~ Kida to Milo before merging with and becoming the crystal power source.
“
You have saved Atlantis and my people. Your name will be honored forever. You have our deepest gratitude.
„
~ Kida after the Trial by Fire video game is completed.
Princess (later Queen) Kidagakash "Kida" Nedakh is the deuteragonist of Disney's 41st full-length animated feature film Atlantis: The Lost Empire and the main protagonist of its 2003 direct-to-video sequel Atlantis: Milo's Return.
She is an Atlantean princess and daughter of the late Kashekim Nedakh, the former King of Atlantis. Later after her father's death and Rourke's defeat, she took the former's place in becoming the Queen of Atlantis, to which she bonds and works together in preserving that role with Milo, her newfound consort.
She was voiced by Cree Summer, while Natalie Strom did her voice as a child. In the Japanese dub from the movie, she was voiced by Yoshino Kimura.
She is a warrior princess, making her strong and very skilled at combat. It is mentioned that several thousand years ago, Kida would have killed outsiders on sight. By the present time, however, Kida has become so curious about Atlantis's past that she is willing to let in outsiders with the hope that they could help her rediscover Atlantis's history, even as far as taking a liking to Milo. She is shown to love her father, and later Milo, very much. Although she can seem quite forceful, violent, and aggressive at times, she has a kind heart, and a general respect for all creatures.
She is enthusiastically curious about the modern world, which is perhaps emphasized by 8700 years trapped underground. She is also driven to learn about her own culture and technology, which had been repressed by her father for fear of repeating another cataclysm, however, not knowing this, she is instead frustrated by the treasure trove of knowledge right in front of her that she doesn't understand. Kida was kept uneducated by her father out of fear, yet she is still highly intelligent, capable of understanding new languages from brief exposure to them; she is also adaptable from intuition and observations, as well as being quick to learn.
Kida is direct and blunt, making potentially insulting observations about people she meets, however, she intends neither insult nor considers their flaws as faults. While being a strong fighter herself, she doesn't inherently admire physical strength, as she was able to become close to Milo out of admiration and respect for his intelligence and knowledge, as well as his compassionate demeanor. Similarly, Kida is compassionate and generous, however, will react aggressively to threats to her people.
Physical appearance[]
Kida is a tall girl with a very slender built and a slightly muscular physique. Like all Atlanteans, Kida has white hair and tanned skin. She has blue colored tattoos (representing teardrops), which appear to change slightly after she becomes Queen, and large blue eyes. She also wears a shard of the crystal around her neck. She also wears a shard of the crystal around her neck. With the power of the Atlantean crystal, Kida and the other Atlanteans are given abnormally long lives. Though Kida is roughly 8,500 - 8,800 years old (according to Milo), she physically resembles someone in their mid-late 20's.
Her attire chances when she transformers from princess to queen, with her clothes going from being very revealing to being elaborate. As a princess, she wears only a simple blue bikini, the top being a strapless bandeau and the bottoms are covered with sarong type skirt, gold jewelry being an earring on her right ear, a band on her left arm, an anklet on her right ankle, and she goes around barefoot. In the sequel, her dress is a strapless dark turquoise dress with two slits on either side and a gold chevron pattern on the hem, with a red sash at the waist and a dark blue cape with a gold underside attached to the rear. In the short short "Milo's Rescue Mission," Kida can actually revert to her princess outfit even as a queen.
Appearances[]
Atlantis: The Lost Empire[]
Kida was a child when Atlantis came to its downfall and witnessed her mother being taken from her by the power of the crystal, known as the Heart of Atlantis.
Most of the city was safely moved by the crystal near the center of the earth, and the king hid the crystal away from the city to protect Kida from being taken into it just like his queen. The king made laws forbidding the citizens from learning to read, to prevent them from trying to control the crystal's power. He had earlier tried to control the crystal himself, but it had led to Atlantis's downfall.
Kida becomes exceedingly curious about Atlantis's past and the disappearance of her mother. She and other Atlantean warriors search through the caverns of their underground world and come across the team of explorers searching for their city, and they follow and spy on them. Kida comes across an injured Milo, and instead of killing the outsider or pressing him for questions, she heals his wound and instantly runs from the other coming explorers.
Once in Atlantis, she takes the explorers to her father, as she tries to convince the king to let them help restore their crumbling city with their knowledge. When the king allows them to only stay one night, Kida decides to find Milo and ask him questions about the surface world, as he also has questions for her. She takes Milo around the city, and their friendship and trust quickly grow.
She takes him to an underwater mural with Atlantean writing that she can't read, and asks Milo to translate. The writing not only tells of the crystal's power, but also allows them to work various machines which ran off its power. When they surface, Kida is taken hostage by Rourke's crew as bait for Milo and the king to hand the crystal to him, in which Rourke and the crew think that selling it would make them incredibly rich on the surface. Once the location of the crystal is found by Rourke, Helga, Milo and Kida, the crystal summons Kida to it to protect the city, sensing Rourke's evil.
It is mentioned that the crystal will merge with someone from the royal family in times of danger. Before merging with and becoming the crystal power source, she tells Milo in Atlantean not to worry and that "all is well". She is almost carried away to the surface by Rourke, but is saved by Milo, the remaining crew members, and Atlantean warriors. Her father having been murdered (from a punch from Rourke), she becomes the queen of Atlantis with Milo by her side, who had chosen to stay with her instead of returning to the surface.
Milo's Return[]
Kida, as Queen of Atlantis, is working with Milo, who is now her husband, to use the Heart of Atlantis to rebuild the civilization. They are unexpectedly visited by their comrades from the first film. They learn that a creature called the Kraken, which is presumed to be an Atlantean defense mechanism, is attacking a town. Kida and the others travel and are able to stop the creature.
While Kida adjusts well to the outside world, she feels guilty because there could be more Atlantean machines wreaking havoc. Kida and the others travel to Arizona, where they find a town with a statue that appears to be of Atlantean origin. They are also forced to confront coyote sprits who oppose them. A Native-American man is able to serve as a median, and Kida learns that she has the power to choose Atlantis's destiny.
Later on, Kida and friends travel on a search for the Gungnir, a mythical spear of Atlantean origin. They track the thief, a man named Erik Hellstrom, to the Nordic Mountains. There, he presumes Kida to be his daughter (Erik believes himself to be Odin), and kidnaps her. Hellstrom intends to end the world by bringing about Ragnarok, and creates various beasts. Kida is able to retrieve the spear after Vinnie provides a distraction.
As a result of the adventures, Kida learns about the power of the Atlantean crystal, and comes to believe that her father was wrong for hiding it. She combines the Heart Crystal with the spear, and uses its power to raise Atlantis to the surface. It should also be noted that unlike in the first film, Kida for some reason does not have the extra tattoos obtained on her face from her wedding to Milo/coronation as Queen.
Trivia[]
Despite being born a princess and a character created by Disney, Kida is not marketed as an official Disney Princess. This is most likely due to the commercial underperformance of Atlantis: The Lost Empire by the time it was originally released in theatres in 2001, which might have hindered her from being part of the official Disney Princess line-up.
Perhaps not coincidentally, Kida is unique in Disney for being a princess who falls in love with an adorably nerdy commoner instead of a conventionally handsome prince.
Originally, before becoming Milo's Return it was going to be an animated spin-off series. However, as the film bombed, three episodes were stitched together with some altered animation, and it was released as a direct-to-video film.
Many fans of the anime series Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water believed that Kida was obviously similar to Nadia La Arwall, causing to sue for plagiarism. The parent company that owned Nadia: Secret of the Blue Water opted not to pursue a lawsuit; allegedly, the sheer magnitude of Disney's resources made them unwilling to take them to court. While Disney never released an official statement, one of the directors of Atlantis: The Lost Empire claimed to have never heard about Nadia, noting that both properties were simply influenced by Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. However, anime fans claimed that the two films had similarities that were not from the book, such as main character designs and magic crystals. Fans of the Disney film are generally unaware of the accusations, while fans of Nadia are convinced it was a convincing case of plagiarism. Possibly due to the Disney film being a box office bomb hurt chances of claims of stolen profits through copying.
Heroes
