Giant Squid

The Giant Squid is a character from Jules Verne's *20,000 Leagues Under the Sea* and its 1954 film adaptation.

## Background

### Disney

#### 1968 Film

The giant squid was a massive cephalopod which encountered Captain Nemo's Nautilus in 1868. The squid (likely believing the Nautilus to be a sperm whale) attacked the Nautilus resulting in the Nautilus needing to travel back to the surface.

Captain Nemo would go above deck to try and attack the Giant Squid with a harpoon as it proceeded to wreck the Nautilus and kill his crew. The animal succeeded in drowning Nemo but Nemo's acquaintance Ned Land managed to use a harpoon to stab the squid in the eye, presumably killing it.

### Origins

The squid is based off of the, "squid of colossal dimensions" from Jules Verne's 1870 book *Vingt mille lieues sous les mers* (20,000 Leagues under the Sea). At both the time of the book's writing and the film's production, the Giant Squid's existence was unconfirmed and it was considered to be a cryptid.

## Appearances

### Disneyland

#### 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

The squid appeared in a walk-through attraction based off of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, as an animated model.

### Walt Disney World

#### 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Submarine Voyage

The squid appeared in the climax of this attraction, attacking the *Nautilus XIII*. The ship managed to use an electric charge to fight off the squid however.

#### Skipper Canteen

In the skipper canteen, a map of the Mediterranean made by Mary Oceaneer has an illustration of the Giant Squid and the Nautilus engaged in combat.

#### Trader Sam's Grog Grotto

An image of Walt Disney holding the squid's tentacle is on display in this grotto along with a portrait of the Nautilus. A giant squid's tentacle is framed behind the bar with its arm wrapped around the rafters, holding a bottle.

This is inferred to be one of the tentacles of the giant squid from 20,000 Leagues. When the Nautilus drink is ordered, the squid's arm once again comes to life and lowers its liquor to pour into the Nautilus drink. As this happens, the bartenders act as Nemo's crew while audio from Submarine Voyage plays in the background and the Nautilus portrait illuminates.

#### Fantasyland

The "H. Goff Cartography" building in Prince Eric's village found across from the *Voyage of the Little Mermaid* has the giant-squid's image as its weather-vane. This is done because of how the area in-which the building is located occupies the space once used by submarine voyage. It should be noted that throughout the Prince Eric's village area there is a recurring theme of the villagers' encounters with sea-monsters such as: mermaids, sirens, the leviathan, a dragon and Ursula.

#### Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway

The ride *Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway* features the giant squid as it appeared in the Mickey Mouse cartoons of the 2010s where it cameo'd in a Submarine Voyage themed episode. In the ride, it plays a trumpet under-water as guests pass by.

### Disneyland Paris

#### Les Mystères du Nautilus

Discoveryland's Nautilus attractions features a much more involved squid-attack, similar to the climax from Submarine Voyage.

### Tokyo DisneySea

#### 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

The squid appears in the middle of this attraction rather than the climax, attacking the Neptune submarines as they pass through the ship graveyard of Kraken Reef.

## Trivia

* The cryptid counterpart to the Giant Squid from before its official discovery is the Kraken. The Kraken notably appears in Pirates of the Caribbean related attractions and media, in-addition to a more Lovecraftian variant of it appearing in the direct-to-DVD sequel to Atlantis: The Lost Empire.