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Conseil is one of the main characters in Disney's 1954 film 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. He is the assistant of Pierre Aronnax. He forms a friendship with Ned Land.

Personality[]

Conseil is stoical and, ironically in that his name means "counselor" does not like to give advice. He does not like to take sides either, although he develops a firm friendship with Ned throughout the course of the film.

Appearances[]

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea[]

Conseil first appears immediately after the opening scene. He is accompanying Professor Aronnax to the harbor where they hope to get a boat to Saigon. However, much to their disappointment, the ship's crew had deserted earlier due to the rumors of a sea monster, and they are forced to cancel their trip. On their way out, Conseil and Aronnax are approached by a group of reporters who ask them about the monster. Aronnax simply tells them that it may be possible that the sea monster exists, though Conseil is suspicious.

Later, Aronnax and Conseil are in their hotel room, where the professor is shocked by a newspaper article claiming he stated that the monster does indeed exist. Another man unexpectedly arrives, and Conseil, mistaking him for another reporter, initially tells him to leave. When the man reveals he is actually representing the United States government, Conseil reconsiders his decision and decides to let him in. The man offers them a chance to get to Saigon after an expedition to search for the monster. Conseil agrees, and the man leads them to see the captain.

After a few weeks aboard a ship, during which time Conseil met harpooner Ned Land, the captain decided to end the search for the monster and to simply bring Aronnax and Conseil to Saigon. Shortly after, he and Aronnax go on deck and enjoy Ned's performance of "A Whale of a Tale", but immediately after, a ship is seen exploding. A monster then appears and attacks the ship. When Aronnax falls overboard, Conseil jumps into the water in an effort to help him.

Soon, Aronnax and Conseil drift towards the monster, which they discover is in fact the Nautilus. Aronnax is curious and decides to explore the submarine, but Conseil is unsure. When Ned arrives on a small rowboat, they agree that they should leave quickly. However, Captain Nemo sees Aronnax looking out the window of the Nautilus. When the three try to get onto the boat, they are suddenly attacked by the crew. All three are captured, and the rowboat is sunk.

Initially, Nemo allows Aronnax to stay on board but has Ned and Conseil brought outside to drown when the Nautilus submerges. However, when Aronnax refuses to take Nemo's offer while his friends die, Nemo relents and allows them both on board.

Over the next few weeks, Aronnax leaves Conseil to watch Ned to ensure he does not try anything. However, Conseil finds he is starting to agree more with Ned's point of view. He convinces Ned that he wants to be friends and to help him. When Ned reveals that he had a plan, but cannot put it into action because he does not know where the Nautilus is going, Conseil reveals that he read in Aronnax's journal that they are heading for the island of Vulcania. He then proceeds to help with Ned's plan by stealing preserved samples from Nemo's cabin, and Ned explained that his plan was to leave messages in bottles, which would tell someone of where the island can be found.

When the Nautilus arrived near New Guinea, Nemo offered Aronnax a chance to go ashore, but he turned it down. Conseil requested to go instead, with Ned rowing. Nemo agreed but warned them that there were cannibals on the island. Ignoring his warnings, Ned decided to make an escape, but Conseil decided not to go with him. Unfortunately, when Conseil was beginning to row back to the Nautilus, Ned unexpectedly emerged from the jungle being pursued by the cannibalistic natives. They quickly rowed back towards the Nautilus, but the natives still pursued in canoes. Nemo eventually drove them off with an electrical charge but initially pretended to ignore Ned and Conseil's warnings.

Conseil and Aronnax did not participate in the battle against the Giant Squid, instead remaining inside the Nautilus. Nonetheless, they did manage to observe the fight through a window and had to avoid a few of its tentacles.

When the Nautilus finally reached Vulcania, it came as a shock to everyone when a fleet of warships was discovered on the island. After Ned unsuccessfully tried to signal the soldiers, he and Conseil confessed to have been responsible for leading the ships to the island. Conseil was present when Nemo was fatally wounded, and when he announced his intention for the Nautilus to sink. Conseil locked in his quarters with Aronnax but was freed by Ned, who took control of the submarine and brought it to the surface. Conseil, Ned, and Aronnax managed to escape in a longboat before the submarine sank again.

Conseil is last seen with Aronnax, Ned, and Esmeralda in the longboat, and his ultimate fate is never explicitly stated. It can probably be assumed that they were eventually rescued by a passing ship.

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

  • The scene where Ned tosses Conseil's cropped hair was an improvisation from Kirk Douglas.
  • Conseil is the only one who keeps the uniform that Nemo and the crew gave him.


v - e - d
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Media
20,000 Leagues Under the SeaOperation UnderseaNautilusVideo
Disney Parks
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (Disneyland attraction)20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Submarine VoyageMysterious Island20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (Tokyo DisneySea attraction)Journey to the Center of the EarthLes Mystères du Nautilus
Characters
Ned LandPierre AronnaxConseilCaptain NemoGiant Squid
Locations
San FranciscoVulcania
See Also
A Whale of a TaleNautilus
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