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Treasure Planet

Treasure Planet

List Price: $29.99
Your Price: $26.99
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: If it looks this good on DVD...
Review: How GREAT it must have been on the big screen! I cannot believe I missed the chance to see it in the theaters!! If I went once, I'm sure I'd have returned at least a 3rd or maybe even a 4th time. It's THAT good! Superb in every aspect: art, music, voice acting, action, humor, and yes, story. I am a sucker for retelling of classics, and this one is extremely well done with a fantastic sci-fi twist. Definitely one of Disney's and the overall-animation-genre's BESTs!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Imaginative Approach to a Classic Story
Review: This movie is surprisingly faithful to the Robert Louis Stevenson classic; surprising because the movie takes place in outer space on multiple planets. Because of the combination of anachronistic elements with interplanetary space travel, extremely high technology and space aliens, this movie comes across as fantasy versus science fiction. The laser rifles look like flintlocks and the spaceship appears to be a sailing ship, complete with a ragtag crew right out of the original story, to name but a couple of examples.

Young Jim Hawkins rides a rocket-powered skateboard in feats that would turn the hair of anyone over the age of 30 gray instantly, which means that Jim's exploits are a sure hit for younger audiences. As in the original, Jim is threatened by a variety of characters and situations and comes through each of them by a combination of luck, daring, and an affinity for Long John Silver as a father-figure. Jim provides the center point for much of the action in this movie.

The story itself is the same as the original. Jim Hawkins comes into possession of a treasure map, and he and other compatriots set course to find and retrieve the treasure. Long John Silver has discovered what they plan to do and has gotten his men hired on to man the ship. During the voyage Silver and his men take over the ship, and Jim Hawkins, the Captain and Doctor Doppler (comic relief, think Goofy as a professor) escape to Treasure Planet. From this point forward the adventure is the encounters with the pirates, locating the treasure, and escaping back to home.

There are several points worthy of note. The captain (Captain Amelia) is outstandingly animated and a unique combination of gymnast and intellectual, coolly commanding in all situations. One of the best Disney-created characters ever; this DVD is worth having just to watch Captain Amelia. Long John Silver is a cyborg. Better to see Silver than any description I could provide. The third point is that John Rzenik of the Goo Goo Dolls provided a song for the movie, in addition to James Newton Howard's score. The fourth point is the incredible CGI backgrounds; these backgrounds bring an incredible depth and quality to the movie.

For fans of Disney's action movies, this movie is a must-have. The story moves along briskly, and follows the original well. The setting for the story is unique and well done, yielding a new Disney classic. While the PG rating due to violence means that the movie is unsuitable for the very youngest members of the family, children over the age of five or six should find this movie a rousing adventure. Five stars for this family movie.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Outerspace Skateboarding!
Review: Wonderful movie! Lots of action - great animation - wonderful story! Adults and kids alike will enjoy this movie. It caters to kids older than 6 however, the younger ones may not stay as interested as it takes a bit of following to understand it.
This is an awesome adaption of the book Treasure Planet! If you even remotely liked the book (and even if you didn't like the book) you should thoroughly enjoy this movie! It is a story of a boy who sets out to find Treasure Planet--and along the way finds much more!
The little morph is my favorite!!-he can take the shape of anything and is adoreable!-I want one for myself!! I recommend this movie to all thrill seekers!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Entertaining, if flawed, TREASURE PLANET
Review: It's always a gamble when you adapt a timeless classic like Robert Louis Stevenson's "Treasure Island." It's even especially dicey when you take the story out of its original setting and time. In this case, Walt Disney studios try to give the old swashbuckler a futuristic sci-fi spin in TREASURE PLANET, a film that partially succeeds in that task. Set in a future time on a far off planet, the familiar story of heroic cabin-boy Jim Hawkins and the charming pirate Long John Silver is given the space ace treatment. Instead of the one legged pirate we know, Long John is now a cyborg. The Squire and Doctor characters who lead the treasure expedition are combined into one eccentric type (David Hyde-Pierce), while the ship's captain is a no nonsense feline voiced by Emma Thompson. Finally, the castaway Ben Gunn is reimagined as a run-at-the mouth robot (Martin Short), who has lost his memory chip. The animation is stunning and many of these characterizations work for the most part. The one exception is the cyborg Silver. Played with an Irish brogue and charm, I found it hard to really see this character as being totally capable of evil, as is his counterpart in the original book. Indeed, it's hard to take this softie seriously at times. Part of the attraction of the Long John Silver creation is that he is a balance of good and evil. He becomes a character we like, even as we loath his deeds.
Other than that, this film is suprisingly faithful to the book in the basic plot, and it deserved better than what the critics gave the film when it was first released. Overall, this is a version that I would recommend, despite the fact that there are better adaptations and better portrayals of Long John Silver elsewhere.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Better Than Expected.
Review: I approached this movie with low expectations, having read the generally poor reviews, and noting the weak performance at the box officer, but I must admit that I was plesantly surprised by this movie. The animation is very good, although I wish Disney would move on to Pixar and Dreamworks computer animation, the voice talent is superb, and the story is fun. I recommend Treasure Planet to anyone who enjoys this kind of movie.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: wow wuz this great
Review: THIS HAS TO BE THE BEST MOVIE OF THE DECADE!
WHEN I FIRST SAW THE PREVIEW FOR IT IN JUNE
'02 WHEN I WENT TO SEE LILO AND STITCH (WHICH
SHOULD WIN THE BEST MOVIE OF 2002 TITLE) I WAS
LIKE ''THIS IS A MUST SEE!!!'' I FINALLY SAW
IT ON 11\29\02 AND LOOOOOOOVVVVEEEEEEEEEDDD
IT SO MUCH I WAS LIKE ''I WOULD GIVE $2,000
TO SEE THIS AGAIN!'' I SAW IT AGAIN IN JANUARY, AND I
ONCE AGAIN LLLOOOOOOOOOVVVVVVVVEEEEEEEEDDDDDD
IT LIKE I DID THE FIRST TIME (IN FACT BOTH TIMES,
UPON LEAVING THE THEATER I ENJOYED IT SOOO MUCH
IT FELT THAT MY FEET DID NOT TOUCH THE GROUND!)
THEN WE PRE-ORDERED IT FEBUARY,AND HAD TO WAIT
ALMOST 70 FRIGGIN' DAYS FOR THIS DVD! FINALLY I GOT
IT A FEW DAYS EARLY,AND I WATCHED IT OVER AND OVER AND
OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND
OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND
OVER AND OVER AND OVER! IF YOU HAVEN'T BOUGHT OR
RENTED THIS MOVIE, SHAME ON YOOOOOUUU!!!

THE PLOT IS SIMPLE:15 YEAR-OLD JIM HAWKINS FINDS
A MAP TO TREASURE PLANET. HE HAS FOR YEARS
LONGED TO SEE IF IT WAS REAL OF JUST A MYTH.
A DOGLIKE AILEN CRITTER NAMED DR. DELBERT DOPPLER(WHO
IS MY ABSOLUTE,UDISPUTED FAVORITE CHARACTER IN THE
ENTIRE MOVIE)HIRES A SHIP,AND THE HUNT IS ON.
JIM IS WORKING AS A CABIN BOY FOR THE SHIP'S COOK,
A CYBORG NAMED JOHN SILVER. BUT WHEN JIM FIRST GOT
THE MAP FROM BILLY BONES,HE WAS GIVEN A WARNING:''BEWARE
THE CYBORG!'' AND JIM WONDERS IF SILVER CAN BE TRUSTED.

DURING THE FIRST TIME I WATCHED I THE MOVIE,I HEARD
THIS BUZZ BEHIND ME THE WAS GOING:''BZZZ,BZZZ MERCHINDICE,
MERCHINDICE! BZZ BZZ...'' AND FROM THEN ON (I STILL DO SO
TODAY)I STOPPED DEAD IN MY TRACKS WHEN I SAW ANY TREASURE
PLANET MERCHINDISE.I HAVE TONS OF TREASURE PLANET STUFF:
BOOKS,THE SOUNDTRACK,ALL BUT ONE OF THE HAPPY MEAL TOYS,
THE PS2 GAME,THE GAME BOY ADVANCE GAME,THE PLUSH TOYS
AND OF CORSE THE DVD.

FINL WORD: SEE THIS!!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Unique Twist on Treasure Island
Review: I was surprised that this movie didn't do better at the box office. The animation is excellent, the adaptation of the classic story is imaginative, and it's a fun movie for everybody above the age of 8 or 9. It teaches "life" lessons on friendship and greed, and that even rotten kids can sort themselves out in the end. There's lots of action, comedy, adventure, and even a little romance.
The pirate creatures are a bit scary, so maybe not good viewing for younger kids, but it's one you can watch with your older ones.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: A big thumbs down on this one!
Review: This was one of Disney's worst movies. I collect all of the Disney movies, but this one will not be joining my collection. Even my kids hated it. It was actually painful to sit through this whole thing. I kept telling myself it has to get better, it's a Disney movie, but it never happened. The only good thing about this movie is the animation. I would suggest renting it first.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Decent Disney film
Review: Summary:
Jim Hawkins's (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) dad walked out on him and his mother and his mother, who is trying to run an inn, isn't able to be the father figure that Jim wants and needs. As a result, Jim is a bit too free-spirited and has a tendency to do illegal things, like jet-board through mining plants (don't know what they actually call the device he was riding). Jim doesn't see a future for himself helping his mother, Sarah (Laurie Metcalf), at the inn; he's bored, wants an adventure, but also wants a dad.

Well, he gets both when someone crash lands outside their inn and gives Jim a weird ball before he dies. Just after he gives Jim the map, a band of pirates attacks and destroys the inn and Jim has to escape with his mother and a bumbling professor, Doctor Doppler (David Hyde Pierce). When they get to the doctor's house, Jim just happens to open the map and they realize it is the map to the famed Treasure Planet. Doctor Doppler agrees to fund the expedition if Sarah is willing to let Jim go. She agrees and they are off.

They hire a ship whose crew, other than the captain and first officer, Captain Amelia (Emma Thompson) and Mr. Arrow (Roscoe Lee Browne), just happen to be the same band of pirates that were after the map in the first place. Their leader, John Silver (Brian Murray (I)) becomes the father figure Jim has wanted for so long only to betray that trust and then eventually renew it when he gives up the treasure to save Jim's life.

In the end, the treasure is found but lost and Jim finds out who he is and is finally able to make the 'right' decisions.

My Comments:
I used to think that Disney just made films telling good stories. Now that I'm watching them as an adult I'm beginning to realize that Disney is pretty good at incorporating themes into their movies. I think this is actually kind of a complicated theme, but it's definitely there and I think it's a timely theme, though perhaps for youth that wouldn't be caught dead watching a Disney film. The theme I understood from this movie is addressing the situation of a growing number of disenchanted youth. They are the youth whose parents, though considerate, are busy with their own lives but still want the best for their children. The kids, on the other hand, are bright but bored. So, they look for adventure in things that are illegal because it is exciting. I'm not exactly sure how Disney seems to be resolving this issue, but they are definitely trying to address it.

Anyway, as for the movie itself, the story follows that of Treasure Island but is cast uniquely in the future where they still use pirate-like space ships that don't require the use of atmospheres or oxygen (this part of the movie didn't make any sense) but instead use boosters and solar sails. The story works fairly well, for the most part (the ending was a little hokey), even though Jim's character arc isn't very clear.

There are three animated characters that are notable for their contributions: Doctor Doppler (David Hyde Pierce) whose character is rather funny at times; B.E.N. (Martin Short), who is even funnier in his very short and limited role; and Morph (Dane A. Davis) who is perhaps the funniest character due to his imitations. All three add a very necessary element of humor to the movie and do it very well.

Overall, as noted above, the movie seems to be very much themed around coming of age and trying to find oneself. The story is something of a classic, with a strange but workable twist. Perhaps if you could get your wayward youth to watch the film he/she might enjoy it and be able to relate. But getting them to watch is likely going to be the hard part. I recommend it, but I don't know that it would appeal to everyone. It is definitely geared toward a slightly older (early teens) audience (some of the dialogue is a bit complicated for younger kids to understand), but should be entertaining for anyone that has ever read Treasure Island or enjoys science fiction.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Treasure Planet ... an okay Disney film
Review: Treasure Planet. Disney's animated not-very-good adaptation of the Robert Louis Stevenson classic. Next time (if there is a next time), I think Disney should go for a pirate-type movie instead of a big, loud, sci-fi/action-adventure movie with so many explosions.
First of all, I thought this movie was hilarious. The jokes in this are much better than Atlantis and Dinosaur. Docter Doppler, B.E.N., and Morph (only a little) were all the funny characters in this movie. In the animation department, this movie makes a "good but not great" rating. They did a good job with the computer-animated parts (some scenes looked like real backrounds with animated characters running through them), but I think it's just all too much. I don't know why, but I really didn't like John Silver's character design. He didn't seem very well-developed to me (plus, he was really ugly). One charcter design in particular stands out amongst all others in this movie, and that character is: Captain Amelia. She is the coolest, smartest, and my personal favorite in this movie, in a close running with Dr. Doppler. I think it's very interesting to watch how Doppler and Capt. Amelia (a dog alien and a cat alien) interact throughout the different parts of the movie. The score is great, just like James Newton Howard's other Disney scores. But why I rated it 3 1/2 stars is the storyline. It's kind of weak, because I really only watch it for the funny parts and my favorite characters. I can see that there's a message with Jim needing a father figure, and Silver becoming it, but it didn't seem to come across very clearly (maybe I was too busy laughing to notice). The summer 2002 Disney movie, Lilo & Stitch, beats this movie by far.

There is some explosions, deaths (no blood), and freaky-looking pirates (Scroop and Captain Flint), so my age recommendation: 6 and up.

My recommendation: Disney, space, and action-movie fans and familes should rent it.


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