Despite the wonderful premise and likable characters, 20000 Leagues Under the Sea was rather disappointing.I had a good feeling coming into this, but it seems it was rather a wasted opportunity. It was all pretty uneventful other than the encounter with the giant squid, which wasn't entertaining in the slightest. Ned and Conseil's brief little trip to the island was probably the highlight in terms of anything happening and that had nothing to do with the story. The acting was solid and so was the dialogue, just needed something to happen. The only intensity in the film was in Ned's humour and that was hit and miss. Reviews are saying Peter Lorre is miscast here, but I found him quite likable, not over the top. In fact I thought Conseil was the best character in the film.Nemo: Do you know the meaning of love, professor? Professor: I believe I do. Nemo: What you fail to understand is the power of hate. It can fill the heart as surely as love can. Professor: I'm sorry for you. That's a bitter substitute.Nemo: Mr. Land, you saved my life. Why? Ned: That's a good question. Well, there's only one thing a fella can do when he's made a mistake as big as this. Conseil: What? Ned: Get drunk!

Released in 1954 and directed by Richard Fleischer, "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" is a Disney adventure based on Jules Verne's book about a ship in 1868 sent to investigate a wave of mysterious shipwrecks in the south Pacific, which are reportedly attributed to a sea monster. After the ship is attacked, three survivors (Paul Lukas, Peter Lorre & Kirk Douglas) encounter an advanced submarine, the Nautilus, commanded by mad-genius Captain Nemo (James Mason).If you can ignore a few short spurts of Disney hokeyness, e.g. a Douglas song & dance routine and his frolics with Esmeralda the seal, this is a well done fantasy adventure. Everyone praises the giant squid attack in the second half, but my favorite element is simply the fascinating character study of Captain Nemo, excellently portrayed by Mason. Ned Lands (Douglas) argues that Nemo's mad, but is he? Yes, he's driven by hate, but it's hatred of the evils of war and unjust government & the corresponding suffocating laws. IN the oceans he's free. I'd say more, but it's best to watch the movie and glean from it yourself.Unfortunately, there are zero females in the main cast, but it's still well-worth catching. If you enjoy it, be sure to check out the unofficial sequel, 1961's "Mysterious Island," which isn't a Disney production (and therefore lacks the kid-friendly approach) and stars Herbert Lom as Nemo; it's superior in all-around entertainment IMHO. A similar movie is 1974's "The Land that Time Forgot," as long as you can forgive dubious dinosaur F/X.The film runs 127 minutes and was shot in Jamaica, Bahamas and Red Rock Canyon State Park, California, with studio work done in the Los Angeles area.GRADE: B+

All of us young people in the fifties flocked to this film. Ned land, the harpooner versus Captain Nemo, the narcissistic hater of civilization and ocean traffic. This was film of wonder. Imagine being in that amazing submarine. Cruising the ocean depths, exploring and battling giant squid. And being self sufficient. The food they ate was culled from the bottoms of the ocean. In addition to fish and sea creatures, the plants were processed to create delicious repasts. The only problem was that the good Captain was a megalomaniac. Of course, being the common man, Land has only one thing in mind-- escape. His friends, particularly the professor, have the human need to know. All that aside, to a young person, Disney gave us one of the greatest adventures we had ever seen.

Others have given good accounts of this Disney movie based on the famous Jules Verne sci-fi novel of 1870. That Disney took on this project at all – as a real live action film instead of an animated movie, is quite a story. The restored film DVD has some bonus shorts with good background on the making of this film. The IMDb movie page has the budget estimated at $5 million. But, the cost was $2.7 million, according to the DVD bonus videos. And that was an astronomical amount for 1954. It made it the most costly film produced in the history of movies to that time – surpassing the previous most costly, "Gone With the Wind."This was a big success for Walt Disney. But it was a real gamble from the start. Before that time Disney had only done animated films. He had some great successes. But, Hollywood didn't consider him in the big leagues since he hadn't yet made a live action film. When one considers that no one in Hollywood had taken on a project like this before then, it showed Disney to be a man of action and conviction. He was already known as a dreamer and producer of fairy tales. At the time he decided to tackle "20,000 Leagues" as a live action film, he also had plans underway for the opening of Disneyland. So, this film, with its huge costs, was a "make it or break it" project for Disney. There was one silent film made before this time – by Universal in 1916. It had some underwater shots filmed in the Bahamas. But the inability to create the technical submarine and many of the underwater special effects, led the filmmakers to alter the plot considerably. It borrowed from other stories, including some other Verne fiction, and much of it was shot on dry land. With its release in 1954, Disney's "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" did justice to the wonderful Jules Verne tale of undersea adventure, exploration and sights. The detailed, elaborate and lengthy designs of the Nautilus are most impressive and yet today give one a sense of being in a real submarine. The underwater scenes, also shot in the Bahamas, are still among the best such scenes used in movies. And the giant squid, of course, seems very real. Younger audiences today may find this classic film somewhat slow. But many aspects of it are still noteworthy and enjoyable. The set, cinematography, special effects, direction and acting all are exceptional. I doubt that the best job of CGI today could make a more realistic giant squid than the special effects crew did for this 1954 film.