The Island at the Top of the World.

Name: The Island at the Top of the World
Genre: Family, Adventure, Fantasy
Released: 1974-12-20
Duration: 95 min
Cast: David Hartman, Donald Sinden, Jacques Marin, Mako, David Gwillim

An airship carries a rescue party beyond the maps.

Searching for his missing son, an English businessman joins an Arctic expedition that discovers an isolated community and a perilous route home.

50%Tomatometer10 critics · Rotten Tomatoes

Checked Oct 22, 2026. About these scores

Why it’s a little special

Airship travel, miniature effects, and a lost-world setting make a compact introduction to old-fashioned expedition adventures.

BEFORE YOU PRESS PLAY

Know the story.
Know your little people.

General audiences

US film rating

Weapons, captivity, volcanic danger, animal peril, and threatening encounters; dated depictions of Indigenous people and an isolated culture.

Our notes are a starting point, not an age recommendation. G and PG films can still include intense moments. You know your family best.

BEHIND THE SCENES

The little details.

Directed by: Robert Stevenson
Starring: David Hartman, Donald Sinden, Jacques Marin, Mako, David Gwillim, Agneta Eckemyr, Gunnar Öhlund, Lasse Kolstad
Written by: John Whedon
Produced by: Winston Hibler
Release date: December 20, 1974
Runtime: 95 minutes
Genre: Family, Adventure, Fantasy
Studio: Walt Disney Pictures
Language: English