- “Jiminy Christmas! IT'S A MACHINE!!!”
- ―Milo Thatch after seeing the Leviathan's eye[src]
The Leviathan is a giant Atlantean artifact that was left near the underwater entrance to Atlantis so that it could protect the city from intruders. The Leviathan is a mechanical monstrosity that closely resembles a lobster. According to Milo Thatch, the Leviathan's lair has ships from every era, meaning that the giant has killed many people throughout the centuries.
Background[]
The Shepherd's Journal describes the Leviathan as a sea serpent; while the Bible describes it as a beast that breathes sparks of fire from its mouth. Milo Thatch thought this was merely a ruse, however, and assumed that it was a carving or statue to frighten the superstitious. Unbeknownst to him, the Leviathan was, in fact, a real machination that subsequently attacked the Ulysses. The creature was soon revealed to be a mechanical creation.
Abilities and Weaknesses[]
The sheer immense size of the Leviathan, which was capable of holding the 382-foot long Ulysses within just its smaller set of claws, allowed it to easily crush its enemies. It can easily destroy enemy ships in one blow by launching powerful bolts of energy from its mouth. However, due to its size, any ship that manages to elude its capture can get into the entrance to Atlantis, where it is too big to fit.
The Leviathan is also capable of flight, as seen just before the original destruction of Atlantis. However, it being submerged underwater to guard the entrance to Atlantis restricted it to swimming
In the original treatment, Milo figures a way to destroy the Leviathan when in a Sub Pod with Helga Sinclair. However, this concept was dropped early in pre-production. All that remains of this are one or two storyboards and an animation test that also contained an early design idea for Helga.
Appearances[]
Atlantis: The Lost Empire[]
Six Leviathans fly away and three were swallowed by a gigantic tsunami accidentally/purposefully generated by the King of Atlantis. These machines were used to guard Atlantis, as well as for military purposes.
For 8,800 years, only one of its kind survived the Great Flood. Due to Atlantis completely forgetting all knowledge to the extent of welcoming strangers, the Leviathan is eventually forgotten and it guards the crevice (the only way to Atlantis), destroying ships and vessels (including a ship containing the Viking Expedition led by Thorfinn Karlsefni) which trespassed in its domain.
In 1914, it attacks the submarine Ulysses for trespassing in its territory. The submarine is destroyed and it continues its onslaught by killing its crew members, leaving the remaining ones to get into the crevice, to which the Leviathan couldn’t fit through due to its massive size and barely escape its wrath.
Atlantis: Milo's Return[]
While the Leviathan itself, did not appear in Atlantis: Milo’s Return, it was mentioned a few times.sequel
The Leviathan is known to have investigated the return of Team Atlantis, who returned using the original route (since the volcano became blocked by the eruption), as they would not have encountered the being otherwise. It apparently sensed the Atlantean crystal necklaces the team wore that identified them as friends of Atlantis and allowed them to pass. Later on, it is mentioned in passing as a possible suspect regarding Kraken attacks, although the Kraken was later revealed to be neither Atlantean nor mechanical.
It is unknown what became of the creature after the raising of Atlantis, but it is presumed that it continues to guard the no longer needed entrance, ready to be called upon by Atlantis if needed.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- The Leviathan resembles a lobster, much like the other Atlantean vehicles resemble sea creatures. It (or perhaps another of its kind) can be seen flying in the movie prologue.
- As mentioned by Milo, the creature is one of the three Biblical monsters, the others being the Ziz of the sky, and the Behemoth of the earth, with the Leviathan being of the sea.
- The Leviathan may also be similar to a Eurypterid also known as a Sea Scorpion, an extinct group of arthropods related to arachnids which include the largest known arthropods that ever lived.
- In Once Upon a Time, the character Lancelot was also known as Leviathan.
- In The Avengers, which was directed by Joss Whedon, one of screenwriter of Atlantis: The Lost Empire, giant Chitauri flying machines also called Leviathans.
- The surviving Leviathan's malicious programming resembled King Kashekim Nedakh's xenophobia towards visitors (the face resembled the king's). Ironically, it represents Atlantis' true might before the Great Flood.
- The Leviathan's piercing roar during it's pursuit of the remaining subpods and Aqua-Evacs containing the expedition crew is actually the roar of a Gallimimus from Jurassic Park, and the sounds it made on the hydrophone were used by a Brachiosaurus from the same film.
- In the Viking Prologue, the Leviathan destroys a Viking ship with a energy bolt as powerful as a nuclear bomb. Presumably, the six Leviathans (in the beginning of the film), combined their energy bolts into one massive explosion, which doomed Atlantis.
- In the Disney Animation Building's replica of the Magic Mirror in Disney California Adventure, the Leviathan is used to represent the zodiac symbol Scorpio along the mirror's borders.
- A giant lobster similar to the Leviathan was among the sea creatures on the Legendary Beasts of the Mediterranean map in the Skipper Canteen at the Magic Kingdom (the lobster is located at the upper right corner of the map).
- There's a theory that the Leviathan was trying to communicate with the Ulysses, since ships from before didn't have the technology and the Ulysses itself came close. The clicking sounds? The Leviathan giving the Ulysses signals to check if they're friend or foe. Grabbing the Ulysses? Just to check who are the occupants inside. Once the Ulysses does start to attack does the Leviathan confirm they're a threat and returns fire
