Penny Thoughts ‘13—Atlantis: Milo’s Return (2003) **

G, 87 min.

Directors: Victor Cook, Toby Shelton, Tad Stones

Writers: Thomas Hart, Henry Gilroy, Kevin Hopps, Tad Stones, Steve Englhart, Marty Eisenberg

Voices: James Arnold Taylor, Cree Summer, John Mahoney, Jacqueline Obradors, Don Novello, Corey Burton, Phil Morris, Florence Stanley, Clancy Brown, Jean Gilpin, Tom Wilson, Floyd ‘Red Crow’ Westerman, William Morgan Shepard

Well, the first one was fun. So, on a family movie night when I didn’t make plans for a movie ahead of time, I thought, what the heck? Let’s check out the direct to video sequel. The sequel is just ho hum. Most of the voice talent is back, except for the lead, who was originally voiced by Michael J. Fox. The new voice is a good approximation of Fox’s, but lacks his hesitational charm.  

The biggest problem with this sequel is that it is less of a sequel and more of a test strip for turning these characters into a weekly television cartoon. The story is really three half-hour long stories cobbled together into a movie. Their effectiveness is something akin to a Scooby-Doo adventure. The kids go out and foil the plans of old Mr. Henderson, who has come across some lost Atlantean technology and hopes to take over the world with it.

I suppose it will work just fine for its target audience of kids between the ages of 8 and 12, but it doesn’t have the solid storytelling and characterization of your typical Disney animated feature. This is not one to be enjoyed by the whole family, just the kids.