journey 2 the mysterious island palau

Where Was Journey 2 The Mysterious Island Filmed?

Brad Peyton helmed the blockbuster adventure movie ‘Journey 2: The Mysterious Island,’ the second installment in the Jules Verne-inspired ‘Journey’ series. Upon discovering a signal from Sean’s grandfather Alexander Anderson, Sean and his stepdad, Hank, set out for a sprawling adventure filled with lush greenery and uncanny creatures. They arrive in the far-flung island country of Palau, regroup with Alexander thanks to a cyclone, and embark on a search for the lost city of Atlantis.

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson delivers a hilarious performance alongside Michael Caine , Luis Guzmán, Vanessa Hudgens , and Josh Hutcherson. Most of the story unveils in the turbulent pacific, while the finale takes place on a dreamy island. However, you may seek to identify the locations where the movie was filmed. If that is the case, let us divulge before you everything we know.

Journey 2 The Mysterious Island Filming Locations

‘Journey 2: The Mysterious Island’ was filmed in locations in and around the U.S., especially in Hawaii. Filming commenced on October 25, 2010, and was wrapped up by December 15 of the same year. Let us now take you to the specific locations where the movie was filmed!

O’ahu, Hawaii

Most parts of the movie were filmed in Hawaii, possibly including the Atlantis scenes. The director took his team to Kualoa Ranch, a 4,000-acre vast nature reserve, event venue, cattle ranch, and most importantly, a famous filming destination in Hawaii. Situated at 49560 Kamehameha Highway in the community of Ka’a’awa, at around 24 miles from Honolulu, the ranch is a popular tourist destination in the city.

The reserve has been home to more than 79 movie productions, including blockbusters such as ‘Jurassic Park,’ ‘ 50 First Dates ,’ and ‘Pearl Harbor.’ Look for the scene where they are heading towards the submarine, at around 46 minutes mark. You can locate the open space where filming of ‘ Jurassic Park ‘ took place.

Several scenes were also filmed at the Waimea Bay and its adjacent Waimea Bay Beach Park, located at 61-31 Kamehameha Highway in the community of Haleiwa along the north shore of O’ahu. Due to its situation at the mouth of the Waimea River and the proximity of several tourist places, Waimea Bay sees footfall all around the year. In the summer, you can go out surfing, while in the winter, you can enjoy the view of the towering waves with a bonfire.

Wilmington, North Carolina

The production team carried out several scenes in a controlled studio environment. The movie presumably contains several CGI-aided sequences, and the scenes were possibly developed in a full-service production facility in the community of Wilmington off the coast of North Carolina. EUE / Screen Gems Studios, a movie production facility located at 1223 North 23rd Street, lent its premises to film scenes.

The 50-acre expansive studio facility features ten fully equipped soundstages and a back-lot to tackle any global-scale production. Since its inception in 1985, more than 400 titles have come out of the studio. Movies filmed in the studio include blockbusters such as ‘ The Conjuring ‘ and ‘Iron Man 3.’ ‘Iron Man 3’ was one of the most significant projects the studio had ever seen, with filming taking place in all the ten soundstages simultaneously.

New York City, New York

Lastly, a few scenes at the movie’s beginning were filmed on location in New York City. New York City remains one of the most iconic places to shoot a film due to the city’s cultural significance. From Martin Scorsese’s ‘ Taxi Driver ‘ to Woody Allen ‘s ‘ Manhattan ,’ the towering landscape of New York City has been featured in timeless classics.

Read More: Best Dwayne Johnson Movies

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JOURNEY 2: THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND

"fun-filled family adventure".

What You Need To Know:

(BBB, PP, V, M) Very strong moral worldview with a strong, positive view of America and Americans, plus a celebration of family bonds; no foul language, but a reference to big bird dropping and man falls into goo in giant lizard egg; light action violence includes teenager on motorcycle tries to escape police, motorcycle jumps into pool, helicopter enters strange hurricane and crashes on island, giant lizard and giant birds chase people, people ride giant bumblebees, electric eel endangers teenager and his stepfather, dangerous rock slides, teenager sprains ankle badly; no sex scenes but older teenage boy admires older teenage girl, who’s pretty, when he sees her, they kiss at end, and they fall down together, but nothing salacious occurs; no nudity; no alcohol; no smoking; and, teenager gets off easy after breaking into a satellite facility to retrieve a message and evading police, plus teenager has shaky relationship with stepfather, but everything’s resolved positively by the end.

More Detail:

JOURNEY 2: THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND is a fun-filled adventure for the whole family. The goal is mostly to entertain, a task the movie does well, but there’s also a strong pro-family message for viewers as the story runs its course.

The movie opens with young Sean Anderson getting in trouble with the police for breaking into a satellite facility and trying to avoid capture. His firefighter stepfather, Hank, gets everyone not to press charges. He tries to communicate with Sean, but the two don’t get along. Eventually, however, Sean opens up to Hank and tells him he was trying to receive a coded satellite message from his grandfather. Sean believes the message tells him the location of the actual “Mysterious Island” from the book by Jules Verne.

They decode the message together and discover it leads to some coordinates near the island of Palau in the South Pacific. Sean wants to go there, and Hank agrees to take him. He thinks that, once Sean discovers the island doesn’t exist, they can go back home to Dayton, Ohio.

Of course, when they get there, they discover that the island does exist. To get there, they have to ride a tour helicopter into the eye of a strange hurricane. Along for the ride is the copter’s owner, Gaby, and his pretty teenage daughter, Kailani.

On the island, they find Sean’s grandfather, Alexander. Alexander tells them the island is the location of the lost island of Atlantis. Every 140 years, the island disappears into the sea again because of volcano activity. Sean’s stepfather was a Navy Seal. He discovers the island is already starting to sink again. The only way to escape is to find Captain Nemo’s hidden submarine, the Nautilus.

JOURNEY 2: THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND is another successful piece of family entertainment from the folks behind 2008’s JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH, which told Sean’s first adventure into Jules Verne’s universe. Michael Caine adds a touch of class and heart as the grandfather. Also, Dwayne Johnson adds some heartfelt entertainment of his own. In fact, he even sings a surprisingly funny, heartwarming, and tuneful version of “What a Wonderful World” in one scene! Like the previous movie, this is a science fiction movie for families with pre-teen children, so some purists may be upset, but not this particular purist or his MOVIEGUIDE® colleagues.

Best yet, the new movie seems even more family-friendly than the previous movie. Younger children will be more excited and thrilled than scared. There’s no intense violence in JOURNEY 2: THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND, but there’s plenty of action and suspense, laced with some light, playful humor. The movie eventually delivers a positive message celebrating family bonds. Also, there’s no foul language or other crude content. The filmmakers and folks at Walden Media and Warner Bros. should be congratulated for keeping this series going by providing another entertaining, family-friendly entry.

Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

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• Cast & crew
• User reviews

Journey 2: The Mysterious Island

• Sean Anderson partners with his mom's husband on a mission to find his grandfather, who is thought to be missing on a mythical island.
• Ever since his adventure in the center of the Earth, Sean Anderson has been looking for other places mentioned by Verne and other Vernians. He is notified about a coded message, and breaks into a satellite facility to fully receive it. With the help from his stepfather Hank (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson) he decodes the message leading him to find the map that leads him to Verne's mysterious island. Along with Gabato and Kailani, Sean embarks on a mission to find his grandfather, the legendary Vernian Alexander. But unexpected problems arise as Alexander made a mistake that could change everything. — Anonymous User - Earth
• After travelling to the center of the Earth, Sean Anderson, now seventeen, has been at the usual teen schemes lately. His latest crime lands him to finding something extraordinary, a key to a chunk of land in the Pacific Ocean. Sean teams up with his stepfather, Hank, to get there, and they meet an overeager chopper pilot, and his teenage daughter, to get to Sean's grandfather, Alexander, only to discover the mysterious island.
• After going to the center of the Earth, seventeen-year-old Sean Andeson goes on a journey to find The Mysterious Island, a legend discovered by Jules Verne. Assisted by his stepfather, Hank, the pair team up with a helicopter pilot and his beautiful daughter to find Sean's lost grandfather, whom Sean believes is on the island. The team encounters monsters, witty remarks, and a deadly conflict along the way.
• A young male, his stepfather, and a pair of travel guides travel to an island that is not as it seems. Once they find out that the island is sinking, they do everything that they can to find a way off the island and get back home safely with the help of an experienced relative. — RECB3
• 17-year-old Sean Anderson receives a coded distress signal from a mysterious island where no island should exist. Unable to stop him from tracking the signal to its source, Sean's new stepfather, Hank, joins the quest that will take them first to the South Pacific, and then to a place few people have ever seen. Or lived to tell about. It's a place of stunning beauty, strange and threatening life forms, volcanoes, mountains of gold and more than one astonishing secret. Together with Gabato, the only helicopter pilot willing to risk the trip, and Gabato's beautiful, strong-willed daughter Kailani, they set out to find the island, rescue its lone human inhabitant and escape before seismic shockwaves force the island underwater and bury its treasures forever.

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Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (2012) – Review

With the commercial success of the Brendan Fraser led adventure comedy Journey to the Center of the Earth the people over at New Line Cinema obviously wanted a sequel but as Jules Verne’s original novel didn’t have a sequel they decided to mine for ideas from other stories, taking elements from Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island , Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels and Jules Verne’s own Mysterious Island – which was actually a sequel to Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea – but what they didn’t land for the return journey was star Brendan Fraser.

Taking place four years after the previous adventure we find seventeen-year-old Sean Anderson ( Josh Hutcherson ) living in Dayton, Ohio with his mom ( Kristin Davis ) and his stepdad Hank ( Dwayne Johnson ), he’s not a happy camper and spends all his time obsessing over Jules Verne and trying to decode a radio signal that he suspects was sent by his long-missing grandfather, Alexander Anderson ( Michael Caine ). With help from Hank, they figure out that code by deducing that it uses Jules Verne characters and maps from three different books, Treasure Island, Gulliver’s Travels and Verne’s own Mysterious Island and by combining these three maps into one single large map it reveals the co-ordinates an uncharted island.

It’s at this point they should have called Dora the Explorer for help.

But with the Dora the Explorer unavailable Sean and Hank fly to Palau in the hopes of chartering a boat and proving whether or not this mysterious island actually exists, unfortunately, the area they want to check out is considered by most to be too dangerous to visit and is referred by the locals as a “graveyard of ships” and thus our heroes are forced to resort to hiring a broken down helicopter operated by tourism guide Gabato ( Luis Guzmán ) and his daughter Kailani ( Vanessa Hudgens ). No sooner do they arrive at the coordinates than they find themselves trapped in a cyclone, which batters the helicopter and sends them down into the sea. Lucky for them they all wash ashore on the Mysterious Island and they immediately proceed to search for Sean’s grandfather in the hopes that his radio can call for help.

“Hello, I’m Oscar-winning actor Michael Caine, and I’ll be slumming it with you today ,”

Question: How exactly does one steer a bee?

Stray Observations: • The first movie dealt with Sean’s missing father and in this sequel, we have Sean’s missing grandfather, clearly, the common denominator here is Sean. • A helicopter is not the ideal vehicle to search for an island that may or may not exist as the fuel capacity of said aircraft is rather limited. • The island is hidden by a permanent hurricane, something that would attract every meteorologist in the world to investigate. • Our heroes get cornered by a giant lizard right where Sean’s grandfather had set multiple swinging log devices. That’s not luck that is some bullshit levels of screenwriting laziness. • They come across something called the Dakkar Grotto and Sean states “The resting place of Captain Nemo. Legend has it his crew buried him there.” And what legend is that? In Verne’s book, we are told that the Nautilus sailed the oceans of the world until all its crew except Nemo had died, it was then that Nemo retired to the island, alone, and at the end of the book, the Nautilus was scuttled to serve as Captain Nemo’s tomb. • Gold flakes rain down on our heroes, caused by the nearby erupting volcano, which apparently contains massive gold deposits, and thus Sean states “That must be the treasure that Robert Louis Stevenson was talking about in Treasure Island.” Once again I ask, what the fuck book was he reading? Stevenson was writing about pirate treasure, for Christ’s sake, not gold spewing volcanoes. • I’m fine with taking liberties with the look of Captain Nemo’s submarine but the Nautilus not only looks nothing like Verne version but the writers outfitted it with bloody torpedoes. Seriously, did anyone involve with this project even open a book? For one, the Nautilus rammed enemy ships it did not blow them up.

This looks more like an underwater craft that Jar Jar Binks would pilot.

I’m all four fun rip-roaring adventure films but director Brad Peyton and screenwriters Brian and Mark Gunn clearly had no respect for the source material, with characters at multiple times supposedly quoting information from a book when in actual fact they are just pulling stuff out of their collective assess. Any fan of Jules Verne watching this movie would be endangered of losing their eyesight with the number of times the script will cause you to roll your eyes in disbelief, and even if you set aside the film’s bastardization of the source material you’re still dealing with some fairly unlikable people on this particular adventure. Sean in this movie is a petulant jerk and all the “teenage angst” in the world cannot excuse his behaviour here, then we have Dwayne Johnson, who is one of the most charismatic people in the world, yet he and Michael Caine’s character get into a pissing match the second they meet for no possible reason. Then we have the father/daughter team consisting of Luis Guzmán and Vanessa Hudgens who are stuck in this thing simply to provide some bad comic relief and a possible love interest for Sean.

“Dad, can we go out on our own adventure and leave these asshats behind?”

Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (2012)

• Movie Rank - 5.5/10 5.5/10

Dwayne Johnson was the perfect choice to fill the shoes of absent Brendan Fraser but the nonsensical mess they called a screenplay constantly undercut much of the fun that the film was trying to instill.

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Screen Rant

'journey 2: the mysterious island' review.

On the whole, Journey 2 is just a fun ride from beginning to end.

On the whole,  Journey 2  is just a fun ride from beginning to end.

In this sequel to Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D , we catch up with young Sean Anderson (Josh Hutcherson), now a bit older and getting into all kinds of mischief. Sean's mom (Kristin Davis) and step-dad Hank (Dwayne Johnson) try to pry the reason for his bad behavior out of the recalcitrant teen, and Hank finally manages to get the answer: Sean is trying to piece together the mystery of his missing grandfather, Alexander Anderson (Michael Caine), who went searching for a mysterious island of legend.

Working together, Sean and Hank decode a message from Alexander based on the famous adventure tales of Jules Verne, Robert Lewis Stevenson and Jonathan Swift. Sean immediately sets his sights on the island of Palau, the next step to locating his grandfather, and Hank - trying to bond with the boy and/or exhaust his curiosity - decides to chaperone the journey.

In Palau, Hank and Sean meet Helicopter tour guide Gabato (Luis Guzmán) and his daughter Kailani (Vanessa Hudgens) - who is pretty enough to make Sean risk a flight on her rusted copter into the eye of a hurricane that just so happens to hide the entrance to the mysterious island. Once they are (crash-)landed on the island, the party sets out to find Alexander - and then, find passage off of the mystical land mass before it sinks back into the sea, taking them with it.

Journey 2: The Mysterious Island  is one of those "good for what it is" films - and what it is, is a light-hearted, family-friendly adventure film in the vein of  Goonies  or  Honey I Shrunk the Kids  (only not that good). The film is filled with cheesy dialogue and jokes, one-dimensional characters and an overdone plot that offers just a few notes of genuine heart or drama - but none of that really matters in this context. Kids will have fun with the material, and the adults accompanying them will be reasonably entertained as well.

Director Brad Peyton ( Cats & Dogs 2 ) crafts a suitable visual experience via some nice tropical locales and striking (but obvious) green-screen and CGI effects. Journey 2  is not likely to win any technical awards - but again, in the context of a kids' film, the visuals are sufficient. The 3D certainly adds to the fun - though it's more often than not used in that pop-out, 'in-your-face' manner meant to capture the fleeting attention of youngsters. But, to be fair, any movie that spends time showcasing The Rock bouncing CGI berries off of his pecs is just out to have a good time, rather than impress with its technical prowess.

Of course, all the silliness would be too much if not for the cast of actors who manage to ground it, and Dwayne Johnson and Michael Caine are two of the main reasons why this film works as effectively as it does. Both are great leading men in their own right, and the contentious relationship between Hank and Alexander (as Sean's competing paternal figures) creates some great banter, which are probably the movie's best moments.

Josh Hutcherson has become something of a bigger name since his first  Journey  film, but he does a good job holding the screen and potraying a somewhat layered protagonist - good qualities in a young lead. Hutcherson's chemistry with Johnson is also strong, and certain moments between Sean and Hank even manage to be somewhat moving as the film progresses.

Hudgens doesn't offer much except her pretty face (not that she's required to) and Guzmán gets the task of playing the irritating comic relief character - which he is certainly successful(?) in doing.

On the whole,  Journey 2  is just a fun ride from beginning to end. It's not a piece of classic cinema by any means, but between some great set pieces, a healthy mix of non-threatening action, (chessy) kid-friendly comedy, and some likable leading performers, you can easily set this Journey above the one that proceeded it.

BONUS: Journey 2 also includes a new 3D CGI Looney Tunes short featuring Daffy Duck and Elmer Fudd. It's a different look for Looney Tunes, featuring some new voices behind the iconic characters and a spastic, hyper-kinetic pace - but the young'uns should enjoy. Although, it is a little unsettling to end an animated short on an image of a 3D shotgun pointed in the face of a young audience. But I digress.

Journey 2: The Mysterious Island  is now playing in 2D and 3D theaters.

"We waste our money so you don't have to."

"We waste our money, so you don't have to."

Movie Review

Journey 2: the mysterious island.

US Release Date: 02-10-2012

Directed by: Brad Peyton

Starring ▸ ▾

• Dwayne Johnson ,  as
• Michael Caine ,  as
• Josh Hutcherson ,  as
• Luis Guzman ,  as
• Vanessa Hudgens ,  as
• Kristin Davis ,  as
• Anna Colwell as

Dwayne Johnson admires his tiny elephant trunk in Journey 2: The Mysterious Island .

I didn't see 2008's Journey to the Center of the Earth but considering the cast changes and the simplicity of the plot, I don't exactly think I missed out because of it. Gone is Brendan Fraser and Jane Wheeler as Sean's parents and instead Dwayne the Rock Johnson is now playing his step-father while his mother has been re-cast with Kristin Davis now playing the small, generic and thankless part of his mother.

When Sean, now in high school, receives a mysterious signal from his grandfather, he and Hank (Johnson) head off to Palau, near where they've determined the signal is coming from. Sean is convinced that the signal will lead them to Jules Verne's mysterious island. Hank just hopes to bond with his step-son. They hire Gabato (Guzman) and his daughter Kailani (Hudgens) to fly them to the coordinates in their tour helicopter. When the helicopter crashes the four of them find out that Sean was right and they are in fact on the Mysterious Island of legend and Sean's grandfather, played by a mischievous and under-used Michael Caine, is living there.

The plot is very lightweight and seems to be aimed at young children. The island is brightly colored and filled with dangers that don't generate any serious tension. You never feel that anyone is in any danger despite a giant lizard and an erupting volcano. Guzman is there to provide comic relief but he's so bumbling and immature that only the under five year olds will find much to laugh at.

Once they arrive on the island they learn that it is sinking and so they spend the rest of the movie trying to get off of it. This brings up the movies biggest plot hole. The island turns out to be Atlantis (although how it got into the middle of the South Pacific is never explained) and apparently it rises above the ocean and then sinks below it on a 140 year cycle. Somehow though, the exotic animals and vegetation keep coming back every time it rises back up above water.

It is only the likability of Johnson and Caine that make the movie watchable at all, at least by grown-ups. Caine is a scene stealer and I wish he was in it more. The back and forth between the two of them provides the funniest moments. Although I seriously question the decision to have Johnson sing a version of Louis Armstrong's "Wonderful World" while accompanying himself on the ukulele.

I actually paid the extra amount to see this movie in 3-D hoping that at least I would get some eye candy out of it, but I needn't have bothered. Apart from having some cherries bounce off of Johnson's pecs, the third dimension adds nothing to the second.

The ending hints at another sequel, possibly in space this time. I know that I for one won't be lining up to see it.

Vanessa Hudgens and Josh Hutcherson in Journey 2: The Mysterious Island

Journey 2: The Mysterious Island may as well have been called Journey to CGI Island.  Other than a couple of sets and a few scenes filmed outside in Hawaii, most of this movie is animated.   The helicopter, the Nautilus, the creatures, the storm and most of the Island was all created on a computer screen.   And that includes those peck popping cherries as well.  CGI has its place in movies, but it eliminates the sense of discovery and adventure.  None of the CGI is at all convincing. 

Scott mentioned the flaw in the history of the Islands 140 year cycle and how the exotic animals and vegetation keep coming back every time it rises back up above water.  Another flaw is that when the island sinks, it does so by breaking apart.  How have those thousand year old buildings survived every destructive sinking and rising?  None of this makes sense, but the entire film has ridiculous plot holes so it hardly makes a difference.

The biggest WTF scene for me was when Johnson and Hutcherson dive off the cliff, swim very deep into the ocean, find the Nautilus, open it's hatch and enter the submarine without flooding it in any way.  With a quick glance at the controls, they know exactly how to charge the batteries, start it up and drive it.  How they then collect their other three companions is likewise illogical.

As Scott also wrote, this is intended for children who will likely not question the ridiculousness of it all.  For adults however, this is as intellectual as an episode of "SpongeBob SquarePants."  The one and only scene I found amusing was when Hutcherson and Hudgens are about to share a "G" rated romantic scene and Johnson whispers to Hutcherson to, "Pop your pecs."   

Scott liked and wanted more between Johnson and Cain.  I however, thought the film could have worked if it had been able to create more of a storyline between Johnson and Hutcherson.  The films story arc is supposed to be them bonding during an adventure, but it generates zero emotion.  It almost suggests a moment when Hutcherson tells Johnson to, "Come back."  as people in his life do not always do that.  That should have preceded a scene where Johnson almost does not.  It could have created a real moment with some genuine emotion. 

Journey 2: The Mysterious Island is content to merely settle for lots and lots of CGI animation.  If as much effort was put into the writing as the especial effects, this could have been a decent film.  As it is, it is almost as unwatchable as it is pointless.

Photos © Copyright New Line Cinema (2012)

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Journey 2: The Mysterious Island

• View history

It has been four years since the events of the first movie. Seventeen-year-old Sean Anderson ( Josh Hutcherson ) is caught by the police after a brief chase on his dirtbike which ended with him driving into a swimming pool while trying to evade them. Minutes later, his stepfather Hank ( Dwayne Johnson ) arrives where a police officer (Stephen Caudill) who is friends with Hank tells him that Sean had broken into a remote satellite research center. The police officer also tells Hank that he has talked Mr. and Mrs. McGillicutty (the owners of the swimming pool) out of pressing charges. Hank takes Sean home where his mother Elizabeth ( Kristin Davis ) is not pleased with his actions or the fact that he and Hank don't get along well.

Hank discovers that Sean had broken into a satellite research center in order to boost the signal of a code he'd received from someone he suspects is Alexander Anderson, Sean's grandfather who had been missing for two years. Wanting to bond with his stepson the next day, Hank helps Sean decipher the code of Jules Verne characters which lead to three books: Treasure Island , Gulliver's Travels , and Verne's own Mysterious Island . Using the book's individual island maps, Hank suspects they are books of the same island and uses a back light in order to make them all one completed land mass with the coordinates to its location. Hank manages to convince Liz to let the both of them go in search of the island.

They arrive in Palau where their need of transportation to this dangerous part of the ocean attracts a Palauan helicopter tourism guide Gabato ( Luis Guzman ) and his daughter Kailani ( Vanessa Hudgens ) who Sean develops an immediate crush on. They agree to fly them out to the island for $3,000, but the helicopter gets caught in a category 5 hurricane and they crash into the Pacific, waking up on the island.

Crossing into the island, they discover one of the laws of the Mysterious Island that all animals big are small and all animals small are gigantic (inspiring Lilliput from Gulliver's Travels ). The crew find tiny elephants and giant butterflies, which are the first creatures they discover on the island. The group decided to explore further into the island.

After coming across a massive frill-necked lizard when they come across her egg clutch, they are rescued by Alexander ( Michael Caine ) who takes them to a large hut he'd built from the wreckage of the ship that brought him to the island called the Blue-Eyed Lucy. He has a radio, but due to the positioning of the communications satellite it would be two weeks before they could call for help.

The next morning, Alexander leads the group to the lost city of Atlantis which is usually submerged in the ocean and he also calculated that the island sinks once every 70 years. However, the sea water appearing from the ground is the evidence that Hank sees that leads him to prove that the calculations are wrong, and that the island will sink in a couple of days. Their only means of salvation seems to be the legendary Nautilus (Captain Nemo's submarine), hidden somewhere on the island. Kailani enters Nemo's crypt and finds his journal, which has the whereabouts of the ship in a cave at Poseidon's Cliffs. They decided to go to that cave through the heart of the island.

They mount giant bees in order to fly over a high ridge and make up time, but encounter large birds that try to devour the bees. After saving Kailani's life, Sean crashes and dislocates his ankle. Hank and Alexander later patch up Sean's ankle the best they can. Afterward, they have a good moment when Hank sings his rendition of "What a Wonderful World" to ease Sean's pain.

The next morning, the water has risen greatly and Hank deduces that the island will sink in a matter of hours, not days. Gabato is missing having gone toward the island's golden volcano (which was the inspiration for Treasure Island ) in search for the funds to give his daughter a better life. While Alexander and Kailani go after him, Sean and Hank head for Poseidon's Cliffs to look for the Nautilus. Alexander also finally calls Hank by his preferred name, as up to that point he only called him "Henry" and the family makes up.

To deal with the rising water after finding the Nautilus' cave underwater, Sean and Hank make makeshift oxygen tanks and dive down fifty feet in order to obtain the Nautilus and are nearly killed by a giant electric eel. They are unable to power the ship however because the vessel's batteries being 140 years old have run down. They find a way to power the submarine from the electric eel's electricity.

Meanwhile, Kailani and Alexander find Gabato and convince him to escape with them instead of trying for the golden volcano. They head toward the shore as the island begins to suddenly and violently rip itself apart. The golden volcano starts to erupt violently, pouring lava flows all over the area. Highly flammable lava bombs are thrown from the golden volcano into the air and suddenly land on the sinking island's debris. Sean and Hank use a harpoon to get an electrical jump start from the electric eel swarming around them and they are able to power the machine, just in time to pick up the others who had fallen into the water. Gabato pilots the submarine out of harm's way while Hank and Sean fire torpedoes into the path of falling island debris. As they clear the dangers, Kailani finally kisses Sean for his bravery.

Six months later, Kailani and Gabato are well off. Gabato is now running the most popular tourist attraction on Palau providing tours aboard the Nautilus and Kailani is attending college. Kailani goes to visit Sean on his birthday. While they are celebrating, Alexander shows up with a book for Sean's birthday present. Sean opens it to find Jules Verne's From the Earth to the Moon , Alexander's suggestion for the next adventure with the family to which Liz protests. Hank replies "What could possibly go wrong? It's only the moon!"

During the credits, the mini-elephants from the earlier scene are swimming underwater over Atlantis.

• Dwayne Johnson as Hank Parsons, Sean's stepfather and a former Navy code breaker.
• Michael Caine as Alexander Anderson, Sean's grandfather who is also the father of Max and Trevor Anderson.
• Josh Hutcherson as Sean Anderson, Hank's stepson who wants to find his missing grandfather on the Mysterious Island.
• Vanessa Hudgens as Kailani Laguatan, Sean's love interest who is part of the father-daughter tour guide team.
• Luis Guzman as Gabato Laguatan, Kailani's father, who is part of the father-daughter tour guide team.
• Kristin Davis as Elizabeth "Liz" Anderson-Parsons, Sean's mother.

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• Movie - Journey 2: The Mysterious Island - 2012

Journey to the Center of the Earth رحلة إلى مركز الأرض

• Release Date: 11 July 2008
• Genre: Fantasy
• Eric Brevig
• Brad Peyton
• Jennifer Flackett
• Jules Verne
• Michael D. Weiss
• Brendan Fraser
• Luis Guzmán
• Anita Briem
• Vanessa Hudgens
• Josh Hutcherson
• Branscombe Richmond

Journey to the Center of the Earth

• Censorship:
• Science Fiction
• Jean Michel Paré

Based on the famous novel, a teenager goes to stay with his uncle, Professor Trevor, while his mother prepares the paperwork for them to go to Canada. She gives Trevor a box that belonged to his brother, Max, who has gone missing. Trevor decides to follow in his brother's footsteps with his nephew ...Read more to Iceland to look for Max, and they get trapped in a cave during a snowstorm.

Journey 2: The Mysterious Island

• Kristin Davis

Sean Anderson goes off on a journey with his stepfather to find his grandfather, who is missing on a mythical island. They set out for the island of Palau where they meet a man and his daughter. Their helicopter crashes on the mysterious island. Sean finds his grandfather and adventure begins.

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Journey 2: The Mysterious Island

Journey 2: The Mysterious Island is a 2012 American science fantasy action-adventure film [4] directed by Brad Peyton and produced by Beau Flynn , Tripp Vinson and Charlotte Huggins. A sequel to Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008), the film is based on Jules Verne 's The Mysterious Island (1875). It stars Dwayne Johnson , Michael Caine , Josh Hutcherson , Vanessa Hudgens , Luis Guzmán , and Kristin Davis . The storyline was written by Richard Outten , Brian Gunn and Mark Gunn, and the screenplay by Brian and Mark Gunn.

Theatrical release

Critical response, external links.

Journey 2: The Mysterious Island was released in cinemas on February 10, 2012, by Warner Bros. Pictures , New Line Cinema and Walden Media to mixed reviews, but was a box office success with a worldwide gross of $335 million, surpassing its predecessor. [3] It was released on DVD/Blu-ray on June 5, 2012.

Four years after his adventure in the center of the earth , 17-year-old Sean Anderson is arrested by the police for breaking into a satellite control center in hopes of enhancing a coded signal that could have been sent by his long-missing grandfather, Alexander Anderson.

Wanting to bond with Sean, his new stepfather Hank Parsons helps decipher the code, which leads to three books: Treasure Island , Gulliver's Travels , and Jules Verne 's Mysterious Island . Using the books' individual maps, Hank uses a backlight to make them a single island, complete with the coordinates to its location. Hoping to prove to Sean that there is no mysterious island there, Hank convinces Sean's mother, Liz, to let him take Sean to where the coordinates point to.

In Palau , Hank reluctantly hires helicopter tourism guide Gabato and his daughter Kailani (on whom Sean develops an immediate crush) to fly to the coordinates, as they are the only ones willing to take them. The helicopter gets caught in a cyclone and they crash into the Pacific, waking up on the island.

Moving in land, they are shocked to discover miniature elephants (which belong to a prehistoric species, the Dwarf sicilian elephant ) and giant butterflies, meaning the animal sizes are opposite. After coming across an egg clutch, Gabato accidentally wakes up a giant frilled lizard , which chases them throughout the jungle.

They nearly get eaten, but are saved by Alexander. He takes them to a hut he built from the wreckage of the ship that brought him to the island. He has a working radio, but due to the positioning of the satellite, it will be two weeks before they can call out.

The next morning, Alexander leads the group to the lost city of Atlantis , which rises every 70 years and sinks again after a couple of days. Although Alexander assures them the island won't sink for many years, Hank discovers sea water coming from underground, meaning they only have days before the island sinks. Their only means of salvation seems to be the legendary Nautilus , Captain Nemo 's submarine. Kailani enters Nemo's crypt and finds his journal, which shows that Nautilus is in a cave at Poseidon 's Cliffs.

To go there, they mount giant bees and fly over a high ridge. When giant bee-eater birds try to devour them, Sean saves Kailani's life, but dislocates his ankle. Hank and Alexander reset Sean's ankle, then the group has a bonding moment when Hank sings his rendition of " What a Wonderful World " to ease Sean's pain.

The next morning, the water rises greatly and Hank deduces that the island will sink in a matter of hours. Gabato is missing, having gone toward the island's volcano in search of gold. While Alexander and Kailani go after him, Sean and Hank head for Poseidon's Cliffs.

To reach Nautilus ' underwater cave, Sean and Hank create makeshift oxygen tanks and dive down fifty feet, but are nearly killed by a giant electric moray eel . The 140-year-old batteries have run down, so they engineer a way to start the submarine with the eel's electricity.

Kailani and Alexander find Gabato and convince him to escape with them instead of trying to take some volcano gold. As they near Poseidon's Cliffs, the volcano erupts. Sean and Hank arrive in Nautilus just in time to rescue the others from the water. Gabato pilots the submarine out of harm's way while Hank and Sean fire torpedoes into the path of falling debris. As they clear the dangers, Kailani kisses Sean for his bravery.

Six months later, Kailani and Gabato are well off, as he runs the most popular tourist attraction on Palau   – tours aboard the Nautilus . Kailani visits Sean on his birthday. While the family celebrates, Alexander arrives with a book for Sean's birthday present   – Jules Verne's From the Earth to the Moon , Alexander's suggestion for the next new adventure with the family. Liz protests, but Hank says, "Oh honey, it's only the moon. What could possibly go wrong?" The film ends with the camera panning to the moon.

• Josh Hutcherson as Sean Anderson
• Dwayne Johnson as Hank Parsons
• Michael Caine as Alexander Anderson
• Luis Guzmán as Gabato
• Vanessa Hudgens as Kailani
• Kristin Davis as Liz Anderson-Parsons
• Anna Colwell as Jessica
• Stephen Caudill as Cop]
• Branscombe Richmond as Tour Guide
• Walter Bankson as Hockey Player

After the commercial success of the first film, New Line Cinema and Walden Media purchased Richard Outten 's spec script, Mysterious Travels , in March 2009 to serve as the basis for the film. In the story, the characters embark on a journey to a mysterious uncharted island thought to have inspired the writing of three literary classics: Robert Louis Stevenson 's Treasure Island , Jonathan Swift 's Gulliver's Travels , and Jules Verne 's Mysterious Island . Brian Gunn and Mark Gunn were chosen to revise Outten's script. Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema announced that Journey 2: The Mysterious Island would be released on February 10, 2012.

Josh Hutcherson was the only actor to reprise his role. Due to scheduling issues, Brendan Fraser and Anita Briem did not return. Kristin Davis replaced Jane Wheeler as Sean's mother Liz. Dwayne Johnson played Sean's stepfather, who is forced to accompany Sean on the trip to find his missing grandfather Alexander (played by Michael Caine ) on a mythical and monstrous island. [5] Vanessa Hudgens was cast as Hutcherson's love interest, Kailani.

The theatrical release of the film was preceded by a Looney Tunes short film titled Daffy's Rhapsody , featuring Daffy Duck and Elmer Fudd in the first CG or 3-D depiction of these specific Looney Tunes characters. The short film's director, Matthew O'Callaghan, noted that " Daffy Rhapsody was originally recorded in the early 1950s as part of a kids' album". Unlike the earlier CG Looney Tunes shorts that appeared before Happy Feet Two and Yogi Bear , this short did not appear on the home video release of the film it accompanied.

Journey 2: The Mysterious Island was released in cinemas on February 10, 2012, by Warner Bros. Pictures , Walden Media and New Line Cinema . The film was accompanied by a 3D Looney Tunes short titled Daffy's Rhapsody . The short was originally going to play before Happy Feet Two , but was replaced with I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat to go along with the bird theme.

Journey 2: The Mysterious Island was released on DVD/Blu-ray on June 5, 2012.

Journey 2: The Mysterious Island grossed $103.9 million in North America and $231.4 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $335.3 million, against a production budget of $79 million [6] surpassing its predecessor . [7] [8] In North America, the film earned a $6.54 million on its debut Friday, ranking fourth at the box office. [9] Over the weekend, it earned $27.3 million, coming in third place, much higher than the original's $21.0 million debut. [10] Outside North America, Journey 2 began its run three weeks before its North American release. [11] It topped the box office outside North America for two consecutive weekends [12] and three in total. [13] It surpassed the original's total outside North America. [14] Its highest-grossing region after North America was China ($58.4 million), [15] followed by Russia and the CIS ($17.6 million) and Mexico ($12.7 million). [16]

On Rotten Tomatoes , the film has an approval percentage of 45% based on 133 reviews and an average rating of 5.00 out of 10. The critics consensus states: "Aggressively unambitious, Journey 2 might thrill tween viewers, but most others will find it too intense for young audiences and too cartoonishly dull for adults." [17] On Metacritic , the film has a score of 41 out of 100 based on 27 critic reviews, indicating "mixed or average". [18] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale. [19]

Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a B grade, stating that "the movie flies by pleasantly, and is then instantly forgettable. Perhaps Jules Verne can explain the science of that". [ citation needed ] Randy Cordova from the Arizona Republic said: "Johnson can't save the movie, directed by Brad Peyton, from being a sloppy skip from one seemingly unrelated idea to the next". [ citation needed ] Roger Ebert , who gave the first film two stars, gave the sequel two-and-a-half stars, stating: "It isn't a "good" movie in the usual sense (or most senses), but it is jolly and goodnatured, and Michael Caine and Dwayne Johnson are among the most likable of actors". [20]

• Letterbomb - Performed by Green Day
• Sleep Forever - Performed by Crocodiles
• Aloha Oe - Performed by Dwayne Johnson
• Hello Again - Performed by Meta & The Cornerstones
• Three Little Birds - Performed by Bob Marley & The Wailers
• What a Wonderful World - Performed by Dwayne Johnson

In August 2014, Carey Hayes and Chad Hayes were announced to write the script for a third film. [21] Brad Peyton and Dwayne Johnson were expected to direct and star in the sequel, respectively. [22] It was later stated that there would be two sequels. [23] By January 2018 however, Johnson stated despite the financial success of The Mysterious Island , and although a third film titled Journey 3: from the Earth to the Moon (based on the 1865 novel ) was intended, its development had been cancelled due to a lack of immediate interest and troubles in adequately adapting the novel. [24] Despite this, reports from Hollywood production insiders arose in August 2020, stating that a sequel was once again in development. In December 2021, Hiram Garcia confirmed that Warner Bros. Pictures wants a sequel film, though Seven Bucks Productions decided to delay development in favor of pursuing other projects. [25]

• List of underwater science fiction works

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Nautilus is the fictional submarine belonging to Captain Nemo featured in Jules Verne's novels Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas (1870) and The Mysterious Island (1874). Verne named the Nautilus after Robert Fulton's real-life submarine Nautilus (1800). For the design of the Nautilus , Verne was inspired by the French Navy submarine Plongeur , a model of which he had seen at the 1867 Exposition Universelle, three years before writing his novel.

Austin Powers in Goldmember is a 2002 American spy comedy film directed by Jay Roach. It is the third and final installment in the Austin Powers film series and stars Mike Myers in four different roles: Austin Powers, Dr. Evil, Goldmember, and Fat Bastard. Myers and Michael McCullers co-wrote the screenplay, which also features Beyoncé Knowles in her theatrical film debut, as well as Seth Green, Michael York, Robert Wagner, Mindy Sterling, Verne Troyer, and Michael Caine.

Captain Nemo is a character created by the French novelist Jules Verne (1828–1905). Nemo appears in two of Verne's science-fiction books, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas (1870) and The Mysterious Island (1875). He also makes a brief appearance in a play written by Verne with the collaboration of Adolphe d'Ennery, Journey Through the Impossible (1882).

The Mysterious Island is a novel by Jules Verne, published in 1875. The first edition, published by Hetzel, contains illustrations by Jules Férat. The novel is a crossover sequel to Verne's famous Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas (1870) and In Search of the Castaways (1867–68), though its themes are vastly different from those books. An early draft of the novel, rejected by Verne's publisher and wholly reconceived before publication, was titled Shipwrecked Family: Marooned with Uncle Robinson , indicating the influence of the novels Robinson Crusoe and The Swiss Family Robinson . Verne developed a similar theme in his novel, Godfrey Morgan .

Sean Bailey is an American film and television producer. He served as president of Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Production from 2010 to 2024.

Richard Outten is an American screenwriter who works in both motion pictures and television. Among his writing credits is the 2012 Warner Bros. adventure film Journey 2: The Mysterious Island , starring Dwayne Johnson.

Mysterious Island is a 1961 science fiction adventure film about prisoners in the American Civil War who escape in a balloon and then find themselves stranded on a remote island populated by giant and tiny animals.

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is a 1954 American science fiction adventure film directed by Richard Fleischer, from a screenplay by Earl Felton. Adapted from Jules Verne's 1870 novel of the same name, the film was personally produced by Walt Disney through Walt Disney Productions. It stars Kirk Douglas, James Mason, Paul Lukas, and Peter Lorre. Photographed in Technicolor, the film was one of the first feature-length motion pictures to be filmed in CinemaScope. It was also the first feature-length Disney film to be distributed by Buena Vista Distribution.

Brad Peyton is a Canadian filmmaker, best known for directing the Dwayne Johnson star vehicles Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (2012), San Andreas (2015), and Rampage (2018) as well as the Netflix series Daybreak (2019).

Journey to the Center of the Earth is a 2008 American 3D science fantasy action-adventure film directed by Eric Brevig and starring Brendan Fraser in the main role, Josh Hutcherson, Anita Briem, and Seth Meyers. Produced by New Line Cinema, it is an adaptation of Jules Verne's 1864 novel, and was released in 3D theaters by Warner Bros. Pictures on July 11, 2008.

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Return to Mysterious Island 2: Mina's Fate is a 2009 adventure video game developed by Kheops Studio and published by MC2 France under their Microïds label. It is a sequel to the 2004 video game Return to Mysterious Island , and is again based upon the 1875 book by Jules Verne, The Mysterious Island .

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• ↑ " JOURNEY 2 – (PG)" . British Board of Film Classification . Archived from the original on July 14, 2023 . Retrieved January 6, 2021 .
• 1 2 3 "Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (2012)" . Box Office Mojo . Archived from the original on May 20, 2012 . Retrieved May 15, 2012 .
• ↑ "JOURNEY 2: THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND" . Warner Bros . Archived from the original on December 6, 2021 . Retrieved December 27, 2021 .
• ↑ McNary, Dave (September 8, 2010). "Michael Caine set for 'Journey 2' " . Variety . Archived from the original on February 14, 2021 . Retrieved February 6, 2021 .
• ↑ "Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (2012) - Box Office Mojo" . Archived from the original on February 1, 2014 . Retrieved April 28, 2020 .
• ↑ "Jules Verne Showdown" . Archived from the original on November 17, 2020 . Retrieved April 28, 2020 .
• ↑ Subers, Ray (April 18, 2012). "Around-the-World Roundup: 'Journey 2' Wins Weak Weekend" . Box Office Mojo . Archived from the original on January 25, 2022 . Retrieved January 25, 2022 .
• ↑ Subers, Ray (February 11, 2012). "Friday Report: 'The Vow,' 'Safe House' Draw Huge Crowds" . Box Office Mojo . Archived from the original on August 15, 2020 . Retrieved March 18, 2012 .
• ↑ Subers, Ray (February 12, 2012). "Weekend Report: Moviegoers Say "I Do" to 'The Vow,' Check In to 'Safe House' " . Box Office Mojo . Archived from the original on January 25, 2022 . Retrieved January 25, 2022 .
• ↑ Subers, Ray (January 25, 2012). "Around-the-World Roundup: 'Sherlock' Outwits Competition for Third-Straight Weekend" . Box Office Mojo . Archived from the original on January 25, 2022 . Retrieved January 25, 2022 .
• ↑ Subers, Ray (February 21, 2012). "Around-the-World Roundup: 'Journey 2' Still Strong Overseas" . Box Office Mojo . Archived from the original on January 25, 2022 . Retrieved January 25, 2022 .
• ↑ Subers, Ray (February 21, 2012). "Around-the-World Roundup: 'Journey 2' Wins Weak Weekend" . Box Office Mojo . Archived from the original on January 25, 2022 . Retrieved January 25, 2022 .
• ↑ Subers, Ray (February 28, 2012). "Around-the-World Roundup: 'Ghost Rider 2' Catches Fire Overseas" . Box Office Mojo . Archived from the original on January 25, 2022 . Retrieved January 25, 2022 .
• ↑ Xia, Yun (March 17, 2012). "China Weekly Box Office (03/05 – 03/11): War Horse repeat while A Simple Life shined; Mission Impossible 4 crossed $100m" . Box Office Mojo . Archived from the original on June 8, 2012 . Retrieved March 18, 2012 .
• ↑ "Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (2012) - International Box Office Results" . Box Office Mojo . Archived from the original on June 28, 2018 . Retrieved April 28, 2020 .
• ↑ "Journey 2: The Mysterious Island" . Rotten Tomatoes .
• ↑ "Journey 2: The Mysterious Island" . Metacritic .
• ↑ "Home - Cinemascore" . cinemascore.com .
• ↑ Roger Ebert (February 8, 2012). "Jump-starting the Nautilus with an electric eel" . Chicago Sun-Times . Archived from the original on February 11, 2012 . Retrieved February 6, 2021 .
• ↑ " 'Journey' Sequels in the Works With 'Conjuring' Writers (Exclusive)" . The Hollywood Reporter. August 14, 2014. Archived from the original on January 25, 2022 . Retrieved January 25, 2022 .
• ↑ "Brad Peyton Wants A More "Mature" Journey 3" . We Got This Covered . May 21, 2015. Archived from the original on May 25, 2015 . Retrieved June 9, 2015 .
• ↑ "Dwayne Johnson Journey 3 and 4: Writers Hired For Two More Sequels" . Slashfilm . August 14, 2014. Archived from the original on January 25, 2022 . Retrieved January 25, 2022 .
• ↑ Stephens, David (January 3, 2018). "Dwayne Johnson Confirms That Journey 3 Isn't Happening" . Screen Rant . Archived from the original on April 29, 2018 . Retrieved January 3, 2018 .
• ↑ Weintraub, Steve (December 31, 2021). "Exclusive: Producer Hiram Garcia on 'Red Notice,' 'Black Adam,' the Next 'Jumanji' Sequel, and Dwayne Johnson's Upcoming Schedule" . Collider . Archived from the original on January 5, 2022 . Retrieved January 5, 2022 .
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• Journey 2: The Mysterious Island at the TCM Movie Database
• Journey 2: The Mysterious Island at AllMovie
• Journey 2: The Mysterious Island at the American Film Institute Catalog
• Journey 2: The Mysterious Island Now Shooting; Set Photos Surface at /Film

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Journey 2: The Mysterious Island

Journey 2 doesn't believe in economising..

Cast: Dwayne Johnson,Michael Caine,Josh Hutcherson,Vanessa Hudgens

Director: Brad Peyton

Indian Express rating: **

THE official language of Polynesian island Palau is English,spiders make their webs facing south,the lost city of Atlantis has a “140-year cycle” and so comes out of water every so often,girls falling off skies can be scooped up on the back of bees no wider than 2 feet,and cherries can bounce off Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson’s shimmying (literally) pectorals. These are the four facts you will take away from ‘Journey 2: The Mysterious Island’. The island itself is just a backdrop against which to stage monstrous creatures and some 3D effects,crazy fights and narrow escapes,a bickerish father-in-law and a budding romance.

The film doesn’t take a moment’s breath for the wonders of the island,so intent it is on piling on the dangers of it,which include everything from “liquefication” resulting in a sinking island to moving of the tectonic plates resulting in a bursting volcano. Big butterflies and tiny elephants,giant bees and ferocious birds,godzilla-esque lizards and glittery snakes just come and go,with the characters trying to either escape them or fight them. The “explanation” is restricted to “biogeography” and “Lilliputianism”.

It is entertaining in parts,particularly because of the easy charm of Johnson and the crusty crankiness of Caine. However,this is Hollywoodisation at its best in the name of honouring a classic. For all those who inhabit Verne’s world for the sheer imagination of it will cringe at how much time humans take up in it.

They include Sean (Hutcherson,reprising his role from another Vernanian take-off ‘Journey to the Centre of the Earth’) and his step-dad Hank (Johnson),Gabato (Luis Guzman) and his daughter Kailani (Hudgens),and Sean’s paternal grand-dad Alex (Caine). After Alex sends a cryptic message over the radio that only Sean catches the import of,he and Hank hire Gabato and Kailani’s chopper for a ride to coordinates that Sean is convinced will lead them to Verne’s mysterious island,where he is sure Alex is holed out.

The landing is through the eye of a hurricane and once all have crashlanded on a beach,ran into the Godzilla lizard,and met Alex,they all insist it is time to go back,”immediately”. The “immediately”,of course,is subjective,to how much bang you can extract for the buck. Journey 2 doesn’t believe in economising.

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Journey 2: the mysterious island, common sense media reviewers.

Adventure sequel is clunky but has positive role models.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

The movie is intended to entertain rather than edu

Families work hard to stick together and stand by

The movie's two father figures are both positive r

Giant monsters roar and chase the main characters;

Kailani (Vanessa Hudgens) is shown in slow-motion

Sporadic use of potty talk and mild language -- mo

Sean opens and drinks from a Coca-Cola in an early

Not an issue except for a quick, humorous line of

Parents need to know that Journey 2: The Mysterious Island is the sequel to 2008's entertaining Journey to the Center of the Earth . The Hunger Games ' Josh Hutcherson is the sole returning cast member, but the tone is very similar to the original. Overall, it's a family-friendly adventure --…

Educational Value

The movie is intended to entertain rather than educate.

Positive Messages

Families work hard to stick together and stand by each other, even if that requires making sacrifices. Teens learn to understand and respect their parents and guardians. Together, and by using teamwork, the group is able to overcome many giant-sized challenges.

Positive Role Models

The movie's two father figures are both positive role models. Neither is perfect -- they have moments of bull-headedness, cowardice, and other flaws -- but they're completely devoted to their kids and will never give up, even if that means making sacrifices or facing fears. A young woman shows that she can take care of herself.

Violence & Scariness

Giant monsters roar and chase the main characters; many of those chases end up with the creatures getting smushed and crunched. There's a somewhat scary helicopter crash scene and some "gross out" scenes as well.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Kailani (Vanessa Hudgens) is shown in slow-motion letting down her hair and removing a button-up shirt to reveal a tight-fitting tank top. Her cleavage is sometimes visible. She and Sean often argue in a flirty way, and there's a kiss at the end.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sporadic use of potty talk and mild language -- mostly during loud chase scenes -- as well as insults; words include "hell," "oh my God," "ass," "piss,'' "poop," and ''crap."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Sean opens and drinks from a Coca-Cola in an early scene. The label isn't clearly on view, but the bottle's shape and color are unmistakable.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Not an issue except for a quick, humorous line of dialogue: "What were you drinking?"

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Journey 2: The Mysterious Island is the sequel to 2008's entertaining Journey to the Center of the Earth . The Hunger Games ' Josh Hutcherson is the sole returning cast member, but the tone is very similar to the original. Overall, it's a family-friendly adventure -- albeit one with frequent tense chases, monster attacks, and a somewhat scary helicopter crash (some of which is a bit more intense in the movie's 3-D version). There's also flirting and a kiss between the two main teen characters, and co-star Vanessa Hudgens is often shown wearing a tight, cleavage-enhancing tank top. Expect some gross-out humor, as well as potty talk and very sporadic mild language ("ass," "hell," etc.). This is no cinematic classic, but it is bright and cheerful and has positive characters, including fatherly role models. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

Videos and photos.

Community Reviews

• Parents say (28)
• Kids say (58)

Based on 28 parent reviews

Are the producers obsessed with young girls bodies? Smh

Just like a poop in a punch bowl, what's the story.

After surviving his Journey to the Center of the Earth , Sean Anderson ( Josh Hutcherson ) is back living with his mom ( Kristin Davis ) and step-dad, Hank ( Dwayne Johnson ). Sean gets a coded message from his grandfather about the location of Jules Verne's famed "Mysterious Island." Hoping for some much-needed bonding time, Hank volunteers to go with him. In Palau, they hire a ramshackle helicopter, piloted by Gabato (Luis Guzman). Happily for Sean, Gabato's pretty daughter, Kailani ( Vanessa Hudgens ), comes with the deal. After crashing on the island, the explorers discover a world of tiny elephants, huge bees, and lost cities. But they also realize that they must find Sean's grandfather -- and discover a way off the island before time runs out.

Is It Any Good?

From the director of Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore , JOURNEY 2: THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND is as clumsy and clunky as its title. The pace is speedy, but it seems as though the movie sacrificed logic, character, mood, and rhythm to achieve that speed. Moreover, the visual effects appear soft and never quite mesh with the real stuff. Even the 3D effects don't really add anything except for the occasional "comin' at ya" moment.

On the plus side, the movie has an inviting, warm, open-air feel, and it's more innocuous than it is obnoxious. Strong, positive characters -- including a young woman who can take care of herself -- and family bonding moments are also very appealing. Not to mention that this is the only movie in which you can see former pro wrestler Dwayne Johnson (a.k.a. "The Rock") playing the ukulele and singing "What a Wonderful World."

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about Journey 2 's violence and scary stuff. How does its fantasy nature affect its impact? How do the movie's intense experiences affect Sean and his step-dad's relationship?

How does the movie portray families? How does that message/depiction compare to what you've seen in other movies and TV shows?

How does the movie portray fathers? There's a theme of "missing dads," but there are also great dad characters here. What's the take-away?

The first Journey movie was an adaptation of a Jules Verne novel; this movie's title also cites a Verne book but isn't a direct adaptation. What other books does it remind you of? Are there any you'd like to read after watching the movie?

Movie Details

• In theaters : February 10, 2012
• On DVD or streaming : June 5, 2012
• Cast : Dwayne The Rock Johnson , Josh Hutcherson , Vanessa Hudgens
• Director : Brad Peyton
• Inclusion Information : Female actors, Asian actors
• Studio : New Line
• Genre : Action/Adventure
• Topics : Magic and Fantasy , Adventures
• Run time : 94 minutes
• MPAA rating : PG
• MPAA explanation : some adventure action, and brief mild language
• Last updated : July 4, 2023

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

Suggest an Update

Our editors recommend.

Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008)

National Treasure

Night at the Museum

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

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• Magic and Fantasy

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Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.