By James Newton Howard, 2001

Opening with the obligatory pop song ("Where the Dream Takes You," a serviceable slice of modern R&B, cowritten with master songwriter Diane Warren), James Newton Howard's rousing orchestral score at once recalls the traditions of previous Disney adventures such as 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. But Howard updates that tradition with alternating doses of tense, Williams-esque dynamics (particularly in the rousing "Leviathan"), and the sense of frequently playful wonder familiar from Dinosaur, his previous effort for the studio's animators. His evocative musical portraits of Atlantis often conjure the ghost of Bernard Herrmann at his most romantic and adventuresome, adding a sense of emotional gravity and a sophisticated air of exotic mystery unusual in most animated fare.

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