Team Atlantis storyboard by Barry Crain.
Team Atlantis was the proposed television series to be developed by Walt Disney Television Animation as a follow-up to Atlantis: The Lost Empire. Due to the disappointing box-office take for the film, the series was canceled a third of the way through production. Three episodes for the series had been partially completed and would be re-edited into the direct-to-video sequel Atlantis: Milo's Return.
Synopsis
The series would have found Milo Thatch and Kidagakash Nedakh, now both King and Queen of Atlantis, reuniting with their companions and journeying to the surface to track strange phenomena presumably caused by Atlantean crystals.
"The Last"
An unproduced episode of note that has become public knowledge is called "The Last." Written by Greg Weisman, voice director of the series, and subsequently Atlantis: Milo's Return, it was a pseudo-crossover with his previous Disney series Gargoyles. The story takes place in 1920 Paris, France and features Demona, referred to as The Gorlois, and Fiona Canmore with both their voices being repraised by Marina Sirtis and Sheena Easton respectively.
Weisman screened partial storyboards and the voice recording at the 2002 Gathering of the Gargoyles, a fan convention devoted to the Gargoyles series. The following year, a group of fans pooled their resources together to purchase the voice tape, script, and storyboards in an attempt to finish the episode. As of April 15, 2012, they are still trying to accomplish this task, although they lack a venue to view the finished work as the Gathering was discontinued after 2010.
Summary
Fiona Canmore is smashing gargoyles statues throughout Notre Dame Cathedral. Unfortunately, she is unable to destroy them all before the sunsets, allowing for Demona to escape, injuring Fiona in the process. She makes her way to the hospital when she runs into an old flame, Joshua Sweet.
Demona/Gorlois character model by Greg Guler.
Meanwhile, Demona makes her way through Paris' catacombs and continues digging for a statue called the Praying Gargoyle. She suddenly encounters Kida, Gaetan Moliére, Vinny Santorini, and Obby. They briefly struggle until Kida identifies Demona as a Gorlois. She explains that long ago, the Gorlois was an ally of her father Kashekim Nedakh and further regarded as trusted friends. They take pity on Demona, with Mole developing a strong and rather comedic crush on her.
Sweet agrees to help Fiona hunt down Demona. Along with Milo, they rendezvous with Kida and the others, where they learn of the Atlantean Queen having formed an alliance with the "creature." Demona uses Mole to dig up the Praying Gargoyle and then ties him up before escaping back to Notre Dame. She uses the Praying Gargoyle to case a spell that brings to life all the stone gargoyles in Paris, though they are not true living gargoyles like her. She plans to use her stone solders to wipe out every human in the city.
When night falls, Sweet and Fiona confront Demona as she unleashes her army. Sweet comes to the conclusion that Demona has a legitimate gripe and tries to put an end to the feud between her and the Canmores. A huge battle takes place in the skies of Paris before the group manages to save the city. Sweet destroys the Praying Gargoyle and manages to save Demona's life, allowing her to escape. He hopes this act will change her. It does, however, leave him and Fiona to bitterly go their separate ways.
Sometime later, Demona swoops down from the sky and searches through the remains of the Praying Gargoyle. She successfully retrieves an Atlantean crystal wthat had been hidden within it.
Gargoyles Continuity
Following Weisman's screening of the storyboards and voice recording for the episode during the 2002 Gathering of the Gargoyles, a fan convention devoted to the Gargoyles series, many have wondered if the story was not only canon with the Gargoyles universe, but also meant that Atlantis was part of its mythos as well. He eventually explained that the two were set in different universes, though "The Last" was the one place where they intersected.
Team Atlantis would have dealt with subjects that had previously been used in Gargoyles, such as featuring Odin, Puck, and the Loch Ness Monster. However, the presentation of these would have been different from their Gargoyles counterparts. Nevertheless, Greg thought it would make sense to include a story of Demona and her ongoing feud with the Hunters given all the legends that would have been encountered and made use of in Team Atlantis.
Demona retrieves the Atlantean crystal in Gargoyles #3.
Weisman further elaborated that, because of the Atlantean crystal, the Praying Gargoyle can be regenerated over a sixty year period if both the crystal and the statue are kept on holy ground. This was supported in the Gargoyles episode "The Hunter's Moon - Part 3" when a flashback showed Demona returning to Notre Dame in 1980 for use in a plan to eliminate humanity years later only for it to be destroyed by Goliath during a battle in New York with Fiona Canmore's descendants.
Weisman would revisit "The Last" briefly at the end the third issue of the Gargoyles comic book series published by SLG. Demona would quietly retrieve the crystal shortly after the events of "The Hunter's Moon" story arc.
Gargoyles Connection
In addition to Weisman, other Gargoyles alumni working on Team Atlantis include Tad Stones as producer, Greg Guler as lead character designer, Vic Cook as a director, and Dave Schwartz as a storyboard artist. Voice actors who appeared in both shows include Cree Summer, Jeff Bennet, Clancy Brown, Bill Fagerbakke, Frank Welker, and Tom Wilson. Another voice actor of note is W. More Sheppard, who did the voice of Odin in both shows. Though each had a differing characterization, Weisman cast Sheppard as a nod to Gargoyles.