Atlantis: A Lost Empire? Or ripped off from a popular Japanese Anime?
Tenkuu no Escaflowne… and Disney’s Atlantis: The Lost Empire. What do they have in common? More than the average American movie go-er would think. It seems that the recent ancient American trend of stealing ideas from the Japanese and claiming them as our own has infiltrated even the writers of Disney entertainment.
First of all, the most obvious similarity is that they are both about Atlantis. Granted, you don’t know that in Escaflowne until episode 4 or 5 I believe. You walk into this movie knowing it’s about that lost culture (duh, read the title). Both stories include a culture of living thriving people who survived after the destruction of the lost city of Atlantis. Both stories include an Atlantean history filled with powerful technology, magick, and beauty. Both stories attribute Atlantis’s power to something supernatural and something connected to the people itself. The most striking and obvious similarity to Escaflowne is Atlantis’s use of magick crystal necklaces which contain the source of their technology… very similar to Hitomi’s necklace and it’s connection to Escaflowne (the mecha).
The power behind the technology… the “crystal” in Atlantis and the “power of wishes” in Escaflowne (is this a bad translation or what?) can be interpreted to the same thing… The Crystal in Atlantis was in essence the life-force and livelihood of the Atlanteans and was intimately connected to their emotional and spiritual health. If the Atlanteans became prideful and greedy the crystal reacted to restore the balance… sort of a “sow what you reap” thing… on a more cosmic and well, immediate scale. (this by the way was Disney’s interpretation of the cause of Atlantis’s fall.) The “power of wishes” in Escaflowne in connection with the necklaces was in fact the power behind the culture and also it’s downfall. The power was intimately connected with the emotions of the person… if the person was anxious or worried or had little faith, then the wishes and desires would be distorted and bad things would happen… or if a person’s motivations were wrong (greed, pride etc) then REALLY bad things would happen… See the connection? another “sow what you reap” type thing.
Now, I was just sort of joking about Disney ripping off Japanese Anime… but there are very interesting similarities and connections. It makes me wonder exactly how these similarities came about. The original myths of Atlantis don’t really allude to some mystical magickal power which is connected to the emotional states of the populace… unless you count the actual “sow what you reap” idea. The original myths might have begun as stories to enforce morals and values and to warn against pride and greed. That might be where the idea of this emotional connection came from.
Anyway… So in conclusion, it is possible that Atlantis wasn’t ripped off from Escaflowne. Now Stargate, that is another story!
Ok… Read the following brief outline and tell me which movie I’m talking about. The movie opens with the un respected linguist struggling to prove something no one will credit. Then a mysterious woman comes to him and offers him a way to prove his theories. The team of people going on the expedition includes a militant man who is revealed to be hiding something. No one expects to find people, but they do… The linguist is able to speak the language and also falls in love with a pretty girl. Then the militant leader’s true reasons for coming are clear and he brings guns into the picture. The linguist and his new friends join forces to save the day using the native technology. Then in the end (here is the clincher) the final scene is when the crew is sent home… without their linguist who made it all possible. he stays behind to be with the girl he met… and everyone feels that he belongs there…. *awww how sweet*
Now, which movie was I talking about?
Go watch them both and compare. it is pretty uncanny. *grin*
Anyway… all critique and attempted cleverness aside… I really liked Atlantis. I thought it was a great movie. I’m a big fan of fantasy and of animation… and I’ve always been fascinated by things like Stonehenge, Atlantis, ancient mystery-type things… I also like to see pretty girls with white hair get morphed into a crystalline form and walk on water. whoo hoo! *ahem* I recommend going to see Atlantis. It is a fun movie.
amanojyaku | 05-Jul-01 at 6:04 pm | Permalink
but aladdin was from arabian knights and then ther was hurcules i dont really think
disney has any origanal movies just kiddy veirsons of them but still fun and ful of merchndise
starladear6 | 05-Jul-01 at 6:07 pm | Permalink
I never said Disney does only Original movies… but lately they have been trying… Like The Lion King… That was supposedly an original (but I think it was very similar to Hamlet)
I just said that disney stole from Japan… the escaflowne stuff… :)
nutari | 06-Jul-01 at 7:18 am | Permalink
I hear it at least once a day from the idiots in the Anime LJ…. We all know the people at disney are a bunch of unimaginative perverts…
Simba (Lion King) = Kimba the white lion
Atlantis = Escaflowne OR Nadia of Blue water.
Atlantis had more in common with Nadia of Blue water than Esca… For example
miscfiles | 07-Jul-01 at 1:17 am | Permalink
(Geillis’ note: this comment has been slightly modified)
The story you described in your comparison section could describe any one of a number of movies. Man wants to be famous. Man gets group of people to support him. Evil villain is in their midst. Man fights evil and prevails. Man lives happily ever after with woman. I know the details in your comparison are what you are trying to emphasize, but our times call for this type of escapism.
I don’t know anything specifically regarding necklaces, however, stones and crystals have been mentioned in connection to Atlantis.
Edgar Cayce (d. 1945) did several predictions about Atlantis regarding where Atlantis is located, Atlantean life and technology. He refers to a cylindrical glass stone with facets that provided some sort of power to the Atlanteans. The Atlanteans may have used this power in air or water travel. He claims the activity from this stone is received from the suns rays or maybe from the stars. Walls of a temple inhibited the full power of the stone. He believed that if the stone had been exposed to the entire island, it would have been even more powerful.
He also mentions that the Atlanteans where in extreme control of their mental powers and this may have had something to do with the stone.
More recent insights into Atlantis claim that the Atlanteans used a “living” crystal created from pure silicon and trace metallic elements. The claim is that the crystal’s resonance tuned to a pitch that could be impressed with the contents of the Antlantean mind. Thus making the crystal powerful with the thoughts and feeling of the Atlantean nation. As the world grew in power and technology, these crystals began to loose meaning and power. Thus the theory ?you reap what you sow?. If you continue to grow and grow, then you outgrow your life force, in this case your crystal.
Another recent thought is consistent with Cayce’s glass stone in that it refers to a crystalline energy which sent and received messages throughout the galaxy.
Here is my theory regarding the necklaces. The creators of the two series in question both needed something that would manifest the way of life for Atlantis. Do some research and Cayce?s theories come into play. This something had to be portable, otherwise the villain wouldn?t be able to take away the controlling force from Atlantis (just in case Atlantis was still covered up with water ? you never know what the main character could have found). You can?t go with the crystalline structure Cayce refers to. It can?t move ? or if it could, it would be so huge it would take a very large excavation team. Which doesn?t work for either setting, there couldn?t be any good chase or fight scenes. Do some more research and you find the theory about small crystals containing the impressions and mental powers of the Atlanteans. Bingo! This works for the premise of the show. Now, you need to come up with how to transport the crystal around. How are crystals traditionally worn? In a pouch or around the neck. The character with the crystal the majority of the time is female, so maybe she should have a necklace. Why not put that crystal on the necklace? And there you have how the crystal (life force of Atlantis) became on a necklace. It just fits the direction of the film.
One last thought for you… If we believe what people have told us about Atlantis, they were the ultimate nation. A place for humankind to remember and live humanity’s greatness. Many nations took ideas and building designs and legends home with them regarding Atlantis. In essence, our modern society is a distant imitation of Atlantis. Reports of Atlantean influence spread from Europe to the Mayan Empire from Japan to the Celts. It is only appropriate that Disney (or anyone) keep this imitation flowing.
starladear6 | 07-Jul-01 at 3:57 pm | Permalink
WOW
What an awesome comment you left me…! Thank you thank you! You’ve made me totally interested in doing some legit research on the subject of Atlantis. Can you give me some ideas on where to start? I watched this documentary on the Search For Atlantis on the History Channel or something recently… but most of it was pretty watered down… i mean they were real people who really were searching for what the legends described… but each one “failed” in the search.
Anyway… I’m glad to see you again. Take care. :) come back again soon. :)
starla