Disney's Forgotten (And BEST) Twist Villain

Helga: “There weren’t supposed to be people here. This changes everything.” Rourke: “This changes nothing.” This is the biggest clue that the character has ulterior motives and something is up.

People dislike Atlantis? I can understand critics, but have never meet anyone who's watched the film and disliked it. It was one of my favorites as a kid.

Love that Atlantis and Emperor's new groove have both grown into beloved classics over the years. They were very before their time

I'm surprised that this movie was such a flop. This was one of my favorite childhood movies and up until recently I had no idea that it did poorly.

Another moment that hinted at Rourke’s true nature was this exchange between Helga and him. “Commander… there weren’t supposed to be people down here. This changes everything.” “This changes nothing.”

Atlantis the Lost Empire was not hated by audiences, it not only made profit but it became a cult classic. It's poor performance compared to other disney movies is attributed to being released at the same time as Shrek. Me and my family loved the movie when I was a kid.

One detail that nobody ever talks about is that Rourke does NOT start the movie as a villain at all. Yes, he's a mercenary in it for the money, but that does not mean that he'd have any reason to do anything antagonistic. Then 2/3 of the crew are wiped out by the Leviathan. Men and women he had served alongside, who looked up to him as a commander, their deaths are on his hands, and he refuses to put any of the blame on Milo for being the reason they came to find Atlantis. Then they meet real, Living Atlanteans, and you can see the goodness in him quickly die out.

Another line that hinted at Rourke’s villainous nature is when the crew are first driving into Atlantis. Helga: Commander, there aren’t supposed to be people down here. This changes everything. Rourke: stone faced This changes nothing. It implies that, unlike Milo (who, during that same scene, is “like a kid at Christmas”), Rourke has something bigger on his mind than just finding Atlantis.

I think a big reason why Atlantis didn't get a lot of love is Disney made this a straight up adventure movie. No singing or musical numbers. They did this with the Black Cauldron and Treasure Planet too, and for whatever reason, when Disney does that style, they don't do as well at the box office and are not as fondly remembered.

What I love about Rourke is at the turning point he offered Milo a genuine opportunity to join him, meaning all that admiration for Milo's intellect and capacity as a linguist wasn't feigned and that he genuinely saw a use for Milo that despite not being part of the original deal he was willing to cut him a share regardless. It's only after refusing him twice does he turn hostile towards Milo.

Part of it that really sold me on their villainy was when Milo was talking with the group and getting to know them. There's a moment when he's all wide eye and happy, blissfully running off about his reasons for wanting this adventure. Yet when he questions the rest of the group, their only motivation is "money". It shows just how much of a Fish-out-of-water Milo is compared to everyone else and cemented the idea that something was wrong. They're all presented as good people with their own unique backstories and origins, all are connected yet in a normal world, so many different personalities and specialized people wouldn't gel well together unless there was a truly common and underlining reason and what more selfish reason could a group of people have than to simply be "rich". It's why the reveal hit so hard yet fit so well. Milo is the only one seeking honest adventure. He's genuine, curious and friendly. These people, he doesn't truly know them by that point and despite finally accepting him into the group, their intentions don't line up in the slightest and I love that. It's so on the nose your mind doesn't think twice about it when it hears it. It's natural to want to get paid for what you do for a living and that's why it works so damn well. Underrated film

I think another big part of the twist working is that you completely buy that Milo couldn't have figured it out, despite having lived with those people for weeks, and not because he is naive (even if he also is that) but because he is so passionate about Atlantis that he cannot even conceive that someone is doing it for any other reason, finding Atlantis has been his single life purpose for years, it makes complete sense for his character that the thought never even crossed his mind.

Hans would've worked if they had made him honest. If they had done the kiss, have it not work, and then have Hans start panicking and lashing out, everything he did could have been a lot more justifiable. He wouldn't have wanted to kill Elsa until he felt that maybe killing her was the only way to save Anna, and it would make him a much more sympathetic character.

One of the fun things about Rorke is that he did show a few heroic qualities for the sake of throwing the viewers off. His villainous hinting was more subtle but his heroic actions were more present such as him taking the time to hold a vigil for the crew that died during the leviathan attack. It's pretty important for a twist villain to express behaviors like that

Another bit of foreshadowing you forgot: When the crew first arrive at Atlantis, Helga says that the fact that their are people still alive changes everything. His response: "This changes nothing". This hints to the mercenary twist, as well as the fact that he's much less humane compared to the rest of the crew

Helga: there were not supposed to be people down here. This changes everything. Rourke: this changes nothing. The biggest villain flag and the only reason Rourke is a villain, if there were no Atlantians he could be like Indiana Jones, Lara Croft, or Scrooge McDuck.

In terms of the, Hans didn't need to be a villain, point. Disney had the golden opportunity to show the difference between infatuation and romantic love. They are different. Disney could have written Hans like Anna, isolated with a need for attention/affection that was established for both in the film. Hand didn't need to be re written until the twist. Hans and Anna kiss, but nothing happens. They are both confused because they both thought they were in love. But it wasn't it was infatuation and affection that they craved that they mistook for love. But Hans is crushed thinking Anna is going to die takes off to confront Elsa, leading to the conclusion that to save Anna and the innocent people of the kingdom Elsa must die. Movie ends with Anna wishing Hans well in finding his place with some awkward goodbyes and parting on good terms. THERE fixed the movie without having a twist villain and keeping Hans in the story.

I love how they nailed his personality. This guy seems approachable, even as a mercenary. Even tho that it seemed kinda obvious to me since the beginning that he’d fit the evil general archetype for the story to progress, the fact that the whole team was evil (and how they unraveled it) took me by surprise. A well developed twist villain from a greatly developed movie. Great vid!

People dislike Atlantis?! I always put it up there with Treasure Planet and Road to El Dorado as one of the most underrated animated films.

Atlantis was widely hated by Audience? When? Critics I can see, but ever since this movie came out I've been hearing nothing but praise.