20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954 film) financial risk to the studio should it flop. Upon the film's original release, "The New York Times" film critic Bosley Crowther gave it a generally positive review by stating 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.' Turned out in CinemaScope and color, it is as broad, fictitiously, as it is long (128 minutes), and should prove a sensation—at least with the kids." In his 1967 biography "The Disney Version", the critic, Richard Schickel, stated that James Mason was "superbly
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954 film) Will Smith for the Captain Nemo role, but he has reportedly turned down the part. As a second possible choice, McG had mentioned Sam Worthington, whom he worked with on "Terminator Salvation", though they did not ever discuss it seriously. The project was later shelved in November 2009 with McG backing out of directing. 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. Burns. While Fincher was wrapping up "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" (2011), it was speculated that