There are more Disney films than you probably know.  Go onto Disney+ some time, scroll through the options, and see for yourself.  How many of you have heard of The Cat from Outerspace (1978)?  What about Emil and the Detectives (1964)?  Those are just two examples of many from which I could have chosen.  As a Catholic, I enjoy the obscure.  There are many saints that are familiar outside of the Faith, but a whole host of others that even the most regular Mass attendee would have trouble recognizing.  Like my daily study of those holy men and women, I have searched the Disney film catalog a few times.  In all my scanning, I do not recall coming across today’s entry, The Island at the Top of the World (1974).  If you read anything about the production, you will understand why it has not been widely appreciated.  You could also watch it, or better yet, read this review.  It will spare you some strangeness.

It is 1907, and Professor Ivarsson (David Hartman) is experiencing some of his own strangeness at the start of The Island at the Top of the World as he is summoned unexpectedly to meet his longtime friend, Sir Anthony Ross (Donald Sinden).  Instead of immediately explaining the reason for the visit, Professor Ivarsson must travel with Sir Anthony as he unwinds the tale of how the latter’s son, Donald Ross (David Gwillim), has disappeared.  The young man had been on an arctic expedition in the northern reaches of Canada when he had gone in search of a legendary island, the title one, which is also said to be the place where whales go to die.  Professor Ivarsson has heard of these stories, but is skeptical as to their veracity.  It is also clear that Sir Anthony wants the archaeologist to assist in a search party, but Professor Ivarsson thinks the idea foolish.  To convince the scholar, Sir Anthony produces a kind of whale bone map made by Eskimos that, when matched with the right coastline, seemingly points the way to the mythical place.  Between that and an appeal to Professor Ivarsson’s vanity in being the first to discover such a place, he agrees to go.  Instead of heading towards the Arctic, however, their first destination is France.  There they meet Captain Brieux (Jacques Marin), whose airship, the Hyperion, will be their transportation.  Captain Brieux is quite proud of his machine, but Sir Anthony’s demand to be underway overrules the Frenchman’s desire for a showy departure.  Because Sir Anthony owns the ship, he is also able to dictate the speed, forcing Captain Brieux to go to full power once they cross the English Channel.  Doing so causes one of the propellers to break.  The captain believes they must turn back, but Sir Anthony suggests a dangerous midair repair that almost results in the pilot’s death.  With no more interruptions, they make it the trading post where Donald was last seen alive.  Upon landing, they are pointed to Oomiak (Mako), the Inuit guide who had been with Donald and had come back with the map.  However, so spooked had Oomiak been by the experience that he has to be tricked into getting on board the Hyperion.  Another way of saying this is that he is kidnapped, but that is not me exercising Christian charity.  Either way, they make it to their intended destination, which is where the Eskimo artifact says it will be.  They are also amazed when they notice several species of whales migrating towards the landmark.  However, tricky winds and low visibility nearly cause them to crash.  Sir Anthony, Professor Ivarsson, and Oomiak fall onto a snowy slope during one such rocking, and Captain Brieux and the Hyperion float into the mist.  The ones on the ground do not go far before they spot a mysterious man observing them in the distance.  They head in that direction but are soon surrounded by men armed with bows and arrows and spears.  It is Professor Ivarsson who is the first to figure out that they are Vikings, and with his rudimentary knowledge of Norse, he is able to communicate with them.  Even better, his questioning leads him to discover that Donald is somewhere nearby and alive.  Naturally, this excites Sir Anthony, and they are eventually led to a farm where Donald had been staying.  Instead, they are greeted by Freya (Agneta Eckemyr), who has been taught English by Donald.  She explains that once word had gotten out that they had arrived, Donald had been taken by Godi the Lawspeaker (Rolf Søder).  Among the more fanatical people of the settlement is a belief that any outsiders are harbingers of doom.  The three newcomers are taken to the council, but Oomiak jumps int the river and escapes by swimming.  This leaves Sir Anthony and Professor Ivarsson, who are joined by Donald, to face judgement.  They are to be executed by being burned at the stake on a boat in the middle of a lake.  They are saved, though, by Freya, who is in love with Donald.  Together, after being rejoined by Oomiak, they make their way across the volcano ridden island where they are eventually found by Captain Brieux.  Much of the Hyperion’s cabin is wrecked, but the skipper is confident she will rise and they can float southward on the prevailing winds.  This works well until the currents shift, blowing them into the path of Godi and the men pursuing them.  Though the others run away frightened, Godi shoots a flaming arrow into the Hyperion, forcing them to abandon ship.  Despite the airship’s crash taking out Godi, the foreigners must face the council once more.  It is decided that they may depart, but they must leave a hostage as surety that they will keep the island’s location a secret.  Donald is the one chosen as a hostage, but Professor Ivarsson offers himself as a replacement in order to study this lost settlement.  With that, the rest take off by dog sled, including Freya.

Once can imagine the culture shock an ancient Viking like Freya in The Island at the Top of the World has in store for her.  Unfortunately, the film ends before they get to civilization.  As a fellow scholar like Professor Ivarsson, I cannot help but wonder about a few things.  My faith, too, plays a major role in my curiosity.  We know that when the Vikings first commenced the raids that made them infamous across Europe and into Asia, they were pagan.  By this point in history, Europe had been Christianized for the most part.  Those early churches and monasteries made an inviting target for Vikings, especially because there was nobody defending them.  By the time the Norsemen began fanning out into the North Atlantic, Christianity had crept into their culture.  You do not have to take my word for this fact, which is understandable as this not my subject area expertise.  Yet, what little I have researched is corroborated when Professor Ivarsson talks about lava tunnels in Iceland being referred to as gates to hell.  These are not English or French Christians on that island, but Vikings who had converted to Christianity.  Further, there is one brief moment in the film that connects with this idea.  When Sir Anthony, Professor Ivarsson, and Oomiak are first brought to the village, they pass a runestone.  Carved at the top of this is a cross.  It is unmistakably a Christian symbol, though I suspect that whoever decided to put this decorative element in the film did so to make this group of Scandinavians appear to be more sympathetic.  While this was not unheard of historically speaking, it could be emblematic of the period when this lot landed in this fantastical island of fire and ice.  Of course, this is all made moot when you see them still carving images of the pantheon of Viking gods.

My analysis of these images in The Island at the Top of the World makes it sound more serious than it is when you watch it.  Indeed, it is pretty silly, and this is surprising when you consider it was made in 1974.  Then again, that is Disney for you.  This is all a long winded way of saying this one is eminently skippable.