In the wake of the 1959 movie and the 1966-67 Filmation series it spawned, a single 48 minute animated television version in 1976 fully realized the potential of both the medium of television and animation in an original that is a competitor for the best adaptation in any form. A JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH (distinguishable from other versions as the one only one to retain the article "A" from the initial English-language translation in 1871) was directed by Richard Slapczynski and scripted by Leonard Lee, and was the best of more than a half-dozen Verne adaptations produced in the 1970s by Walter J. Hucker and Air Programs International for Burbank Films in Australia.
While diverging considerably from the novel in numerous details, A JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH treats the story and characters with commendable respect and verve. The likelihood of the story is enhanced by a huge spherical miniature replica of the Earth. With it, Professor Lidenbrock apparently proves that if the interior were as hot as supposed, the whole planet would explode--just as his model had done. The Hamburg Scientific Society ridicules his conclusion that the interior of the Earth must be much cooler than generally thought, and may even contain life.
Lidenbrock is the town's accepted eccentric, and this combines with his genius to form a whole character. His housekeeper's and neighbor's bemused, accepting reactions to his experiments add a humorous sidelight; as in the novel, Lidenbrock's housekeeper, Martha, becomes a full-fledged participant. With this carefully establishment of the personalities and treatise (like the 1959 movie), the program is slow to start, using half its running time before the descent gets underway.
Lidenbrock is inspired by an old runic book by Arne Saknussemm, in which invisible writing is brought out by heat that also burns up the clue before it has been fully read. Arriving in Iceland, Lidenbrock and Axel discover the locals fear the slumbering volcano Scartaris, for legend has it that centuries ago an expedition of fifty men went down it, with only one returning over a year later, who refused to tell what happened (all shown impressionistically). Only Hans volunteers to go with them; for once, he is a believable and courageous character, and not a source of humor. Following the news of the trio are two disbelieving scientists from Hamburg, Kippner and Benz. They are jealous of the fame Lidenbrock's exploits might garner, and although a rather hackneyed plot device, the scenes with Kippner and Benz provide a more likely interjection of an antagonist than the 1959 movie's introduction of rival expeditions.
The expedition soon runs out of water, and Axel faints and becomes lost. Here, and at several other points in the story, the visuals adopt Axel's subjective point of view, approximating the first-person narration of the novel. The novel's separate episodes of Axel's rescue and the finding of water are effectively conflated here, and they also find the skeletons of the many other men who had traveled with Saknussemm--an eerie sequence that provides one of the few attempts to seriously suggest the outcome of the first expedition to the center of the Earth.
Arriving at the underground sea, Saknussemm's raft is found waiting, perfectly preserved after 200 years. Their compass useless, they sail aimlessly, and go even farther than Saknussemm, entering into a swamp where their raft is wrecked. They walk through a giant mushroom forest, past a sabre-tooth tiger, and enter a cave. Better than any other version, A JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH thoroughly mixes different types of prehistoric life, in the way Verne intended.
When the travelers are also menaced by giant insects with luminous eyes (who had earlier appeared in a hallucination to the thirsty Axel), Lidenbrock fights back with dynamite. This in turn causes a flood of high pressure boiling water that returns them to the surface of the Earth, on Stromboli. Returning to Hamburg, Lidenbrock and Axel find Kippner and Benz placing a memorial plaque to the presumably deceased explorers. Doubts are met with proof as Axel pulls a huge egg from his knapsack, which promptly hatches as a baby pterodactyl. This unacknowledged borrowing from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World is an appropriate homage considering the latter's inspiration from Verne.
The visual treatment is both lively and realistic, with considerable pictorial detail, and imaginative and effective color schemes. For instance, kaleidoscopic light effects introduce the underground sea, and the caverns are initially patterned emphasizing shades of red, while blues are added as they reach the antediluvian world. Despite the ostensible limitations of its medium as an animated television program, A JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH retains more of the original novel and adds fewer melodramatic elements than any of the live-action feature versions. Changes (such as switching from lava to boiling water carrying them to the surface), or additions (like the giant Earth model), are compatible with Verne. Many of the episodes are handled far more effectively than in the live action versions, such as the sequence of Axel lost and alone, in comparison with the 1959 version.
3 out of 3 found this helpful.
Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
