History YMMV / TwentyThousandLeaguesUnderTheSea

** Though it was very nearly SpecialEffectsFailure, as the story on the DVD will attest. The first tests for the final battle took place against a beautiful sunset, on a calm sea. The first Giant Squid had stuffed tentacles held up on wires; these grew heavy and hard to control as they took on water, and the bright sunset made the wires painfully obvious. Disney himself was appalled at this first footage, and demanded a reshoot. This reshoot ''nearly forced the studio out of business'', and the film's nomination for Best Visual Effects at the Academy Awards proved a CrowningMomentOfAwesome for Disney.

* DesignatedHero: Ned Land is kind of a ''jerkass'' throughout the film.
* DesignatedVillain: Nemo.

*** Verne wanted it to be the Russians, but his publisher balked at the idea, since France was on good terms with them, at the time.
**** Not only that, [[MoneyDearBoy but the sales as well]]. Russia [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff always was a huge market for Verne's books]], at one point being the ''largest'' of them all, and Hetzel didn't want to lose all that money by offending and alienating the readers. He managed to persuade Verne to change Nemo's nation, and he, ever the pragmatic[[note]]Perhaps surprisingly, but he was. In his youth, when his father withdrew his financial support after learning that his son was dabbling with literature instead of studying the law, Verne had to earn his living by being a stock broker. He hated it with passion, but was quite successful, becoming financially independent even before breaking out in the writing field.[[/note]], agreed.

* HarsherInHindsight / NotSoCrazyAnymore: Since the beginning of his career as a writer, Verne was being accused by critics of being [[ScifiGhetto ''only'' a HardScifi writer that paid little heed to the social ramifications of technology]]. But with ''Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea'' Verne wrote in 1869 about Captain Nemo, a man from an oppressed country who [[MajoredInWesternHypocrisy had training in the west,]] and has [[{{Fiction500}} enough money to pay a country’s national debt,]] whom decides to create an [[NGOSuperpower organization strong enough]] to [[YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters fight ]] an [[TheEmpire entire Western country]] [[MoralEventHorizon through terrible acts of violence]], [[TheWarOnTerror and therefore is chased as a menace by all established countries in the West.]] After OsamaBinLaden, 9/11 and TheWarOnTerror, we must admit that Verne really knew much more than anyone ever suspected about how the world will turn in the next 130 years!
** This is aknowledged in the finale volume of TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen, where a descendant of Nemo is a transparent {{Expy}} of Bin Laden.
** A lot of the descriptions of whaling and fishing and the beauty of the sea becomes this due to modern pollution problems, rampant overfishing, and climate change. Worst of all, some species described in the book (the greater Auk, for example) are outright extinct.
* DracoInLeatherPants: TheCaptain Nemo is a truly, WickedCultured, AffablyEvil NiceGuy who constantly crosses the MoralEventHorizon and hardly even notices when he KickTheDog. AnAesop of the novel is to show that no matter how good or charismatic are you, TechnologyIsEvil and to have a WeaponOfMassDestruction means that WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity as Nemo’s VillainousBreakdown [[DeathSeeker takes him and his entire crew to the Maelstrom]]. However, MisaimedFandom always forget the Aesop because Nemo is the poster boy (Out and InUniverse) for AffablyEvil, CryForTheDevil, DarkAndTroubledPast, TroubledButCute, WellIntentionedExtremist and even WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds.
** Don't forget that he has something of a MisaimedFandom purely because of his [[WhereDoesHeGetAllThoseWonderfulToys wonderful toys]]-- you read ocean explorers like Robert Ballard and Jacques Cousteau saying that as children, they read the book over and over and "wanted to be Captain Nemo", meaning they wanted his awesome submarine and diving gear, not that they wanted to be supervillains, and two later real-life submarines were named "Nautilus" in homage.

--> ''"No, Ned," I replied, "[[TheMessiah it isn't worth more. Nobody could be better than a kind and generous man like yourself!]]"''

**** Not only that, [[MoneyDearBoy but the sales as well]]. Russia [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff always was a huge market for Verne's books]], at one point being the ''largest'' of them all, and Hetzel didn't want to lose all that money by offending and alienating the readers. He managed to persuade Verne to change Nemo's nation, and he, ever the pragmatic[[hottip:*:Perhaps surprisingly, but he was. In his youth, when his father withdrew his financial support after learning that his son was dabbling with literature instead of studying the law, Verne had to earn his living by being a stock broker. He hated it with passion, but was quite successful, becoming financially independent even before breaking out in the writing field.]], agreed.

* AnAesop:
** TechnologyIsEvil because HumansAreBastards: JustThinkOfThePotential to do good a CoolBoat like the Nautilus! But before that, It will be used for SubmarinePirates as a WeaponOfMassDestruction.
** A WeaponOfMassDestruction is an ArtifactOfDoom. NoManShouldHaveThisPower and if he does, he becomes an {{Ubermensch}}.
** No matter what a wholesome NiceGuy you genuinely are, if you become an {{Ubermensch}} because you have a WeaponOfMassDestruction, for a time you will be TheAntiNihilist, but slowly but surely you will become a NietzscheWannabe.

* AlasPoorVillain: [[spoiler: Nemo during the climax]], although he's [[ALighterShadeOfGrey not really a villain.]]

* HarsherInHindsight / NotSoCrazyAnymore: Since the beginning of his career as a writer, Verne was being accused by critics of being [[ScifiGhetto ''only'' a HardScifi writer that paid little heed to the social ramifications of technology]]. But with TwentyThousandLeaguesUnderTheSea Verne wrote in 1869 about Captain Nemo, a man from an oppressed country who [[MajoredInWesternHypocrisy had training in the west,]] and has [[{{Fiction500}} enough money to pay a country’s national debt,]] whom decides to create an [[NGOSuperpower organization strong enough]] to [[YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters fight ]] an [[TheEmpire entire Western country]] [[MoralEventHorizon through terrible acts of violence]], [[TheWarOnTerror and therefore is chased as a menace by all established countries in the West.]] After OsamaBinLaden, 9/11 and TheWarOnTerror, we must admit that Verne really knew much more than anyone ever suspected about how the world will turn in the next 130 years!

** A lot of the descriptions of whaling and fishing and the beauty of the sea becomes this due to modern pollution problems, rampant overfishing, and climate change. Not to mention some species described in the book are outright extinct.

** There's also all the times they find endangered species, such as a sea otter and a dugong, and kill them. Even when they point out how bad then are going to be if humans don't stop killing and eating endangered animals, they still proceed to do ''that exact thing.'' And the hunting of a supposed undiscovered species of "giant narwhal" that starts the plot of the book in the first place, as well.

** There's also all the times they find endagered secies and eat them. Even when they point out how bad then are going to be if humans don't stop killing and eating endangered animals, they still proceed to do that exact thing. And the whale hunting that starts the plot of the book in the first place, as well.

*** However, also Ned Land, Counseil and Aronnax treat them as savages. Maybe could be said that it was FairForItsDay? Captain Nemo lampshades that ''"savages"'' can be found at any part of the world, and even when the papuans wandered on the electrified staircase, it's implied it was only capable of repelling them and not kill them. Nemo said:

* HarsherInHindsight / NotSoCrazyAnymore: Since the beginning of his career as a writer, Verne has being accused by critics of being [[ScifiGhetto ''only'' a HardScifi writer that paid little heed to the social ramifications of technology]]. But with TwentyThousandLeaguesUnderTheSea Verne wrote in 1869 about Captain Nemo, a man from an oppressed country who [[MajoredInWesternHypocrisy had training in the west,]] and has [[{{Fiction500}} enough money to pay a country’s national debt,]] whom decides to create an [[NGOSuperpower organization strong enough]] to [[YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters fight ]] an [[TheEmpire entire Western country]] [[MoralEventHorizon through terrible acts of violence]], [[TheWarOnTerror and therefore is chased as a menace by all established countries in the West.]] After OsamaBinLaden, 9/11 and TheWarOnTerror, we must admit that Verne really knew much more than anyone ever suspected about how the world will turn in the next 130 years!
** This is aknowledged in the finale volume of TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen, where a descendant of Nemo is a transparent {{Expy}} of Ben Laden.

* CrowiningMomentOfFunny: Conseil hopes Ned Land will get some red meat soon, "lest sir wake up one morning and find only chunks of me to serve him".

**** Not only that, [[MoneyDearBoy but the sales as well]]. Russia [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff always was a huge market for Verne's books]], at one point being the ''largest'' of them all, and Hetzel didn't want to lose all that money by offending and alienating the readers. He managed to persuade Verne to change Nemo's nation, and he, ever the pragmatic[[hottip:*:Perhaps surprisingly, but he was. In his youth, when his father withdrew his financial support after learning that his son is dabbling with literature instead of studying the law, Verne had to earn his living by being a stock broker. He hated it with passion, but was quite successful, becoming financially independent even before breaking out in the writing field.]], agreed.

* HarsherInHindsight: Since the beginning of his career as a writer, Verne has being accused by critics of being [[ScifiGhetto ''only'' a HardScifi writer that paid little heed to the social ramifications of technology]]. But with TwentyThousandLeaguesUnderTheSea Verne wrote in 1869 about Captain Nemo, a man from an oppressed country who [[MajoredInWesternHypocrisy had training in the west,]] and has [[{{Fiction500}} enough money to pay a country’s national debt,]] whom decides to create an [[NGOSuperpower organization strong enough]] to [[YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters fight ]] an [[TheEmpire entire Western country]] [[MoralEventHorizon through terrible acts of violence]], [[TheWarOnTerror and therefore is chased as a menace by all established countries in the West.]] After OsamaBinLaden, 9/11 and TheWarOnTerror, we must admit that Verne really knew much more than anyone ever suspected about how the world will turn in the next 130 years!

* VisualEffectsOfAwesome: The battle with the giant squid. Even today it looks awesome.

* VisualEffectsOfAwesome: The battle with the giant squid. Even today it looks awesome.

**** Not only that, [[MoneyDearBoy but the sales as well]]. Russia always was a huge market for Verne's books, at one point being the ''largest'' of them all, and Hetzel didn't want to lose all that money by offending and alienating the readers. He managed to persuade Verne to change Nemo's nation, and he, ever the pragmatic[[hottip:*:Perhaps surprisingly, but he was. In his youth, when his father withdrew his financial support after learning that his son is dabbling with literature instead of studying the law, Verne had to earn his living by being a stock broker. He hated it with passion, but was quite successful, becoming financially independent even before breaking out in the writing field.]], agreed.