerer · 7/10 · 9 May 2007]

My dad took me to see this one in the theater back in 1974 when I was 7 years old. It blew me away and helped fuel a lifelong love for adventure/fantasy. Hey, who doesn't like a cool adventure? The story is set in the early 1900's and concerns a rich Englishman who leads a rescue party deep into the Arctic in search of his missing explorer son. They track him to a mysterious lost colony of Vikings that has been cut off from the outside world for centuries. The plot is a fairly typical "Lost World" format: 1/3rd of the movie is spent searching for the lost world, 1/3rd is spent exploring the lost world, 1/3rd is spent being chased around/from the lost world. It's all fairly exciting, but not deep enough to impress an adult viewer. (However, with some deft tweaking this could be GREAT remake material for Disney.) I bought the DVD recently to take a trip down memory lane and I wasn't disappointed. It held up well to my memory. Yes, the effects are dated and some of them are downright terrible, but others are surprisingly good, and overall the film has a wonderful pre-CGI charm. You'll also get vibrant outdoor shots and some of the best matte work you'll find in ANY movie. It's not a bad choice for adventure/fantasy fans looking for family-friendly fare. Probably your only chance to see this film anymore is on DVD. Be sure to get the 30th anniversary edition as it has the extras.

A FUN FILLED ADVENTURE FOR ALL AGES!!

[spencerthetracy · 30 July 2001]

This was the first film that I saw in the theater as a kid, and I have never forgotten it. David Hartman instantly became my favorite actor, and I was hooked on movies forever! This is the kind of movie that fills our dreams and satisfies the wanderlusterer in all of us. The high adventure, and colorful cinematography in this movie is what makes a great film. I've purchased the movie recently and am able to relive the wonder of Arctic travel once more. Its truly a trip back to my childhood when all things were simpler and adventure waited around every turn.

Fantasy, Fun, and Facts!

[syphongb · 7/10 · 12 June 2016]

Largely forgotten amid the many other fantasy adventures from around this time, this one is a gem. A slow start, and the antiquated attitudes of the explorers are cringeworthy, but it gets going! Donald Sinden's aristocratic Englishman leads a search party for his missing son, they travel by airship towards the Arctic circle and discover a hidden land beyond the ice.

For me - this was one of the best depictions of Norse people I've ever seen in cinema. From the get - go, no horned helmets or fake snow, these people spoke old Norse throughout the movie, correct clothes and appearance, and their villages and buildings were beautiful. Great to see normal life for Norse people, and not raiding and pillaging! The special effects get a little ropey towards the end but we can forgive that, and the aforementioned Sinden is on top eye rolling ham form.

A great Sunday afternoon movie!

Fantastic adventures and eye-popping photography in the Arctic over a flying machine

[ma-cortes · 6/10 · 12 February 2007]

This sci-fi adventure adapted from Jules Verne novel film deals with an expedition organized by a wealthy man (Donald Sinden) , an adventurer (David Tomlinson , unforgettable Lucas Tanner) and a genius inventor (Jacques Marin) . They along with an Eskimo (Mako) set out in search for his son on an ingenious blimp called Hiparion . But they suddenly encounter a lost civilization , a Viking kingdom . They are captured by the Vikings and are judged at a temple under the sculptures of Northern Gods : Thor and Odin . They're condemned to death penalty but achieving to flee. The movie displays exciting flying i scenes nvolving a spectacular Zeppelin over the skies of Arctic where we see different animals : Seals , oxes , White bears , Orcas , Reindeers and a Whales cemetery .

This fantasy picture gets action , adventures , derring-do , amusing images and breathtaking landscapes . Colorful atmosphere in this entertaining story in which with tension and adventure are maintained throughout. Splendid aerial cinematography showing marvellous outdoors . Abound matte painting , including enjoyable special effects by Disney specialist Peter Ellenshaw who is production designer too . Evocative and agreeable musical score by Maurice Jarre (Lawrence of Arabia, Bridge on the River Kwai). The motion picture was beautifully directed by Robert Stevenson , a Walt Disney's usual director (In search of the castaways : his fist attempt to recreate Verne novel , Gnome mobile , Herbie rises again , Mary Poppins). Mainly recommendable for all family and specially for children and adventure lovers .

Ah, but the music!

[WiFiGuy · 7/10 · 27 April 2009]

I was a mere 10 years old when this came out, and basically ignored music other than what was on the radio.

However, this movie had a theme played by several French horns that hit me somehow, and to this day 35 years later I sometimes find the theme working its way into my head. My brother also liked it, and eventually picked up the horn and wound up First Chair in High School.

I know I'll never be able to get a soundtrack recording of this movie, but it would be nice to hear that theme again. Maybe I'll have to check out the re-releases and see if Disney ever releases it again.

WFG.

A World Away.

[happipuppi13 · 5/10 · 14 May 2005]

Well,I've seen better "live" Disney films but of course like "Unidentified Flying Oddball",I've seen worse! I found myself not believing 1/2 of what went on during this "adventure" and Disney films usually captivate my imagination better than "Island" did.

I feel David Hartman was better off just hosting Good Morning America,for hisacting's just okay here. By the way,he was in one other film. A very 70s remake of,"A Miracle On 34th Street" playing the guy who defends Santa in court. A much better role for him.

I think young kids will like this if they view it but not anyone older really. I only watched it again for nostalgic reasons. I might not view it again. Proof positive that things seem to look greater through the eyes of a child. Wish I was one so I could enjoy this more.

The Last of the Great Disney Live Fantasies

[msinabottle · 10/10 · 29 March 2002]

Airships and Vikings... What more could you want? Truly superior acting by of all people David Hartman, and Donald Siden's ruthless and ruthlessly Edwardian Sir Anthony Ross is a delight... Also a film in which ethnic actors are allowed to be ethnic, but without stereotyping.

Jacques Marin's Captain Brieuax is ruthlessly Gallic and heavily accented (naturally, Marin's a native Frenchman), yet his courage and resourcefulness are at least as great as his colleagues, and the exact same can be said for Mako's Oomiak, who, while reconizably an Eskimo and inarticulate, is portrayed just as heroically as the rest, and with great sympathy on all fronts.

What a refreshing look back this movie is, with its superb special effects and interesting plot twists. I wish they DID still make them like this anymore.

Of interest: The great airship _Hyperion_ was actually built for the filming, and I believe it is on display even now at Euro-Disney. It actually flew, and was flight-tested by two Goodyear pilots.

Amiable family fun from a forgotten era

[Leofwine_draca · 6/10 · 14 October 2014]

THE ISLAND AT THE TOP OF THE WORLD is a Disneyfied version of the globetrotting adventure flicks that popped up in the 1970s - a genre that includes personal favourites like THE LAND THAT TIME FORGOT and many other long-forgotten escapades.

This one is a Victorian-set adventure, heavily indebted to the works of Jules Verne, which sees a group of characters using an airship to travel to the Arctic circle, where they hope to track down one of their own who has gone missing. Along the way, they hook up with a friendly Eskimo (played by Japanese actor Mako, no less!) and have a stand-off with a long-lost tribe of Vikings who have lost none of their bloodthirstiness.

THE ISLAND AT THE TOP OF THE WORLD is a fun and forgettable family adventure film that passes the time amiably enough. There's nothing here that's controversial, just one old-fashioned adventure after another, and thankfully it's not as twee as I'd feared given its Disney pedigree. Donald Sinden is on good form as a pompous aristocrat along for the ride. Part of the fun of watching comes from watching the ridiculous scenarios, like characters being able to outrun lava flows without ever being affected by heat and the like.

Disney material was the best thing going on in the dreary 1970s era

[christinehuges · 5/10 · 4 September 2017]

i agree with some of these reviews island wa exciting at the age of 9 primarily because during the 70s era there was very little else.however being at the age of fifty to some of them are completely unwatchable now. the majority of them were good decent films however Disney lacked at times this film is one of them.i can appreciate the work but the storyline on this one is dull and non engaging.this was released at Christmas time of 1974 so it must have done well considering that there was most likely nothing better in the cinema that Christmas period nothing my sharp memory can pull up anyway and it was cheaper in those days than now. must have been a dollar fifty to get into the theater so thats why Disney always had large attendances. these days the film has to be spectacular or it will die a quick death at the box office. also in those days studios didn't have big bucks to make a film like they do these days thefore we have to look at the times these films were released in in order to better evaluate their entertainment level.the Disney studios worked well with what they had to work with at the period these films were released in. only when we get older o we ever say cant believe i bought what i was watching plus our minds were more younger therefore most likely more tolerable.

A spectacular fun filled journey for the whole family

[pozdena · 8/10 · 18 February 2005]

For a low budget Disney movie that's 30 years old this ripping yarn is a lot of fun. It has everything from killer whales, volcanoes, an experimental airship, a lost civilization of Vikings and even Mako in the role of an Eskimo who 'fights like a bear'!

When Sir Anthony discovers that his son has gone missing in the frozen north, this upper class Brit wastes no time in putting together a team of explorers (an American archaeologist, a French aviator and an Eskimo) to get him back. Using an experimental French airship they head past Greenland into the vast unknown of the frozen north. Using a map made of bone and ancient myths they find their way to a lost island oasis hidden deep in the ice.

I won't ruin anymore of the plot, as it gets even better from there. The set pieces and costumes are amazing for their time (and the low budget). The special effects in some parts look slightly dated but add to the charm of the film. If you don't think so then I am sure that the attack by the killer whales towards the end makes up for it! This film is a lot of fun and I recommend it to anyone who likes a good adventure story. The movie is PG enough for the kiddies, but the neat story and the clever locations will keep the adults interested.

A solid outing for Disney.

[Hey_Sweden · 7/10 · 12 February 2017]

Walt Disney Studios was probably hoping lightning would strike twice in this adaptation of a Jules Verne-like story by James Vance Marshall (writing as Ian Cameron). "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" it's not, but it does offer some great, grand scale action and atmosphere, not to mention the appeal of a "Land That Time Forgot" type of tale. The acting is generally enjoyable, the characters have sufficient rooting interest, and the special effects are pretty decent, most of the time.

David Hartman ('The Bold Ones: The New Doctors', 'Lucas Tanner') is American archaeologist Professor Ivarsson, recruited by English businessman Sir Anthony Ross (Donald Sinden). Sir Anthony is desperately searching for his estranged son Donald (David Gwillim), who disappeared into the Arctic circle in search of adventure. With the help of brilliant Captain Brieux (Jacques Marin) and his magnificent airship, they venture off to the top of the world where they discover a community populated by the descendants of Vikings.

Sinden is a standout in a cast also including Mako as a not-so-brave Eskimo villager named Oomiak, the beautiful Agneta Eckemyr as a Viking babe named Freyja, and Gunnar Ohlund as a scary Viking high priest known as The Godi. Hartman is quite likable, and Gwillim is similarly engaging. Eckemyr isn't a great actress, but she is rather appealing. And, just to push some of our emotional buttons, an unanticipated participant on this journey is a sweet French poodle named Josephine.

There are some thrilling moments, all punctuated by Maurice Jarres' majestic score. Our heroes will have to enter the mouth of a volcano, dodge a lava flow, struggle to keep the airship aloft, evade The Godi and various Viking antagonists, and fight off some aggressive Orcas. Although filmed at Disney Studios, and in Oregon, the matte paintings are good enough to give us a feeling of wintry Arctic locations.

Pretty good family entertainment, overall, competently handled by journeyman director Robert Stevenson.

Seven out of 10.

Amusing Watching This Disney Depiction Of The Arctic

[Camelot_2000 · 3/10 · 3 November 2011]

I saw this as a kid in elementary school and it was played in the gymnasium on one of those old film projectors for the students to watch. We had a 'movie showing' every so often there. I was thoroughly entertained at the time, but now that I watched it tonight, it was interesting seeing it again, this time from adult eyes.

Disney did an excellent depiction of the lost island of Astragard located off the Northern coast of Ellesmere Island. It looked like a perfect paradise straight out of a storybook. There's excellent scenery everywhere.

"The Place Where Whales Go To Die" has always been my favourite segment. The characters though never appear too cold while walking across the icy landscape or splashing around in the icy waters. They aren't even dressed too warmly either. I guess the studio lights kept them warm from all that cold Arctic air.

Lastly, I got a kick out of seeing East Asian actors playing the Inuit at the trading post on Ellesmere Island. Mako does a real fine goof-ball performance as Oomiak, but you can tell he's not really an Eskimo.

Overall, I did really enjoy this film. It has that grand sense of adventure and fun that those old Disney flicks are known for. I'd love to journey to Astragard and stroll around the bay where the 'Whales go to die', but in reality, all I'd find is ice and snowdrifts and deeply chilly winds.

I used to live up in the Arctic, by the way.

I flew the camera ship in the Canadian Arctic scenes

[w98208-1 · 16 December 2005]

FYI...I flew the camera ship for the Polar Bear and Narwhal scenes. The camera man was Bill Bacon from Squim, Washington. According to my log book, I met Bill in Resolute Bay, NWT on about July 24, 1973. On July 26, 1973 we flew 2+00 hours to Arctic Bay, NWT for staging and fuel. I logged 6+30 hours flying on July 27th, this was en-route from Arctic Bay,NWT to Admirality Inlet for the filming and returning to Resolute Bay. The Aircraft was a Bell 206B (CF-OKU) belonging to Okanagan Helicopters Ltd. A Canadian company out of Vancouver, BC, Canada with a base in Resolute. The Narwhal scenes were filmed with a 35 MM camera, but if I remember correctly Bill shot the Polar bear as an after thought and was filmed with a 16 MM camera.

Walter Lasher Everett, Washington [e-mail]

A Viking colony that values its privacu

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 26 March 2019]

The Island At The Top Of The World isn't exactly at the North Pole because we know that is all water. But it could be the farthest north human life has managed to live. This Disney Production did get some Oscar recognition with a nomination for Best Art&Set Direction.

Donald Sinden has lost his son David Gwyllum in an Arctic expedition in the Edwardian years. He's been missing for two years and prevailing rumors have him in search of a legendary whale's sea graveyard. He enlists David Hartman a Swedish archeologist in his search and French lighter than air balloonist Jacques Marin and his machine. Quite unwillingly they dragoon Mako who was Gwyllum's guide in his expedition. Mako who is an Eskimo says they tangled with some evil spirits.

In a valley that is almost temperate in climate with vegetation growing they find a colony of Vikings. Looking much like Iceland back when Eric the Red settled it, this is the place that Gwyllum has been stuck in.

This is not some fantasy. On Antarctica there are a place or two where there is vegetation growing although not like this place. The Vikings value their privacy.

This is a good family action/adventure film. The sets depicting the ancient Viking settlement were definitely Oscar worthy.

The Island At The Top Of The World holds up well after over 40 years.

"...but he does fight like a bear."

[utgard14 · 6/10 · 28 December 2015]

In 1907, a wealthy Englishman recruits an American archaeologist and a French dirigible pilot to help him find a mysterious island in the Arctic where he believes he will find his missing son. When they locate the island, they find its inhabited by a lost Viking civilization that aren't too happy to see the outsiders.

Enjoyable Disney adventure film that's a throwback of sorts to similar films of the 1950s and early 1960s. It immediately brings to mind movies based on the works of Jules Verne, although it's actually an adaptation of the Ian Cameron novel "The Lost Ones." Handling the screenplay is John Whedon, a writer who worked mostly in sitcom television and also happens to be the grandfather of Joss Whedon. Directing the film is Disney favorite Robert Stevenson. It's a good-looking picture with nice sets and matte paintings. The scenes with the dirigible model are pretty good. There are no Harryhausen monsters to speak of, sadly, but there is a groan-tastic scene involving killer whales. The cast is decent, with most of the actors playing stereotype stock characters. Mako's turn as a cowardly Eskimo is probably the most colorful performance in the film. Maurice Jarre's evocative score is a big plus. The journey to discover the island is the best part. Once they arrive and deal with the Vikings, it becomes a lot less interesting, although things do pick back up during the escape. It's not going to give 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea or Mysterious Island a run for their money, but it's very entertaining in its own way. Give it a shot if you're a fan of old-school adventure films, Disney or not, and you'll likely find something to enjoy here.

THE ISLAND AT THE TOP OF THE WORLD (Robert Stevenson, 1974) ***

[Bunuel1976 · 7/10 · 30 December 2008]

This is one of the better-regarded of the Disney studio's live-action efforts, particularly among those made following Walt's death. It's a fantasy adventure on Jules Verne lines; actually, the film coincided with the somewhat similar (and equally good) THE LAND THAT TIME FORGOT (1974). We have a handful of people embarking on an expedition to the Arctic via airship in search of the leader (Donald Sinden)'s son – the others are David Hartman (young but expert explorer), Jacques Marin (French captain of the vessel) and Mako (the Eskimo who last saw the boy alive). Eventually, half-way through the proceedings to be exact, they find him – along with a lost Viking civilization (which speaks in its native tongue) and the location of a fabled whale graveyard!

The film may take a typically juvenile viewpoint, but it's no less engaging for all that – of course, we also get humor (including Sinden's traditionally Victorian haughtiness), romance (between his boy and a local lass) and a variety of thrills (the party having to fend themselves against not just standard human villainy but a rather intense attack by killer whales) along the way. The production design of the mythic landscape is attractive (as is the widescreen photography) and, while dated, the special effects (notably the eruption of a volcano and the climactic explosion of the airship – it's purely coincidental that I watched this only a day after THE ASSASSINATION BUREAU [1969]; see my review for that film) are quite nicely done.

A trip back in time

[onepotato2 · 5/10 · 16 March 2008]

The format of this is the "Boy's Adventure," a genre which is now quite dead, existing now maybe only in Saturday morning animated adventures. But really a young boy's interest might be piqued in science and exploration by this. It's imaginative for the genre. I wanted to see it very badly as a kid, but my parents never took us to the movies.

It gets moving quickly, which cannot be said for most Disney movies of the era. At the 14 minute mark, things are already underway. The big shift since this was made is that a movie like this would star physically-attractive, young-looking stars, not 3 people crowding middle age.

The FX are mediocre, but some of them are surprising. The dirigible is passable about half the time (unlike the flying car in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang). But yes, it is hard to believe that this fell between 2001: A Space Odyssey and Star Wars, two movies which are both more daring and whose fx are holding up better. It's hard to believe Disney used to be at the forefront of movie technology and effects, which by the 70s began to fail them. They aimed low and hit their target. This movie has cost-cutting as it's major aesthetic; bad rear-screen projection, indoor sets standing in for exteriors, and much too much faith in Albert Whitlock matte paintings. I did wonder if certain sequences weren't digitally improved for the DVD.

Stargate stole the first half hour of this. Bu then this has borrowed a bit from Lost Horizon.

Saw this when I was 11; finally got to Iceland 45 years later

[mccanlessdesign · 10/10 · 9 July 2018]

Wonderful, fun movie I've remembered always.

I saw this when it came out; learned that Iceland was the closest place in concept. Finally visited last month - stunning.

I stood in Leif Erikson's actual house foundations - how cool is that!

Bad, yes, but still campy fun

[time_waster · 6/10 · 12 September 2004]

A man boards an early dirigible-like machine and travels into the Arctic to find his lost son. There he finds an island heated by volcanic fissures, and a long-lost viking colony who have claimed the island as their home--one they defend against all outsiders, which causes our heroes some distress.

I call it bad, but it isn't, really. It's just too close to being good without actually being good. This was one of my favorite movies as a kid, which I guess shows how easily I was entertained then. I just saw it on a 30th anniversary DVD, and parts of it hold up well. Some of the visuals are striking, and Maurice Jarre has a nice soundtrack. Parts of it don't, like the racist portrayal of the cowardly Eskimo ("Inuit" not being part of the vocabulary back then). And some of the costumes look like they're one step up from a high school theater production.

The chief problem is the flatness of the plot, though. They spend over a half hour just getting to the Island, and almost no time interacting with the vikings before they're chased through a series of mountain trails, caverns, volcanoes and lakes. I know it was made for kids with a thirty-second attention span, but even so, I wish they'd spent more time in the viking village before being chased off.

Still, it kept me entertained, even now. Some of the aerial photography is strikingly beautiful, as the airship flies over parts of Greenland and catches some amazing views of polar bears and what look to be some kind of elk. And, while the plot is pretty scatterbrained, the filmmakers at least took care to cut out the boring parts once the protagonists reach the island.

An enjoyable enough action adventure film.

[Rob_Taylor · 5/10 · 25 December 2002]

I recall reading the book before I went to see this as a kid and being a little disappointed. But in hindsight, it's an enjoyable enough action adventure film. The effects aren't too bad (with one exception, see below) and the acting, whilst not Oscar materiel, is competent enough.

The plot is ludicrous, of course, but no worse than "Devil Country" the author of which escapes me now, which had Neanderthals living in the Andes. Plus this movie has Donald Sinden in it. Way back then, I only knew him from a cheap BBC TV sitcom called "Two's Company" where he played a butler. So it was a bit of a shock to see him in the adventurer role.

The only laughable bit in the film are the lava scenes. The heroes have to cross a volcanic region to escape the pursuing vikings. It's all done poorly, bringing a smile as you watch, but then you see Donald Sinden running away from a lava flow. It's so bad, I burst out laughing. His expressions, combined with the back projected lava picture and the slightly overcranked camera-work are hysterical. It's worth seeing the movie just for that scene alone.

As I say, though, an enjoyable enough way to spend a couple of hours.

Disney At There Best

[Ron-181 · 8/10 · 14 March 2001]

This is a good example of the Disney Studio's at there best. A light fantasy with good photography and acting. David Hartman does a passable job in his lone movie staring role. Interesting story with just enough action to hold the viewers attention. A good addition to any library and worth viewing annually. Great family fare with its "G" rating. I rated this an 8.

Engaging adventure from Disney

[jordondave-28085 · 7/10 · 24 April 2023]

(1974) the Island at the Top of the World FANTASY ACTION ADVENTURE

Disney production film adapted from the book "The Lost Ones" by Donald G. Payne with similar themes to such movies as "Journey To The Center of the Earth" and "In Search of the Castaways" to name a few which the story takes place during the early 1900's when there were no planes or helicopters, starring Donald Sinden as wealthy heir, Sir Anthony Ross hiring archeologist, Ivarsson to help find his only adult son who was said to have been lost on top of the antarctic where it is said to be no island of any sort to which the son to have disappeared to also called the bay of whales. Along with the voyage also includes a French inventor Captain Brieux (Jacques Marin) of a very unique blimp in which they are going to use in search of Anthony Rose's son.

Disney ought to leave the lost colonies alone...

[moonspinner55 · 1/10 · 5 September 2005]

Awful Disney adventure, puny in scope and grandeur, about a professor from England who is reluctantly recruited into leading a small search party across the Antarctic to find missing youngster. Jules Verne-like tale is actually based upon Ian Cameron's book "The Lost Ones", but resembles a poor man's "In Search of the Castaways". It offers absolutely nothing of merit (David Hartman cast in the leading role should tell you enough). Aside from Mako, the supporting cast is completely unmemorable, and the poor writing and dull presentation will likely put most children to sleep. NO STARS from ****