budget CinemaScope production  partially on the basis of the success of the recent  Jules Verne (qv) adaptations, Walt Disneys  _20000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954)_ (qv) and  Michael Todd (I) (qv)s  _Around the World in Eighty Days (1956)_ (qv). As with those earlier  films, the heavy cost proved to be a good investment, resulting in a  big hit at the box office.