Giant Squid: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Jules Verne's classic 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea depicts a giant squid that seems astonishingly similar to the specimens found by scientists. The 1954 Disney film based on Verne's book also includes a memorable climax scene that introduces viewers to the size and scope of the giant squid, Architeuthis dux. Its huge, saucer-like eyes, its writhing tentacles, and its aggressive nature on screen may not completely correspond to reality but are similar enough to question whether Verne actually encountered one of the spineless sea monsters during his career. What Verne describes as "poulps of huge dimensions" were once considered mythical.Verne described the size of his giant "freak of nature" almost perfectly in Chapter 18 of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. For example, the author notes that the cephalopod's head is fixed to its body; that the eyes were extraordinarily "enormous" and that its tentacles were twice as long as the body. Giant squid have the largest eyes of an
"Verne also uses mythological references to describe the squid, such as by saying its tentacles "twisted like the furies' hair. The eight strong tentacles and suckers that line them are used to ensnare pray and deliver them into the beaklike mouth. One specimen discovered and photographed by Japanese scientists in 2004 turned out to be 25 feet: almost exactly 8 yards long (Owen 2005). In other words, the giant squid is a frightful creature that differs significantly from the mollusks normally made into calamari. As Verne described, the giant squid's beak and mouth are "horned" and "furnished with several rows of pointed teeth. Verne describes them as such, which is why Captain Nemo believed them to be legendary and not real. However, herein lies one of the greatest discrepancies between Architeuthis fact and fiction: giant squids are not just elusive, they are deep-sea dwellers. Like Verne notes, the tentacle arm/feet were laden with suckers. " The scientists lucky enough to have come face to face with the giant squid and the Japanese scientists who were first to photograph it also noted the alarmingly large and powerful tentacles. Although the Disney movie version does not offer such exquisite detail about the physical features of the giant squid, viewers can at least notice its most apparent features: giant eyes, writhing tentacles, and the beak-like mouth. The squid described in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea weighs between 4000 and 5000 pounds, almost exactly as much as the 25-foot specimen weighed. When the squid attacks, it becomes one of the most memorable scenes in the Disney film.
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