20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA With every kid in America currently fixated on the big screen exploits of a plucky little hard-to-find fish, what better time to revisit that other Nemo, the one lording over one of the grandest underwater adventures of them all?

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea was Disney's very first live-action mega-production. And almost 50 years later, it still holds up remarkably well. Above all, the movie works because it's true to the spirit of its author, Jules Verne, offering up an engaging blend of rousing adventure, mystery and fantasy — all filtered through Disney's inimitable hit-making sensibilities.

A dryly buffoonish Peter Lorre and an adorable seal are on hand for comic relief, with jaunty, jut-jawed Kirk Douglas providing just the right amount of good-natured bluster. Ultimately, though, the tone of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is more in tune with the darker vision of Disney's 1950s output (remember just how scary Sleeping Beauty really was?). At the heart of that darkness is James Mason, charismatic and intense as Captain Nemo, the misguided visionary/madman who uses his genius and his super-powered submarine as a weapon to control the world. Mason makes Nemo a believable and ultimately tragic figure, providing a perfect anchor for the movie's sweeping adventure and pleasurable flights of fancy.

With its bounty of colorful undersea vistas and cool (albeit charmingly dated) special effects, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea makes for an eye-popping experience on a new two-DVD set just released by Buena Vista Home Entertainment. Despite the occasional touch of grain, the disc's digitally re-mastered, wide-screen transfer is as crisp as it is solid, with bright, smoothly textured colors and a surprisingly dynamic Dolby 5.1 soundtrack that sucks us right in to the proceedings. Extras are copious and uniformly excellent (as on most of Disney's recent two-disc editions). The extras feature everything from the enlightening commentary track from director Richard Fleischer and film critic Rudy Behlmer (a welcome change from the obligatory Leonard Maltin) to a wonderful 90-minute documentary featuring a wealth of rare, behind-the-scenes footage. There's even an extended, warts 'n' all glimpse at the filmmakers' first, disastrous attempt to shoot the famous giant squid scene, proving once again that even the best movies are often more messy, awkward trial and error than inspired, immaculate conception. 1/2