“Now, some of you may ask, why Atlantis? It’s just a myth, isn’t it?” Milo Thatch’s opening question introduces a young scholar whose enthusiasm for a lost civilization far exceeds his confidence around other people. This expressive rough animation drawing captures Disney’s unlikely adventurer as an intrepid linguist, cartographer, explorer—and, at this point in his journey, something of a pushover. With his torso leaning backward, hands raised defensively, and mouth open in alarm, Milo appears caught between an attempted explanation and an instinctive retreat. His oversized round glasses, swept hair, angular features, and lanky proportions make him immediately recognizable.
Identified as coming from approximately the 30:10 mark in the film, this graphite drawing depicts Milo dodging mechanical odds and ends tossed by the expedition’s resourceful head mechanic, Audrey Ramirez, voiced by Jacqueline Obradors. The pose conveys the comic mismatch between the academically gifted newcomer and his more practically experienced companions. His spread fingers and unevenly positioned arms give the action a spontaneous, slightly flustered quality. Visible exploratory pencil lines preserve the animator’s search for movement and expression, while the punched registration holes and handwritten “M-40” markings retain the sheet’s working production character.
Released in 2001, “Atlantis: The Lost Empire” was produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures as the studio’s 41st animated feature and its first animated science fiction feature. Directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, produced by Don Hahn, and featuring a screenplay by Tab Murphy, the film combines science fantasy with an expedition adventure set in 1914. Milo James Thatch, a linguist and cartographer working at the Smithsonian, believes that an ancient manuscript, “The Shepherd’s Journal,” holds the route to Atlantis. His ability to interpret it earns him a place aboard an expedition financed by Preston B. Whitmore and commanded by Lyle Tiberius Rourke, whose motives ultimately prove far removed from Milo’s scholarly hopes.
Inspired by Jules Verne’s adventures, particularly the spirit of “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea,” the film pairs elaborate machinery and subterranean landscapes with the mysteries of an ancient civilization. Its distinctive visual identity also reflects the influence of “Hellboy” creator Mike Mignola, whose bold shapes and angular designs helped distinguish Atlantis from Disney’s earlier animated worlds. That graphic approach is evident in Milo’s sharply defined jaw, geometric sleeves, and elongated silhouette, yet the drawing’s expressive gestures keep him approachable and human.
Michael J. Fox supplies Milo’s voice, bringing nervous energy, comic timing, and sincerity to a character whose greatest strengths are intelligence and compassion. The ensemble also includes Cree Summer as Kida, James Garner as Rourke, Leonard Nimoy as the Atlantean king, Don Novello as Vinny, Phil Morris as Dr. Sweet, Claudia Christian as Helga, Jacqueline Obradors as Audrey, and Jim Varney as Cookie. Together, their contrasting personalities give the expedition much of its humor and dramatic tension. One memorable example of Milo’s physical discomfort comes after he becomes seasick aboard the surface vessel carrying the submarine “Ulysses”: “Carrots. Why is there always carrots? I didn’t even eat carrots.” The complaint is widely reported as an ad-lib by Fox, who is also reported to be allergic to carrots.
Milo’s supervising animator was John Foster Pomeroy, born in 1951, an American animator, producer, and screenwriter whose career has included work for Disney and Sullivan Bluth Studios. Developing Milo required Pomeroy to find a convincing physical personality for a scholarly hero. According to Marc Okrand, the linguist who created the film’s Atlantean language, Pomeroy sketched him during their conversations because he had never previously met a linguist and wanted to observe how one looked and behaved. Okrand consequently became an inspiration for Milo’s design and mannerisms.
Although Pomeroy supervised Milo’s animation, the individual artist responsible for this sheet cannot be established from the visible markings alone. What the drawing clearly demonstrates is the skill involved in making a character’s thoughts readable through posture: Milo’s intelligence remains apparent even as his composure deserts him. Preserved in graphite, this fleeting comic moment offers an engaging view of the vulnerable, earnest young scholar whose determination eventually makes him a hero.
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