Treasure Planet

Rating:
Summary: One of my son's favorites
Review: Too often, I find that adults review kids movies based on adult criteria, i.e., whether or not they themselves enjoyed the film, found it funny or engaging, etc. This is why everyone thinks "Finding Nemo" is such a fantastic kids movie, when it's really too long for younger children, and ends up feeling like a road trip in which the kids keep asking, "Are we there yet?" My son has loved "Treasure Planet" since he was 3 years old, and now he's almost 6 and this film still captures his imagination. The voice actors are all top notch, the story is well written if unoriginal, and it's a great coming-of-age story for children.

Rating:
Summary: Yo ho ho!
Review: "Mr. Arrow, I've checked this miserable barge from stem to stern and as always. . . it's spot-on. How do you do it?"
- Captain Amelia

Treasure Planet, yet another adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's pirate and hidden plunder epic, could have been a chance for another entry into Disney's growing catalog of lackluster animated flims. Fortunately, it's really very good family film from the directors of Aladdin and The Little Mermaid.

Putting an interplanetary spin on the treasure hunting tale was one of the best ideas in this film, and not only lends for some really interesting (and sometimes geniunely funn) twists on familiar story points and characters, but aslo for some geniunely spectacular scenery. The ships still resemble 17th century galleons, but are no retrofitted for space travel; plasma cannons and solar sails included.

Is it physically impossible? You betcha. Should you care? Not really. It's just too darn pretty. Like everything in this movie, the vehicles are imaginative, classy, and animated perfectly. The animation all around is some of the best offered from Disney, showing the late influences of anime as well as the more classic styles seen in movies decades old. And despite the near-schitzophrenic feel of some of the design-meldings, it all works beautifully on the screen.

The story is familiar, but some darker elements are added to freshen it up and give it some depth. Jim Hawkins (15) is a troubled youth with an absent father and a distressed mother. When a strange old pirate crashlands near his home with a cryptic warning and a map to a legendary treasure, it doesn't take much encouragement (in point of fact, it doesn't take any) for Jim to start his adventure. On board the RLS Legacy, he meets a suspicious motley crew, a high-strung feline captain, and John Silver, a cook and a cyborg who more than what he seems.

Jim's and Silver's relationship is played up in this version, and it's well-done. Silver is the substitute for Jim's father (who left 5 years previous), and the bond that forms between them is well-paced and believable. It's also strained during a mutiny, a frantic chase to Treasure Planet's surface, and a series of cat-and-mouse games involving the treasure map, the trove, and a thrilling escape.

Overall, Treasure Planet is really nothing terribly new, but it is very good. The care that was put into the art design, the touching up of the story, and the spot-on voice performances is evident in every scene, and through and through, the themes of family, never giving up, and bravery are relayed with pronouncement without every getting preachy. And there are parts that are just plain hilarious.

The extras on the DVD are better than usual for Disney. Along with a good and informative visual commentary track are deleted scenes, behind-the scenes looks at animation, and a few games for the kids. A music video and a great 1:85:1 transfer round out the package, making for a respectable DVD to go with a overlooked but highly entertaining film.

Rating:
Summary: Overlooked
Review: For every Disney movie that made more money than it deserved, there is a Disney movie out there which was sadly under-appreciated. My two favorite Disney animated flicks of the last decade are such movies. First "The Emperor's New Groove", and now Treasure Planet.

Like everyone else, I did not watch this movie on theatrical release. Then I purchased the DVD, but did not expect anything special. I was surprised.

The concept is interesting: basically, adapting Stevenson's Treasure Island in a futuristic setting. The animation is top-notch, featuring some of the best computer graphics in a Disney movie to date. But what makes the movie is the story. "New Groove" was enjoyable for its inventiveness and humor; Treasure Planet is enjoyable because it's a well-executed story- for the first time in Disney animation, about a lonely, rebellious teenager and the bonds he develops with the pirate Silver, who becomes his father figure. In Disney's hands it could easily become hokey- but it's not. Musker and Clements, who are also responsible for "The Little Mermaid" and "Alladin", handled this theme with surprising maturity, and in my opinion with more sensitivity than they did in "Mermaid".

Sci-fi animated movies are fairly rare, at least in the U.S. As such an offering, "Treasure Planet" succeeds. I hope it becomes a discovered classics in the DVD release, because having other Disney movies of recent years earn more success than this one is simply a shame.


Rating:
Summary: BEST MOVIE EVER (from a 15 yr old's point of view)
Review: BEST. MOVIE. EVER. PERIOD!!! Funniest, greatest part of movie? One word... MORPH<3 SPIDER PSYCHO! SPIDER PSYCHO! I don't know WHAT everyone is talking about... it lacked NOTHING. I laughed, I cried, I gasped, and it's one of those movies I could watch over, and over, and over, and over, and yea you get the point :)

I <3 Treasure Planet ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !



Rating:
Summary: I loved it, but it might not be for everyone
Review: I caught this on Disney Channel because, of course, no one saw it in the theatres. Watching it and then owning it, I both was surprised by its quality, and understood why it flopped.

First, the good points. The animation is spectacular. Sheer visual beauty. And, in this age of computer animation, this may be the high point and last hurrah of hand-drawn characters: incredible "acting" by the hand-drawn characters. The expressions and shifts of expression managed by pencil and eraser have to be seen to be believed.

Second, concept. This is the highest of high concepts, using a combination of eighteen-century elements and science-fiction technology in what must be described as pure mythology: it takes place in the impossible, a universe called "the Aetherian" where people can breathe in space-winds. It demands imagination and complete suspension of disbelief. The translation of Stevenson's classic to this mythological space is, simply, a treat.

Third, addressing the issue of parental abandonment and preoccupation and its effects on teenage rebellion. Everybody knows Disney heroes have only one parent. But this is the first time I remember that that's explained this way: "Your father not the teaching sort?" "No, more the leaving and never coming back sort." Set against this, and without the Stevenson characters of Dr. Livesey and Squire Trelawney to distract, the bond that grows between Jim Hawkins and Long John Silver becomes the centerpiece of the movie. It also leads to some incredible moments whenever these two legends clash. At one point I blurted out, "He's going to kill him!"

So these are the things which I loved. I did not like the compression of time on the Planet itself; I thought the palette of color used for the pirates was literally overshadowed by the backgrounds -- who was coloring this, Don Bluth? B.E.N. was mostly only distracting, but I think that could have been remedied if the Planetside scenes weren't so time-compressed. And you've got to love a character that uses the name Lupé in a sentence.

"I'm Still Here (Jim's Theme)" is my guilty pleasure song of the year. There's no one like John Rzeznik to capture the feelings of a rebellious and immature adolescent. Although, the chorus does invite you, if you can, to soar.

It should be clear by now why this movie tanked. The good points I list above doomed this movie. Because who the heck would watch this? It's too scary and too deep for young kids. It's too high-concept for most grownups. Its attempts at kid-friendly humor clash with the attempt at integrity of vision. It's too fantasy for sci-fi fans. It's too spacy for fairy-tale fans. It's got too much old-fashioned ("outdated") hand-drawn animation for the cutting-edge CGI fans. It directly addresses the hearts of teenage boys who feel trapped and misunderstood: and what self-respecting rebellious kid is going to go see a Disney movie in the theatres?

Exactly. No one. But they should watch it on DVD.

Rating:
Summary: Somewhat disappointing... its a shame
Review: This promised well, but was unltimately disappointing.. It isn't complete garbage mind you, but.. well... it comes close.
Unlike many, I didn't have a problem with the technical inconsistencies of galleons in space, etc. - I found it all to be in keeping with the fantastical nature of the film's conception. After all, this was never meant to be hard science fiction, but is a cartoon aimed strictly at children. And the children will most likely enjoy it, since they will take it at face value without putting much thought into it.
It isn't easy to put a finger on what exactly is wrong with the film - it is not any one big thing, so much as a conglomeration of little things which put together make for a lesser experience. Much of the humour seemed forced, and ultimately not very funny.. Large chunks of the dialogue are rather sorry examples of writing..
What really jarred was the completely uncalled for 'song' that was plastered in. It hits you out of no where, and sounds as if it were something by an inbred backwoods hick screeching about his unnatural love for his goat. Does not fit in in the least with the film, or the score (which in itself is passable, though not particularly wonderful), and furthermore is simply in bad taste.

This is all quite a shame, since the idea of the story of Treasure Island transplanted into space was not a bad one. The plot and characters are also better conceived than in most recent Disney productions.. It is the execution of the idea that fell short. It is actually rather upsetting that they did not follow through properly on such a promising project..

Of the Disney films of the last few years, Lilo and Stitch is an altogether more successful effort.