20,000 Leagues Under the Sea — news, coverage & facts — IJR

Plot

In 1868, rumors spread of a sea monster attacking many ships in the Pacific Ocean. Professor Pierre Aronnax and his assistant, Conseil, are asked to investigate the scene. They board a U.S. Navy frigate with Ned Land, a master harpooner.

After months of patrolling, the monster is spotted. The frigate's crew opens fire, but the monster rams the ship. Ned, Conseil, and Aronnax are thrown overboard, while the disabled frigate drifts away. While clinging to wreckage, Aronnax and Conseil come upon a metal vessel, realizing that the monster is a man-made "submerging boat", which appears deserted. Below deck, Aronnax finds a large viewport and witnesses an underwater funeral, while Ned arrives on an overturned longboat from their ship.

Spotted by the divers, Ned, Aronnax, and Conseil attempt to leave in the longboat, but they are captured. The vessel's captain introduces himself as Captain Nemo, master of the Nautilus. He returns Ned and Conseil to the deck while offering Aronnax the chance to stay. After Aronnax proves willing to die with his companions as the ship submerges, Nemo allows Ned and Conseil to remain aboard. He explains that he has intentionally withdrawn from civilization, and that the sea provides all he needs. Arronax is amazed by Nemo's discoveries and inventions, including the advanced technology of the Nautilus and the crew's ability to harvest an abundance of sea creatures for food.

The Nautilus arrives at a penal colony island, where the prisoners are loading a munitions ship. Nemo, who was once a prisoner there, rams the ship and destroys it. Nemo tells Aronnax that he has just saved thousands from death in war, and that "this hated nation" tortured his wife and son to death while attempting to force him to reveal his discoveries. In Nemo's cabin, Ned and Conseil discover the coordinates of Nemo's secret island base called Vulcania, where the Nautilus is now heading. Hoping to be rescued, Ned loads bottles with the coordinates and throws them overboard.

Off the coast of New Guinea, the Nautilus becomes stranded on a reef. Nemo allows Ned to go ashore with Conseil, ostensibly to collect specimens, while admonishing them to stay on the beach. Ned instead goes exploring for avenues of escape, and finds human skulls posted on stakes. Ned runs back to Conseil, and they row away pursued by the cannibals. Aboard the Nautilus, the cannibals are repelled by electrical charges sent through its hull, and Nemo confines Ned for disobeying orders.

A warship fires upon the Nautilus, which descends into the depths, attracting a giant squid. After an electric charge fails to repel the creature, Nemo and his men surface to fight it off. Nemo is caught by one of its tentacles, and Ned, having escaped from captivity, fatally harpoons it. He then saves Nemo, who had been pulled into the sea. Having had a change of heart, Nemo decides to make amends with human civilization.

The Nautilus enters Vulcania through an underwater passage to avoid the warships that now surround it. Nemo rushes ashore to activate a time bomb, which will destroy all evidence of his discoveries, but he is shot and mortally wounded as he returns onboard. Nemo announces that he will be sinking with the ship, and the crew agrees to accompany him.

Aronnax, Conseil, and Ned are confined to their cabins. Refusing to be part of the suicide pact, Ned escapes and brings the submarine to the surface. The Nautilus strikes a reef and begins to flood. Nemo dies while viewing his beloved undersea domain through the hull's viewport.

Aronnax tries to retrieve his journal, but the urgency of their escape obliges Ned to knock him unconscious and carry him out. Aboard a skiff, the three companions witness Vulcania explode. As the Nautilus sinks, Nemo's last words to Aronnax echo: "There is hope for the future. And when the world is ready for a new and better life, all this will someday come to pass ... in God's good time."

Production

Walt Disney first expressed interest in an adaptation of Jules Verne's Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas after seeing some marine footage and storyboards created by Harper Goff during the production of the True-Life Adventures series. At the time, the film rights were owned by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and King Brothers Productions. The film was originally conceived as an animated feature. In November 1950, film producer Sid Rogell announced he had acquired the screen rights to the novel, as well as a film adaptation prepared by Robert L. Lippert's production company. He had planned to start filming within a year at the General Service Studios. In December 1951, it was reported that Disney had purchased the film rights from Rogell. Goff's storyboards and art designs formed the film's basis.

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea was filmed at locations in The Bahamas and Jamaica, with the cave scenes filmed beneath what is now the Xtabi Resort on the cliffs of Negril. Other scenes were photographed in Nassau, Lyford Cay (where the 1916 version was filmed), and Death Valley. Filming took place between January 11 and June 19, 1954. According to the two-disc DVD documentary, the scenes in San Francisco at the beginning were filmed at Universal Studios while most of the modeling shots were done at 20th Century Fox.

Some of the location filming sequences were so complex that they required a technical crew of more than 400 people. The production presented many other challenges. The famous giant squid attack sequence had to be entirely re-shot, as it was originally filmed as taking place at dusk and in a calm sea. The sequence was filmed again, this time taking place at night and during a humongous thunderstorm, both to increase the drama and to better hide the cables and other mechanical workings of the animatronic squid.

The film's total production cost has been reported as $5 million and $9 million respectively but, either way, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea was the most expensive and ambitious feature film production mounted by Disney up to that time.

Music

Rather than an authentic soundtrack recording of the film's score or dialogue, two vinyl studio cast record albums were released to coincide with the film's first two releases in 1954 and 1963. Both albums contained condensed and heavily altered versions of the film's script, without the usage of any of the film's cast for character voices. Both albums were narrated by Ned Land as opposed to Pierre Aronnax, who narrated the film and the original novel. Neither album mentioned Nemo as actually being "cracked" (i.e. insane), as the film does, and considerably sanitized the character by omitting any mention of him killing anyone. The albums had Nemo surviving at the end and releasing Ned, Arronax, and Conseil out of gratitude for their saving his life. In this version, Ned, Aronnax and Conseil were not shipwrecked because the Nautilus rammed the ship they were on, but because a hurricane came up.

The first album was issued in 1954 in conjunction with the film's original release, and starred William Redfield as the voice of Ned. This album, a book-and-record set, was issued as part of RCA Victor's Little Nipper series on two 45-RPM records. The second album, released by Disneyland Records in 1963 in conjunction with the film's first re-release, was issued on one 331⁄3 RPM 12-inch LP with no accompanying booklet and no liner notes – the usual practice with most Disneyland label albums. It contained much more of the film's plot, but with many of the same alterations as the first album, so this recording was technically a remake of the earlier one. The cast for the 1963 album was uncredited. Neither album listed the film's credits or made any mention of the film's cast.

A single for the film's most memorable song "A Whale of a Tale", written by Norman Gimbel and Al Hoffman and sung by Kirk Douglas, was released in 1954 under the Decca Children's Series label. According to Douglas, the recording was "very popular at the time". The song "And the Moon Grew Brighter and Brighter", which Douglas had sung in the movie Man Without a Star, written by Lou Singer and Jimmy Kennedy, was the B-side. Both songs can be found on the 2008 digital release of the film's soundtrack. Douglas also performed the song on The Ed Sullivan Show on December 5, 1954.

In the film, Johann Sebastian Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor is played by Nemo on the Nautilus's organ, but James Mason's playing is actually dubbed by an anonymous organist.

Critical reaction

Bosley Crowther of The New York Times stated that, "As fabulous and fantastic as anything he has ever done in cartoons is Walt Disney's 'live action' movie made from Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Turned out in CinemaScope and color, it is as broad, fictitiously, as it is long (128 minutes), and should prove a sensation—at least with the kids."

Pauline Kael wondered if the film would have been such a success had Kirk Douglas not been there to "destroy the illusion of the nineteenth century".

Gene Arneel of Variety praised the film as "a special kind of picture making, combining photographic ingenuity, imaginative story telling and fiscal daring". He felt "Richard Fleischer's direction keeps the Disney epic moving at a smart clip, picking up interest right from the start and deftly developing each of the many tense moments ... Earl Felton's screenplay looks to be a combination of the best in the Verne original and new material to suit the screen form. It's a fine job of writing stimulating pic fare. Technical credits — underline the water photography — are excellent."

Kate Cameron of the New York Daily News praised the film as a "thrilling and absorbing adaptation"; she further wrote: "Richard Fleischer handled the direction of the film with vivid imagination. The underwater scenes are fascinating in their eerie beauty and the interesting glimpses they contain of marine life."

Philip K. Scheuer, reviewing for the Los Angeles Times, wrote: "Technically the film is a marvel itself, with actual underwater shot made in the Bahamas alternating with surface scale models that defy detection as such." He also praised Mason's performance, claiming "he lends depth and dimension to the stock figure of the 'mad genius.' The proof: he sometimes seems more pitied than scorned." Harrison's Reports wrote: "Expertly utilizing the CinemaScope medium and Technicolor photography, he [Walt Disney] and his staff have fashioned a picture that is not only a masterpiece from the production point of view but also a great entertainment, the kind that should go over in a big way with all types of audiences." A review in the Chicago Tribune wrote, "Produced with care, in handsome color and peppered with humor, it's a nicely balanced dose of old supposition and modern fact."

Contemporary film critic Steve Biodrowski said that the film is "far superior to the majority of genre efforts from the period (or any period, for that matter), with production design and technical effects that have dated hardly at all." Biodrowski also added that the film "may occasionally succumb to some of the problems inherent in the source material (the episodic nature does slow the pace), but the strengths far outweigh the weaknesses, making this one of the greatest science-fiction films ever made."

One reviewer gave the film five out of five, praising the film for its "story, dialogue, acting and overall bonhomie". Mark Bourne praised "its elaborate special effects and art direction, the faultless performances (especially Mason's), and unbeatable deep-sea adventure storytelling" However, he thought the portrayals of the natives to be "stereotypical". Jason Seiver praised the film's story, setting, and visuals but criticized the humor.

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 91% based on 32 reviews, with an average rating of 7.70/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "One of Disney's finest live-action adventures, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea brings Jules Verne's classic sci-fi tale to vivid life, and features an awesome giant squid."

Remake and prequel

In January 2009, Variety reported that a live-action remake titled 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Captain Nemo was being planned with McG attached to direct. The film served as an origin story for Captain Nemo, as he builds his warship, the Nautilus. McG had remarked that it would be "much more in keeping with the spirit of the novel" than Richard Fleischer's film, in which it would reveal "what Aronnax is up to and the becoming of Captain Nemo, and how the man became at war with war itself". It was written by Bill Marsilli, with Justin Marks and Randall Wallace brought in to do rewrites. The film was to be produced by Sean Bailey with McG's Wonderland Sound and Vision.

McG once suggested that he wanted Will Smith as Captain Nemo, but he reportedly turned down the part. As a second possible choice, McG had mentioned Sam Worthington, with whom he worked on Terminator Salvation (2009), though they did not hold serious discussions. In November 2009, the project was shelved by then-Walt Disney Pictures chairman Rich Ross, after $10 million had been spent on pre-production work. Prior to the announcement, McG and Bailey had been notified of the project's cancellation.

During the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con, director David Fincher announced plans of directing 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea for Walt Disney Pictures based on a script by Scott Z. Burns. While Fincher was wrapping up The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011), it was speculated that 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea would enter principal photography by late 2012. In the meantime, Fincher began courting Brad Pitt to play the role of Ned Land while the film was kept on hold. In February 2013, it was announced that Pitt had officially turned down the role.

In April 2013, it was announced that the Australian government would provide a one-off incentive of $20 million in order to secure the production. Despite this, the film was put on hold again the following month due to complications in casting a lead. In July 2013, Fincher dropped out to direct the film adaptation of Gone Girl. Fincher revealed in an interview that he left the film because he wanted Channing Tatum for Ned Land, but Disney wanted Chris Hemsworth for the role. Additionally, the money originally allocated for the production of this film was redirected towards Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017).

In February 2016, Disney announced that it was planning a live-action film titled Captain Nemo, with James Mangold directing. Mangold left the project to instead direct Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023).

In August 2021, it was announced that a ten-episode miniseries titled Nautilus was in development. The series will be an origin story about Captain Nemo and will be written by James Dormer, who will co-produce with Johanna Devereaux. In November 2021, Shazad Latif was cast in the lead role while Michael Matthews will direct the series. In August 2023, Disney pulled out from the project due to its cost-reduction strategy to its streaming platforms. In October 2023, the AMC television channel acquired the series and began airing it on June 29, 2025.

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

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20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

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