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My favorite animated Disney movie is 2001's "Atlantis: The Lost Empire". The 41st animated feature film created by Walt Disney Animation Studios, the movie was a marked departure from previous Disney Renaissance projects, featuring a dark color palette, no musical numbers, politics, sexual undertones, and several violent deaths. "Atlantis" performed poorly at the box office and received middling reviews from critics, but it has since garnered a cult following and has been reappraised as a hidden gem in Disney's extensive film library.
The rest of this post contains spoilers for the movie, so if you have not seen it, I recommend stopping here.
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The primary antagonist of the film is Commander Lyle Rourke, the leader of the expedition to Atlantis, as well as the leader of the expedition to Iceland to retrieve the Shepherd's Journal. His lieutenant is Helga Sinclair, a ruthless femme fatale that uses both seductive charm and masterful fighting skills to carry out her duties. She supports Rourke's operations unquestioningly, and even makes cold remarks about Atlantis and its relationship to the crystal that keeps them alive, putting her in line with Rourke's sentiments.
The rest of the crew--Audrey, Vinny, Mole, etc.--are hired mercenaries, simply applying their expertise in various combat-adjacent fields in exchange for money. They only seek a paycheck, and they will only go so far to get one. In fact, just before the climax, they state to Rourke that their exploits had never previously resulted in hurting anyone. Threatening the survival of Atlantis and all of its inhabitants does not sit well with them, and it ultimately compels them to turn on Rourke. Helga is the only major character in the film that does not do this. She stays with Rourke and defends his airship from the Atlantean attack force in the final battle.
For this, Helga is almost universally considered an evil character, having no qualms in aiding the destruction of Atlantis. She is so often seen as one-dimensionally malicious that in a planned feature-length sequel to "Atlantis", she was to become the primary antagonist, leading a full-scale invasion of the civilization.
I don't agree with this assessment. I think Helga is an extremely nuanced character, grappling with everything from the supernatural to the law of war to the importance of chain of command. I don't think she is strictly evil--she may even be trying to do good as she understands it, while questioning what price she must pay to maintain the order she values so highly. I would even go so far as to say that Helga is the best-executed character in the entire movie.
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The audience's first introduction to Helga Sinclair is when Milo returns from work at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC. She is presented as a blonde bombshell, dressed seductively in a tight black dress and furs. She even playfully pulls her fur tippets off her shoulders while quipping about how she managed to enter Milo's apartment.
Helga: "I came down the chimney. Ho, ho, ho." (00:08:12.868)
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This gives the initial impression that she will be merely an attractive assistant to Preston Whitmore, or in some capacity serve to tempt Milo. Instead, as Milo is spirited away to Whitmore's mansion, she becomes very business-like.
Helga: "Keep your sentences short and to the point. Are we clear?" (00:08:58.121)
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Helga deeply understands here place in following orders, maintaining a unified chain of command, and not wasting time with pleasantries or small talk. She only really uses charm when it serves her leaders' goals, in this case trying to recruit Milo. As soon as that task is done, she drops the act and resumes her role as a no-nonsense lieutenant, only stopping occasionally to make one remark or another.
This attitude is pervasive in her behavior on the "Ulysses" the flagship submarine for the Atlantis expedition. While Helga is sometimes bored with Milo's presentations about the trip and sees him as a witless, bumbling academic, when he and other are put in danger by an Atlantean Leviathan, she puts her feelings aside and acts purely on training. She works efficiently and decisively to save as much of the crew as she can.
Helga: "Come on! Everybody grab a seat and buckle in!" (00:23:50.345)
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These are all pretty standard observations from the film. Helga has her own thoughts about what is going on around her, but she doesn't let those thoughts interfere with her duties. Everyone in the audience picked up on these traits.
The beauty of traditional animation, however, is that every single frame is drawn by an artist by hand. Every scintilla of an expression is composed of exactly what the animators wanted to convey in that moment, no matter how subtle, and no matter how fleeting compared to the time code. These minute details are where Helga's conflicted feelings come to light.
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Soon after the crew are met by Atlantean warriors led by Princess Kida, they are escorted into the city of Atlantis. Milo can't contain his excitement about the intricacies of the local language, but Helga has other thoughts on her mind. She comments to Rourke that the presence of people changes the nature of the mission. Rourke feels no such misgivings, visibly surprising her.
Rourke: "This changes nothing." (00:43:50.044)
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This is the first indication the audience is given that Helga has any feelings at all about the mission itself, much less any sign of reservation. She is not completely comfortable with what Rourke is about to do--and she knows she is going to play a part in it, regardless of how it turns out.
She knows better than to show this weakness to a commanding officer, however. She does not play a significant part in the story again until Rourke reveals to Milo the nature of the expedition. She stands resolute and faces Milo with a cruel smile, and even goads Rourke as he discusses what the power of the crystal means to their bottom line.
Helga: "Knowing that, I'd double the price." (00:58:56.492)
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Her last witty comment in front of Rourke comes after he has discovered the location of the crystal chamber, but before anyone in the crew has entered the room. She, Rourke, Milo and Kida then descend into the chamber.
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The focus of the chamber scene is Kida and her interaction with the crystal. Helga barely interacts with anyone else. But emotions revealed by her facial expressions reveal a very different state of mind for her. Once she sees the power of the crystal face to face, her tough facade begins to crack.
As the platform descends to the chamber shoreline, Rourke maintains a stolid, almost disinterested gaze. Helga, on the other hand, scans the room with wide eyes. Her stance remains taut, and she even keeps a hand on the holster of her pistol. She is not comfortable being in the chamber.
Helga stares at the monoliths of the kings of Atlantis. (01:01:44.284)
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As Helga is not the central focus of the scene, it's easy to dismiss her expression as expedience on the part of the animators. However, during production of "Atlantis", Helga's character was animated by a dedicated Japanese team located at Walt Disney Animation Studios France in Paris. This means her expressions and movements were not created by the same artists that animated the other characters, and no sacrifices were made to her animations to focus on the others.
In fact, the scene provides us with evidence of her discomfort with the proceedings. Kida begins praying to the kings; Rourke orders Milo to tell her to stop, as they "have a schedule to keep". Milo is offended at this and gives Helga an angry look. Instead of meeting his gaze with a scoff, a sneer or a callous smile, Helga simply lowers her eyes and lets out a small sigh as her visage softens.
Helga avoids Milo's gaze. (01:01:54.628)
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Further, when Rourke kicks a pebble into the water, the crystal begins to glow bright red in agitation, to which Helga actively comments on her unease. This is a far cry from the uncompromisingly cruel Helga presented earlier in the movie, talking coldly about the value of the crystal and its attractiveness to ambitious world leaders.
Helga: "Come on, let's get this over with. I don't like this place." (01:02:17.067)
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Helga's trepidation only increases as events unfold. The crystal, sensing the danger from Rourke, calls to Kida to join with it and protect it. As Kida walks on the surface of the water to the crystal, Helga is clearly taken aback. Her expression doesn't change as Kida merges with the crystal; by the time Kida walks back to the shore and the monoliths have collapsed into the water, Helga is in state of horrified disbelief.
Helga watches Kida leave the crystal chamber. (01:06:20.310)
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Helga has been shaken by what she's seen, and she can no longer ignore her moral culpability. But she puts her loyalty to her commander first; discipline and order and the central tenets of how she lives her life. She remains aligned with Rourke and does not directly question his decisions.
As Kida is loaded onto the expedition rigs, Audrey and Vinny wear their guilt on their sleeve, but Helga does not. When Rourke gives the order to move out, Helga reprimands the crew's lethargy, noting that Rourke gave "an order, not a suggestion". It is at this point that the rest of the crew turn on Rourke and elect to stay with Milo.
What follows is a shot almost everyone missed when watching "Atlantis"--it's something I didn't even notice until a few days ago, prompting me to write this very post. But this shot demonstrates far more about what Helga is thinking than almost anything else in the movie.
As Rourke re-enters his rig, he mutters that "P.T. Barnum was right". He reaches for the gear shift lever, but as he does so, he notices Helga in the rig to his right. She is looking down, with lower lip pulled in and brow furrowed, as she leans wearily on the steering wheel of her rig. She clearly feels terrible about what has happened.
Helga considers her actions. (01:08:58.885)
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When Helga notices Rourke looking at her, her expression hardens. Her jaw tightens and her eyes narrow. She hardly even wants to look at him, fully aware of the atrocity he's committing.
Helga notices Rourke looking at her. (01:08:59.117)
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Her resolve steels, and she gives Rourke a very telling gaze. She will carry out his orders because she is his lieutenant, but she does so under protest. She wants him to know that she does not agree with his decisions, but she will not turn on him, because a unified chain of command is more important to her than anything else. However, she would never have done such things on her own.
Helga is acting under protest. (01:08:59.719)
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Finally, Helga swallows her feelings and focuses back on the mission. She will not let her personal misgivings compromise her honor as a fighter and as a lieutenant. The moment passes, and she and Rourke depart Atlantis.
Note from the timestamps that this sequence is less than one second long. Helga does not want to admit that she feels guilty, but her emotions are powerful enough that they break through the facade, if only for an instant. Helga knows what she's done. And she knows it's wrong.
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Helga presses on, helping Rourke to load Kida onto an airship and begin an ascent to the surface. When Milo and his friends arrive to rescue Kida, assisted by Atlantean warriors, Helga fights alongside Rourke to take them down. She returns to battle mode, burying her feelings under years of training and experience, facing the enemy with quiet determination. The routine of commander-lieutenant structure resumes, and Helga can forget about her prior actions in the heat of battle.
For everything Rourke has done, he has not deserted her. He has done his best tokeep her safe, and the rest of the crew before their betrayal. She knows he ordered the evacuation of the "Ulysses" instead of risking its loss with all hands, and she knows he ordered the evacuation of their campsite to prevent death by conflagration or smoke inhalation. As long as she honors his position as an officer, he will protect her as his subordinate. And as long as that dynamic lasts, Helga will find a way to forgive herself.
Then, halfway through the battle, the dynamic is destroyed. The airship loses one of its balloons, and Rourke orders Helga to drop ballast. When she drops the final container, she comments that they cannot ascend further "unless someone want to jump". Rourke then initiates his betrayal: he grabs her by the arms and attempts to throw her off the side of the airship.
Rourke: "Ladies first." (01:17:34.650)
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Helga is caught completely off guard. She would never sabotage her commander, and she couldn't fathom him turning on her. She committed a great crime to the people of Atlantis, and her comfort is in the honor of her duty: the order and discipline she has fostered in the ranks of Rourke's crew. It is in that order that she finds what peace she can in her conscience. But with Rourke's betrayal, all of that is gone. In facing her actions, she has been abandoned. She has now lost everything.
She manages to catch herself on the edge of the airship and flings herself back up, at which point she begins to attack Rourke outright, her eyes burning with anger.
Helga: "You said we were in this together!" (01:17:42.282)
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Ultimately, Rourke manages to evade an attack from Helga and toss her overboard. This time, she is unable to catch herself, and she plummets to the bottom of the shaft. As she falls, she screams his name, and the wild look in her eyes hints at the utter sense of loss she feels, now that her morality has been discarded and she has been left to die. Rourke even mocks her loyalty by shouting "Nothing personal!" as he watches her fall.
Helga plunges to her presumed death. (01:17:48.873)
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Miraculously, Helga survives the fall, at least initially. Badly injured and unable to move, she has nothing left. Her leader has forsaken her. She is too hurt to fight. She has doomed the entire city of Atlantis to the grave. Everything she valued, everything she fought for, everything she found self-worth in has been taken away.
In those last moments, she turns. She decides to follow her conscience instead of her orders. She will no longer support Rourke, no matter the reason. Whether she might stop him from making money from the crystal; whether she might save the people of Atlantis; whether she might want to atone for her sins; whether she might prevent the surface world from plunging into war--none of those things matter as much as redress for his betrayal. She is now living for herself.
She turns her flare gun to Rourke's airship. Her last moment is one of defiance, turning his own words against him.
Helga: "Nothing personal." (01:18:29.872)
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It often goes unacknowledged that Helga's actions allowed Atlantis to be saved. Milo attempts to fight Rourke but loses miserably. Rourke is well on the way to throwing Milo overboard as well, but Helga's sabotage gives Milo time to avoid Rourke's attacks. The crash of the balloon destroys the core of Rourke's forces, and of course he is killed in the process. This allows Milo and the remaining crew to rescue Kida and bring her back to Atlantis, protecting the city from a pyroclastic flow. All of this is possible due to Helga.
The movie intentionally makes it unclear if Helga survives. The implication is that she does not, as the airship crashes directly on top of where she had fallen and the entire shaft fills with lava. Regardless, it is her turn--and her sacrifice--that brings about the salvation of Atlantis, and the protection of its sacred crystal.
Helga is not as evil as people think. She is misguided, true. She is ruthless, sure. And she justifies malicious acts with her unwavering loyalty, devotion and appeal to military order. But when those fail to comfort her and bring her closure in relation to her actions, she is no longer comfortable with letting Rourke win. She will do what she must, and if it saves the people she almost destroyed, that's a happy byline. Because of all this, I see her as amoral: a neutral character who only does what she feels she must do.
[This post was originally written on 2022-05-19.]
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[Last updated: 2022-09-07]
