Mysterious Island

During the Civil War, Cyrus Harding, Herbert Brown, Neb Nugent, and war correspondent Gideon Spillet stage a daring breakout from Libby Military Prison in Richmond, Virginia. They escape with a gas balloon and a Rebel guard named Pencroft who can pilot it. They set a course westward over the Pacific, hoping to reach safety away from the war.

The crew rides the balloon westward across the Pacific, hoping to reach safety. A violent storm throws them off course and damages their ascent. The out-of-control balloon is destined for an unknown destination, far from help.

A violent storm forces the balloon to crash-land on a large tropical island. The castaways salvage what they can and begin to explore their strange new surroundings. The landscape presents jungles, plains, and a looming central volcano.

While surveying the coast, the explorers are attacked by a giant crab. They fend it off by pushing it into a boiling geyser and survive the encounter. With danger behind them, they continue to secure food and shelter on the island.

The group discovers two unconscious English shipwreck survivors, Lady Mary Fairchild and her niece Elena. They bring them to a sheltered cave and nurse them back to health. A growing sense of fellowship develops among the castaways.

A chest washes ashore bearing rifles, nautical charts, and a copy of Robinson Crusoe. The markings on the rifles point to Captain Nemo's submarine, the Nautilus. Spillet uses this clue to spark hope and a sense of a larger destiny.

Using one chart, Harding and the others determine their approximate location on the map. They begin constructing a seaworthy boat to escape the island. Spillet recounts the legend of Captain Nemo and the Nautilus as inspiration.

Mary, Elena, and Spillet encounter a giant flightless bird that threatens Elena. Herbert intervenes with a decisive knife strike to defend her. To their astonishment, they later learn the creature's death was caused by a bullet not fired by any of them.

Herbert and Elena discover a hive of giant bees and flee into a flooded cave. Inside they catch a glimpse of the submerged Nautilus and decide to explore briefly. They return to the others, reuniting the group with the possibility of a sea voyage.

The castaways spot an approaching pirate ship and engage in a fierce battle. A mysterious explosion sinks the pirate vessel with all hands aboard. The survivors press on toward their broader plans with renewed urgency.

The castaways finally meet Captain Nemo aboard the Nautilus, who has been quietly aiding them. He explains his grand plan to eradicate hunger through genetic experimentation to enlarge food resources. Nemo invites them to dinner aboard the submarine and shares his dream with the world.

Nemo demonstrates underwater breathing using shell air tanks and helps refloat the pirate ship. The island's central volcano erupts, destroying the Nautilus and killing Nemo. The survivors begin their journey home, vowing to carry Nemo's peace-seeking vision into the world.