It's a Whale Of a Movie!

So I just watched 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea for the first time since I was a kid. The only actors in this film with whom I was familiar were Peter Lorre and Kirk Douglas. It has an exclusively all male cast. The only female “speaking” role is a seal, which is very cute and offsets some of the grimness. All the roles are perfectly cast. Kirk Douglas brings the same sort of attitude to Ned Land as in the novel, and Peter Lorre makes a great Conseil. James Mason is good as Captain Nemo despite being no Vincent Price.

The film is impressive. The Oscar winning special effects still hold up and it has many great underwater scenes. Of course the giant squid is the highlight of the whole thing but any viewer should be well entertained while waiting for its appearance.

The movie plot is similar to that of the book but of course not as detailed. The three main characters, Pierre Aronnax played by Paul Lukas, Conseil played by Peter Lorre, and Ned Land played by Kirk Douglas, are taken aboard Captain Nemo’s vessel the Nautilus after it damages their ship and they are thrown or jump overboard. The main difference seems to be that in the movie Captain Nemo has pledged destruction to all forms of war. The three main characters first meet him when he destroys another ship and damages their own. He goes on to destroy a ship carrying war materials, oblivious to the human cost. In the book, Nemo only wants revenge on the country which ravaged his land and slaughtered his family, and destroys a ship from that country rather than being a repeat destroyer.

Interesting to note that this film did not begin with a trigger warning on Disney Plus about negative depictions of other cultures, although two of the main characters are chased and the Nautilus attacked by a horde of cannibals from New Guinea. This may have been because it is well documented that many New Guinea natives are in fact cannibals so this depiction does not constitute a smear. (Google Michael Rockefeller before going on the defensive.)

Regarding its suitability for children, I remember liking it as a child. Several ships are destroyed with resulting casualties. The film shows no dead bodies and very little blood, but does involve dealing death to many unsuspecting victims. It is a beautifully filmed wildly exciting adventure I would recommend for ages 7 or 8 and up.