Purely Joyful Movie!

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

The acting in this movie is really good.

I'd never heard of this film until I saw it scheduled at the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens. I'm so glad I saw it -- this movie has everything! Guileless inventors, ruthless pirates, a winsome heroine, hot-air balloons, a villain's lair in a volcano, submarines with duck-foot paddles, roller-skating camels, a giant man-eating octopus, and the most charming production design this side of Edward Gorey's sets for "Dracula." I look forward to the steampunk movement's embrace of this film, assuming they don't already know about it. Even if they have, they should check out this restoration, which is crisp, clear, and gorgeous.

My fault. The promotional ads on the website were in color, so I just assumed...But lack of color is not the only drawback in this Czech version of family entertainment. I disagree with just about all the other contributors and felt that this was a dull, boring movie based on the work of a very exciting storyteller. Perhaps I have been spoiled over the years and was expecting too much. I had seen "20,000 Leagues Under The Sea" when it first came out in 1954, and then "Around The World In 80 Days" in 1956, and was familiar with Verne's unique storytelling ability. This picture falls far short of those two masterpieces in all major categories.I appreciated the animation, later borrowed, as everyone has mentioned, by Terry Gilliam of Monty Python fame, but the story lacked the aforementioned excitement of a Jules Verne tale as well as the cohesion and continuity. It was like watching someone making oatmeal. The actors were unattractive and the print I watched needed to be restored, as it was dull and scratchy. A poor production from start to finish."The Fabulous World Of Jules Verne" was shown at MOMA, NYC, and it was a rip-off, probably for the museum as well as myself. Several people at the show I attended got up and left at various points in time. Not having better sense, I stayed until the end.

This is even better than Jules Verne (albeit some minor Verne works) with not only the stories and some of the dialogue but period engravings surrounding live actors, animation magic to boot and uncountable other technical tours de force. It is rather cool, perhaps, with the characters rather distant from the viewers but they take second place to the virtuoso special effects. And what effects they are! The drawings are so real they pop off the screen and the music is absolutely wonderful - full Twentieth Century in this case. This is rather like the most elaborate of magic shows: we are willing to sit back and be amused - and amazed. Bravo Karel Zeman and bravo to the whole team! Curtis Stotlar

An interesting movie based on three of Jules Verne's novels. Considering the special effects and computer enhanced animation of today, this movie stands as an historic marker of cinematic resourcefulness and imagination. Karel Zeman has brought to life the lithographic images of the original Jules Verne texts. this is a must see for classic science fiction and history buffs.I give this movie 9 out of 10. Enjoy!!