20,000 Leagues Under the Sea animation

Animation created for the "Glowing Fish" sequence that was to precede the fight with the giant squid. Earlier, the Nautilus is shelled by a warship, damaging the submarine and causing it to sink 5,000 feet before Captain Nemo (James Mason) can repair the engines and head for the surface once again. It is at this point that Nemo joins Professor Arronax (Paul Lukas) and Conseil (Peter Lorre) in the main Salon, gazing out the glass viewport at strange denizens of the deep no man has ever seen. This rare animation was what the actors were supposed to see. It is lucky to have survived over the years, however, half of it is in black & white and the other half is in color. The glowing fish segment is followed by a short test (also unused), showing the Nautilus heading for the surface, surrounded by huge fourescent schools of fish.

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[blatherblather1]

Wow. That was eerie stuff. No CGI today could ever compete with this sequence.

why on earth was it not shown in the final cut of the movie?

[cyberlarry7]

@blatherblather1 I spoke with Leagues' film editor, Elmo Williams. He said this sequence stopped dead the pacing he was building - the Nautilus being shelled by a warship, starts sinking; engines jam & then the sudden attack of the giant squid. He thought putting this in right before the squid would be like "stopping everything for a documentary on deep sea fish." Plus he & dir. Richard Fleischer both thought it looked like a cartoon & didn't match the realism of Leagues' other special effects.

[cyberlarry7]

@blatherblather1 To get a idea of what the completed sequence looked like, I suggest doing a search here for Leagues' movie trailer. About a quarter of the way in, you'll see a 3-second shot of the Viewport opening up with Nemo, Prof. Arronax & Conseil all looking out as a dozens of smal glowing fish shoot by. That 3-second cut plus this footage are all that exists of the sequence. I found out that all Leagues' outtakes were thrown out in 1991 by order of Michael Eisner's people.

[Punisherfan123]

LOL 1:51-1:53 PWNED

[Punisherfan123]

LOL 1:51-1:53

[daleharris12]

no wonder ned land wanted to go home