Journey to the Center of the Earth recap

Hamburg professor Otto Lidenbrock deciphers a note left by the Icelandic scholar Arne Saknussemm, claiming that a passage through the crater of Snæfell leads toward the earth's center. Lidenbrock compels his reluctant nephew Axel to accompany him, and in Iceland they hire the unshakable guide Hans. They descend through extinct volcanic passages, survive thirst when Hans finds underground water, and reunite after Axel becomes lost. At a vast subterranean sea they build a raft, encounter gigantic marine life, weather a storm, and find evidence of prehistoric animals and an earlier human passage. A blocked tunnel bearing Saknussemm's mark is blasted open, but the resulting flood sweeps the travelers into a volcanic shaft. Water and steam drive them upward until Stromboli ejects them into the Mediterranean. They return to acclaim; Axel discovers that a storm had reversed their compass, and he marries Grauben.

In Hamburg, the excitable mineralogist Professor Otto Lidenbrock brings home an old Icelandic manuscript containing a separate page written in cipher. He and his nephew Axel struggle to interpret it. Axel eventually realizes that the letters must be read in a different order and discovers a Latin message attributed to the Icelandic scholar Arne Saknussemm. The message says that at the end of June, the shadow of a particular mountain peak marks the correct crater of Snæfell and that descending there leads toward the center of the earth. Hoping to prevent a reckless venture, Axel tries to conceal the solution, but hunger and his uncle's determination force him to disclose it. Lidenbrock immediately decides to follow Saknussemm's route. Axel dreads the plan, while Grauben, the young woman he loves, calmly urges him to go and return worthy of the adventure.

Lidenbrock and Axel travel through Denmark and sail to Iceland. In Reykjavik, the scholar Fridriksson receives them hospitably and helps Lidenbrock investigate Saknussemm's history. They hire Hans Bjelke, a quiet and capable hunter, as guide. The three cross a stark landscape toward Snæfell, depending on local hospitality and Hans's practical knowledge. They climb the mountain and reach its summit as the end of June approaches. When sunlight finally falls at the right angle, the shadow named in Saknussemm's message points to one of the crater openings. Lidenbrock takes this as confirmation that the ancient traveler truly came this way, and the party prepares to leave the familiar world above.

The party lowers itself into Snæfell with ropes and enters a maze of descending galleries. Lidenbrock chooses a route that at first leads through rock formations too old to offer water. Their supply runs out, leaving Axel near collapse, but the professor refuses to abandon the expedition. Hans disappears to search and detects water behind a wall of stone. After opening the rock, they release a hot underground stream, which they cool and follow downward; they name it for Hans. Later Axel becomes separated from his companions when his lamp fails. Wandering alone in complete darkness, he falls and loses consciousness. An acoustic effect in the rock carries Lidenbrock's distant voice to him, allowing the group to estimate their separation. Axel follows the guidance but falls again before Hans and his uncle recover him.

Axel awakens beside an immense body of water in a cavern large enough to hold clouds and weather. Lidenbrock names it the Lidenbrock Sea. Hans builds a raft from unfamiliar timber, and the travelers set sail rather than retreat. They fish up species believed long extinct and gather further evidence that the depths preserve an ancient natural world. During the crossing, two enormous marine reptiles fight near the raft, confirming that living creatures from remote geological ages inhabit the sea. The party survives the struggle without being attacked, but the scale of the animals makes clear how little control they possess over their surroundings.

A violent electrical storm drives the raft across the underground sea. Lightning, wind, and waves batter the travelers, and a luminous fireball passes among their equipment before they are cast onto an unknown shore. Their compass now gives a perplexing reading, but they continue exploring. Axel and Lidenbrock find beds of gigantic fossil bones, including human remains, followed by living prehistoric vegetation and a herd of mastodons watched by a distant humanlike figure. They withdraw rather than approach. Farther on they discover a rusted knife and Saknussemm's initials cut into the rock, proving that they have reached the earlier explorer's route. The marked passage, however, is sealed by a rockfall. Lidenbrock decides to use their remaining explosive to open it.

The charge breaks the barrier but also releases the Lidenbrock Sea into the opening. The raft is swept down a steep passage with the flood, then carried into an ascent as heat builds around it. The water turns to steam and the travelers realize that they are inside an active volcanic system. With no means of escape, they are propelled upward until an eruption throws them out through Stromboli into the Mediterranean. Local people shelter them, and the three eventually return home. Hans receives his full wages and goes back to Iceland. Lidenbrock and Axel are welcomed as celebrated explorers, and the expedition's surviving evidence supports their account. Axel resolves the apparent contradiction in their route by recognizing that the underground electrical storm reversed the compass. Lidenbrock gains the fame he sought, and Axel marries Grauben.

The travelers' attempt to blast through Saknussemm's last obstacle releases the underground sea into the passage. Their raft is carried through a terrifying ascent in which heat, steam, and rushing water replace the cold depths. They are finally expelled from the crater of Stromboli in the Mediterranean, far from Iceland but alive. Hans returns home after receiving his wages, while Lidenbrock and Axel go back to Hamburg as celebrated explorers. A lingering puzzle about their compass is resolved when Axel realizes that an electrical storm reversed its polarity, explaining why their route seemed impossible. Lidenbrock's reputation is secured, and Axel marries Grauben. Although the expedition does not literally arrive at the earth's center, the evidence and specimens it brings back establish the journey as a remarkable success.