''20,000 Leagues Under the Sea'' is a 1985 Australian

made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...

animated film Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby still images are manipulated to create moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Animati ...

from Burbank Films Australia. The film is based on

Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraor ...

's classic 1870 novel, '' Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas'', and was adapted by Stephen MacLean. It was produced by Tim Brooke-Hunt and featured original music by John Stuart. The

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive legal right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, ...

in this film is now owned by Pulse Distribution and Entertainment and administered by digital rights management firm NuTech Digital.BTECH
article on NuTech and Pulse distribution agreement.

Plot

In 1866, a mysterious

sea monster Sea monsters are beings from folklore believed to dwell in the sea and are often imagined to be of immense size. Marine monsters can take many forms, including sea dragons, sea serpents, or tentacled beasts. They can be slimy and scaly and are of ...

is hunting the depths of the

ocean The ocean is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of Earth. The ocean is conventionally divided into large bodies of water, which are also referred to as ''oceans'' (the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian Ocean, Indian, Southern Ocean ...

s and rising only to attack and destroy innocent ships at a cost of many lives. Experts around the world are trying to discover the identity of the monster and possibly destroy it before even more lives are lost. Marine expert Professor Pierre Aronnax, his faithful companion Conseil and harpoonist Ned Land, set out aboard the ''Abraham Lincoln'' from

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

in search of said monster. The monster attacks, and the three companions are thrown overboard and the ship's crew declares them lost. Their lives are saved as they are held above water by the monster, which they discover to be a modern

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

, named the ''Nautilus''. Inside, they meet the submarine's captain, Captain Nemo, and his faithful crew. To keep his secret safe, Captain Nemo keeps the three men aboard his ship. Aboard the Nautilus, the professor, Ned and Conseil travel throughout the depths of the ocean, a voyage the professor and Conseil find fascinating, but Ned soon finds his captivity unbearable and develops a hatred for the captain and a longing for freedom. The professor learns of Captain Nemo's hatred towards mankind, for he had lost his wife, children and family to them, and now sought revenge by destroying as many ships as he encountered. On the other hand, Captain Nemo has a great respect toward his men as well as the oceans of the world and their creatures. At the beginning of the voyage, the Nautilus is attacked by a giant squid that grabs Nemo but is killed by Ned. In the waters off India, Nemo saves a pearl-diver from a hungry shark and gives her a pearl. He then prevents Ned from killing a dugong. Ned, the professor, and Conseil escape the Nautilus by rowing to a tropical island but are chased back to the Nautilus by natives, whom Nemo scares away with electricity. When a life is lost aboard the submarine, Nemo takes the body for burial in the lost continent of Atlantis to rest forever underwater, but Ned is chased by giant crabs. Spying inside the captain's private chamber, the professor, Conseil and Ned discover Nemo's plan of travelling to the seas of

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

, where he will have the ultimate revenge by destroying the ship responsible for the loss of those dear to him. The three companions try unsuccessfully to bring Nemo to reason, but he determined even at the risk of his life. Wanting no part in the calamity, the three men take a chance to escape in a rowboat, and wanting to warn the to-be-victimized ship, are thrown ashore by the ocean waves. Finding rest and shelter on an uninhabited

island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

, the professor is happy to have kept his journal safe, so he may tell the world of their adventures. No one learns about the fate of the Nautilus and Captain Nemo, who may have perished or still be alive seeking revenge on mankind.

Cast

* Tom Burlinson as Ned Land * Colin Borgonon as Captain Nemo * Paul Woodson * Liz Horne * Alistair Duncan * Gilbert Christian

References

External links

*
''20,000 Leagues Under the Sea''
at the Big Cartoon DataBase {{DEFAULTSORT:20000 Leagues Under The Sea (1985 Film) 1985 television films 1985 animated films 1985 films 1985 science fiction films 1980s adventure films 1980s Australian animated films 1980s English-language films 1980s science fiction adventure films 1980s children's adventure films Films set in 1866 Animated films set in the 1860s Australian animated feature films Australian television films Films based on Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas Animated television films Animated films based on French novels Television shows based on Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas Australian animated drama films Films set in Atlantis English-language science fiction adventure films Animated films based on works by Jules Verne

Plot

Cast

See also

References

External links