20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is a 1954 American science fiction adventure film directed by Richard Fleischer, from a screenplay by Earl Felton.

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea was a critical and commercial success, being especially remembered for the fight with a giant squid, as well as Mason's definitive performance as the charismatic anti-hero Captain Nemo.

While clinging to wreckage, Aronnax and Conseil come upon a metal vessel and realize the monster is a man-made "submerging boat" that appears deserted.

Below decks, Aronnax finds a large viewport and witnesses an underwater funeral, while Ned arrives on an overturned longboat from their ship.

Nemo rushes ashore to activate a time bomb in order to destroy any evidence of his discoveries but is shot and mortally wounded as he returns onboard.

Ned, refusing to be part of the suicide pact, escapes and surfaces the submarine, striking a reef in the process, causing Nautilus to flood.

Walt Disney first expressed interest in an adaptation of Jules Verne's Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas after seeing some marine footage and storyboards created by Harper Goff during the production of the True-Life Adventures series.

[7] Goff's storyboards and art designs formed the film's basis, but he was not credited because he was not a member of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees.

[5][8] According to the two-disc DVD documentary, the scenes in San Francisco at the beginning were filmed at Universal Studios while most of the modeling shots were done at 20th Century Fox.

The famous giant squid attack sequence had to be entirely re-shot, as it was originally filmed as taking place at dusk and in a calm sea.

[9][Note 1] The sequence was filmed again, this time taking place at twilight and during a humongous thunderstorm, both to increase the drama and to better hide the cables and other mechanical workings of the Animatronic squid.

James W. Maertens writes that while this is true, "Close comparison of the novel and film reveals many changes, omissions, even reversals, which affect the story's fundamental concern (besides scientific education), a representation of class and gender, specifically masculinity, in the industrial age."

The film's director and screenwriter extracted "the most memorable scenes from the novel and freely reordered them under the assumption that viewers would not remember the novel's order of events."

A single for the film's most memorable song "A Whale of a Tale", written by Norman Gimbel and Al Hoffman and sung by Kirk Douglas, was also released in 1954 under the Decca Children's Series label.

On September 15, 1954, Variety reported that Disney and RKO Pictures had begun discussions on the distribution plans for 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.

[32] Bosley Crowther of The New York Times stated that, "As fabulous and fantastic as anything he has ever done in cartoons is Walt Disney's 'live action' movie made from Jules Verne's '20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.'

"[33] Gene Arneel of Variety praised the film as "a special kind of picture making, combining photographic ingenuity, imaginative story telling and fiscal daring."

He felt "Richard Fleischer's direction keeps the Disney epic moving at a smart clip, picking up interest right from the start and deftly developing each of the many tense moments ... Earl Fenton's screenplay looks to be a combination of the best in the Verne original and new material to suit the screen form.

"[35] Philip K. Scheuer, reviewing for the Los Angeles Times, wrote: "Technically the film is a marvel itself, with actual underwater shot made in the Bahamas alternating with surface scale models that defy detection as such."

"[36] Harrison's Reports wrote: "Expertly utilizing the CinemaScope medium and Technicolor photography, he [Walt Disney] and his staff have fashioned a picture that is not only a masterpiece from the production point of view but also a great entertainment, the kind that should go over in a big way with all types of audiences.

"[37] A review in the Chicago Tribune wrote, "Produced with care, in handsome color and peppered with humor, it's a nicely balanced dose of old supposition and modern fact.

The website's critical consensus reads: "One of Disney's finest live-action adventures, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea brings Jules Verne's classic sci-fi tale to vivid life, and features an awesome giant squid.

[46] In 1994, a walkthrough attraction at Disneyland Paris, named Les Mystères du Nautilus, opened,[47] and a dark ride at Tokyo DisneySea was created in 2001.

[48] The exterior to The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Undersea Adventure contains a silhouette of the Nautilus in a rock wall[49] and the tiki bar Trader Sam's Grog Grotto at Disney's Polynesian Village Resort serves a cocktail called the "Nautilus"[50] which is itself served in a stylized drinking vessel resembling the submarine,[51] and features a dive helmet and a mechanical squid tentacle that pours liquor behind the bar.

[52] On January 6, 2009, Variety reported that a live-action remake titled 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Captain Nemo was being planned with Joseph McGinty Nichol (professionally known as McG) attached to direct.

In November 2009, the project was shelved by then-Walt Disney Pictures chairman Rich Ross, after $10 million had been spent on pre-production work.

[60] During the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con, director David Fincher announced plans of directing 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea for Walt Disney Pictures based on a script by Scott Z.

[61] While Fincher was wrapping up The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011), it was speculated that 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea would enter principal photography by late 2012.

[68] Additionally, the money originally allocated for the production of this film was redirected towards Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017).

[69] In February 2016, Disney announced that it was planning a live-action film titled Captain Nemo, with James Mangold directing.