20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954 film) that the film "may occasionally succumb to some of the problems inherent in the source material (the episodic nature does slow the pace), but the strengths far outweigh the weaknesses, making this one of the greatest science-fiction films ever made." Audiences remember it primarily for its giant-squid battle sequence as well as the "Nautilus" itself and James Mason's portrayal of Nemo. The film currently holds an 89% approval rating at the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, with the consensus being: "One of Disney's finest live-action adventures, "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" brings Jules Verne's classic sci-fi tale to vivid life,
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea publisher, Pierre-Jules Hetzel, who is known to be responsible for many serious changes in Verne's books. In the original text the mysterious captain was a Polish nobleman, avenging his family who were killed by the Russians in retaliation for the captain's taking part in the Polish January Uprising of 1863. As France was at the time allied with the Russian Empire, the target for Nemo's wrath was changed to France's old enemy, the British Empire, to avoid political trouble. Professor Pierre Aronnax does not suspect Nemo's origins, as these were explained only later, in Verne's next book. What remained in