Ned Land

Ned Land is a sailor and master harpooner. He is one of the four main characters in Disney's 1954 hit 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea in which he is played by Kirk Douglas. He is also notable for singing "A Whale of a Tale", the only song in the film.

Background
Ned Land was hired by Captain Farragut to join an expedition top to find and determine once and for all whether or not a "sea monster" exists. When the ship was unexpectedly attacked by the monster, Ned quickly fell overboard. His overturned longboat eventually drifted towards the Nautilus, where he found Conseil and Pierre Aronnax, both of whom had also fallen overboard.

Conseil and Ned tried to escape, but Arronax was too curious about the Nautilus, he was spotted by the crew, who unexpectedly attacked the three of them and took them as prisoners. Captain Nemo initially sent Ned and Conseil outside to be left to drown, but decided to spare them when Arronax proved his loyalty.

Personality
Ned Land is portrayed as a fun-loving, womanizing, determined, and sometimes overconfident, young man. His skill with a harpoon leads him to believe that no sea monster could ever beat him. He also can play guitar well, and near the beginning of the film is seen entertaining some sailors by playing "A Whale of A Tale"

After he is captured by Captain Nemo, Ned becomes determined to escape, devising numerous schemes. He holds a strong resentment towards Nemo, partly due to his imprisonment in the nautilus, as well as watching Nemo attack other ships. Despite his hatred of the nautilus and desire to escape, Ned does form a certain friendship with Nemo's pet sea lion Esmeralda. He also manages to put his personal feelings aside near the end of the film and actually saves Nemo from being taken by the Giant Squid, although he claims to regret it afterwords.