Mythical cities and locations have intrigued historians, scientists and humankind for centuries. Did they exist? Where did these stories come from? Well, whether we’ve found any real-life evidence related to these legendary locations, films have explored these in great depth over the years. One such film is Tad the Lost Explorer and the Secret of King Midas; Midas was a revered king in Greek mythology in which he had the power to turn everything he touched to gold. To celebrate the release of the film in cinemas on the 9th February we’ve looked at movies that include some of these widely speculated wondrous locations.
Atlantis: The Lost Empire
“…in a single day and night of misfortune, the island of Atlantis disappeared into the depths of the sea.” Maybe one of the more famous mythical locations in history, Atlantis was first introduced to us by Plato in his Timaeus and Critias works. A city that was advanced beyond it’s times with water canals, sustainable food sources and an abundance of animals for all who dwelt there. Disney (as well as the whole world around) had heard this story before and decided to look into creating their own narrative. Milo Thatch (voiced by Michael J. Fox) is a young adventurer who believes Atlantis exists and is out to prove it to the scientific and historical community with a group of like minded explorers. Equipped with a state of the art submarine, the crew set off to battle the dangers lying in wait for them as they endeavour to find the mythical lost city.
The Road to El Dorado
Tulio and Miguel (voiced by Kevin Kline and Kenneth Branagh respectively) are Spanish swindlers and con men who manage to get their hands on an ancient map to the fabled city of gold, El Dorado. After stowing away onboard a Spanish galleon that is destined to explore the new world, Tulio and Miguel manage to escape and fate washes them ashore a strange beach. They soon discover this is the starting point on the map to find the lost city of El Dorado and on finding this beautiful place, they are mistaken for Gods, sent to cleanse the people of sin. An adventure fraught with danger, gold and unlikely friendship ensues with a stunning soundtrack by John Powell, Hans Zimmer and original music by Elton John.
Gulliver’s Travels
Jack Black stars in the classic film adaptation of Jonathan Swift and Ann Keay Beneduce’s book, Gulliver’s Travels. The story goes that Lemuel Gulliver is washed ashore after a terrible shipwreck and finds a race of tiny people, all less than 6 inches in height, on an island country known as Lilliput. In this modern take on the film, Jack Black plays Gulliver, a travel writer down on his luck, who takes on an assignment to navigate the Bermuda triangle. A terrible storm and a giant water vortex shipwrecks his boat and he wakes upon the island of Lilliput. The population of the island (which features the likes of Jason Segel, Emily Blunt, Billy Connelly, Chris O’Dowd, TJ Miller and Catherine Tate) see Gulliver as huge threat. Gulliver has to befriend this tiny race and for the first time in his life have someone look up to him.
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Based on the seven C. S. Lewis literary classics, this is the first book in the series which tells the story of the Pevensie siblings (Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy) during World War II. Forced to leave their home in London, they are taken in by professor Kirke in a giant country house during the blitz. Whilst there, Lucy (the youngest) discovers something incredible; a magical world called Narnia resides in the back of a giant wardrobe she found when playing hide and seek. When Edmund, the younger of the two brothers, is taken by the evil White Witch who reigns over the icy realm of Narnia, it is up to the other children with the help of the mystical lion Aslan (Liam Neeson) to save Edmund and fulfil their destiny.
King Kong
Set in 1933 during the Great Depression, a film crew led by Carl Denham (Jack Black) aim to finish his movie on the mythical Skull Island. In possession of a map, Carl leads a crew comprised of Jack Driscoll (Adrien Brody), Ann Darrow (Naomi Watts), Bruce Baxter (Kyle Chandler) and Captain Englehorn (Thomas Kretschmann) to name but a few. When they arrive, they find the island inhabited by an unsettling tribe of natives. They kidnap Darrow and offer her as a sacrifice to a beast they worship; Kong. A giant ape that has inhabited this island for decades. The crew must save Darrow but must battle through the horrors that Skull Island have to offer in order to do so.
Tad the Lost Explorer and the Secret of King Midas
Following on from the 2012 film, Tad: The Explorer, this follows Tad on a new adventure to find King Midas’ necklace. Two years after his first adventure, Tad is still a construction worker in the city with Sara now a renowned archaeologist and explorer. With the discovery of the ‘Midas Papyrus’, Sara has taken one step closer to finding the mythical necklace that belonged to King Midas, a legendary Greek King who had the special ability of being able to turn anything he touched to gold. When Sara is kidnapped by a villainous millionaire, it’s up to Tad to find her and uncover the secret of King Midas and save his beloved Sara from Mount Midas.
Tad the Lost Explorer and the Secret of King Midas is in cinemas from 9th February.
