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By Jonathan Klotz | Published
When I went to Disney World as a kid, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea It was my favorite attraction, and for 20 minutes, which is an eternity compared to the park’s modern attractions, I got to live out my childhood dream of sailing with Captain Nemo aboard the Nautilus. The attraction closed in 1994 and was replaced by The Little Mermaid. It’s been 30 years and Jules Verne’s classic novel still has no presence in Disney parks and, worse yet, has yet to receive a modern film adaptation despite being the novel that helped launch the entire science fiction genre.
The book that popularized science fiction
Jules Verne 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea was a huge success upon its release in 1869, when it was first serialized, and then again in 1871, when an illustrated version hit bookstores around the world. As with most classic science fiction works, Verne took a futuristic view of submarines when he created the Nautilus, Captain Nemo’s advanced submarine that he used to terrorize the shipping lanes. However, considering Nemo’s motivations as a pure man of science and a lover of nature, Verne inadvertently created the first eco-terrorist.
On the surface, the novel is a science fiction adventure, but if we dig a little deeper, there are references to the political turmoil of the time, the impact of the Industrial Revolution, and how the natural world is being tarnished forever. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea It has a lot going on under the surface, but rather than making it difficult to adapt, it would help make it easy and relevant even today, almost 150 years after it was first published.. That makes it even more surprising that the last time someone adapted the novel to film was 70 years ago.
The last great film adaptation
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea released in 1954 by Walt Disney, starring Kirk Douglas as the harpooner Ned Land, and one of Hollywood’s classic protagonists, George Mason, in the role of Captain Nemo, it was a great success, and although the box office figures of that time are hard to come by, putting it at about $8 million earned over four years, or $91 million if adjusted for inflation. That puts it at almost double the joker 2 domestic box office total.
Mixing parts of The mysterious islandthe underrated sequel to the novel, with the original novel, 20,000 Leagues Under the Seathe film remains a faithful adaptation, at least for 1954 sensibilities, of the groundbreaking story. Nemo’s rough, nihilistic edges are softened a bit, but Mason does a fantastic job with the complex character who is both hero and villain, depending on who you ask. \
Nautilus has good intentions but falls short
Despite the lack of a modern film adaptation, which makes no sense given the success of the 1954 film, the BBC adapted 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea for the new series Nautiluswhich is well-intentioned and wonderfully acted, but misses the point. The modern series is an origin story of Nemo and the iconic submarine, altering his book origins as a fallen Indian prince to become a slave in the service of the East India Company, the go-to villain for naval adventures. of the 19th century.
Instead of being a man of science who considers himself above the turmoil of the human world, Nemo, played by Star Trek: Discoveries Shazad Latif, in Nautilus he begins on a quest for revenge against the British corporation, which mostly works, but, again, it’s not really Nemo. He is a tormented and broken man, but as a big fan of the 1954 film and the original novel, something is missing, since it is a prequel, which could be on purpose, and at least someone is trying to tell this story today, even if it deserves a bigger stage.
We need an IMAX show
Imagine a blockbuster 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea playing on an IMAX screen. All the magnificent underwater views of the Pacific combined with the sheer terror of giant deep-sea squid, storms on the surface, and tropical islands sparkling in the ocean, it’s a story that needs to be told in the largest format possible. We deserve a new version of Jules Verne’s groundbreaking story that finally does justice to his original vision.
