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Treasure Planet Disney Read-Along

Treasure Planet Disney Read-Along

List Price: $14.98
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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Wonderfull Disney-Movie
Review: This is one of the best animated movies Disney ever done. My brother and I enjoyed the figures, the story an the perfect animation. I also like the wonderfull music of James Newton Howard. I' will buy the DVD an hope, that there will be a special
edition with a making of.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great Movie in a Great Year for Movies
Review: I absolutely loved this movie, as did my nine year old son. We were dragged there by a neighbor (a girl, actually) who wanted to see Treasure Planet again. I'd read the novel Treasure Island as a kid, and was never that enthused about it. So I was blown away by this adaptation, and I bet R.L. Stevenson would be pleased, too.

By moving the story to outer space (the final frontier, as we've heard) the writers recaptured the sense of adventure and the unknown that the sea had in the 19th century. Jim Hawkins is a teenager whose father has taken off, and he's mostly finding ways of tweaking the authorities and getting into trouble. After an alien spaceship crashes at the inn run by his mother, Jim gets possession of a treasure map left by a space pirate (Captain Flint) and the chase is on. He and the "Doctor", a family friend and astrophysicist, set out to recover the treasure, hiring a ship and a scurvy mutinous crew straight out of Star Wars Mos Eisley Cantina. The formidable Captain Amelia, played deliciously by Emma Thompson, and her first officer Arrow skipper the ship. Long John Silver, here a cyborg, has signed on as cook and plots to steal the treasure for himself.

The animation is absolutely stunning, merging images of a great galleon with nebulas, black holes, and strange creatures of space. More critical, though, is the casting and character development. I could particularly identify with Jim Hawkins mother, at her wit's end with an unhappy and restless teenager. The growing relationship between Jim Hawkins and Silver, who finds himself drawn into a father role against his better judgment, and the zingy one-liners exchanged between Captain Amelia and the initially bumbling Doctor, who turns out to be more resourceful than he looks, are really at the center of the movie, together with Jim Hawkins' growth into a self-confident young man. I particularly liked the ending. I was always a bit put off by the ending of the book Treasure Island, where Jim Hawkins ends up fabulously wealthy thanks to pirate loot. Here, the movie suggests that wealth consists in having enough (but not too much) money, coupled with knowing who you are and who you care about.

It seems like Disney has not put much effort into promoting this movie, which is a shame. For me, it ranks with Toy Story as the best Disney movie ever made.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Beautiful, imaginative and witty
Review: This is the best animated film I have seen in years - the story line was good, the main characters were depicted imaginatively and with humor, and the art work was stunningly beautiful. The action, while exciting, was not so violent as to be offensive.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: ...
Review: this movie was AWESOME...thats all there is to say about that. all you people saying..."what happened?!" and other stuff like that to put this movie down...do you even have a clue about how hard Disney worked to make this movie?!?! i mean come on! go make a movie, see how hard it is, then have people talk bad about it...how would you feel?!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: This salty dog gives "Treasure Planet" two pegthumbs up!
Review: First, just let me say that I wasn't expecting great things from Disney's "Treasure Planet." I had felt betrayed in the past by their smoothing over of history and veneer of political correctness in "Pocahontas," and their treatment of Victor Hugo's classic "Hunchback of Notre Dame." Plus, add in the fact that "Treasure Island" was one of my favourite childhood books, and that I'd seen at least three movie versions (including TNT's fabulous made-for-TV version from 1990 with Charleton Heston and Christian Bale) numerous times.

I was wrong. Completely. I was absolutely blown away by the reinventing and updating of a classic, the incorporation of many of the book's important characters and themes, the fabulous soundtrack with contributions by John Rzeznik and BBMak and filled with traditional sea chantey touches like tinwhistle, and the mixing of traditional animation and 3D computer generated props and backdrops. "Treasure Planet" is, in my humble opinion, Disney's most visually stunning film, full of hauntingly beautiful images of outer space (galaxies, space storms, space whales), radically strange aliens that look as if they'd just come from the Star Wars cantina, and several hybrid characters.

The main characters from the novel have made the leap from page to screen fairly well. Jim Hawkins is a good-hearted but naive lad who dreams of pirate treasure and adventures beyond helping his mother run the Admiral Benbow Inn. John Silver is still as treacherous and shifty as in the original novel, but more tenderhearted. Contrary to what other reviewers have mentioned, I found him to be the perfect blend of scheming pseudovillain and surrogate father figure to Jim. Again, in contary to a number of reviewers, I thought that the majority of the characters were remarkably expressive for a cartoon, including Silver---the mix of emotions that run across his face when Jim hugs him, for example.

Two of the book's characters (Trelawney and Livesy) have been fused into a single character, Doppler, a bit of a bumbling canine astronomer who is most definitely in love with the feline Captain Amelia (who says that cats and dogs can't get along?). The villain this time around is as evil as anything Disney has every produced...this is no villian with a comic side-- Skroopf is a cold-hearted murderer, plain and simple. The rest of the film's alien inhabitants are a visual treat--look for caricatures of the film's directors John Musker and Ron Clements (the team responsible for "The Little Mermaid" and "Aladdin") as well.

My only gripe with the film is the sidekicks: a morphing pink blob and a chatterbox short-circuited robot (B.E.N. in a clever nod to "Treasure Island" hermit Ben Gunn) voiced by Martin Short. Morph is obnoxiously, simperingly cute. B.E.N. is just obnoxious (think Jar Jar Binks, only not as cute). Adults will enjoy the interplay and one-liners between Doppler (Fraser's David Hyde Pierce and Amelia (Emma Thompson) more than Short's improv rants.

In another first, "Treasure Planet" is simultaneously opening in theatres and IMAX screens around the U.S. I hope to be able to see the IMAX version as I have heard that it is absolutely spectacular, and I plan on seeing the English version of "Treasure Planet" in the near future. Overall, Disney has once again managed to reinvent a classic, not without its flaws, but overall a stunning update of a cherished childhood classic of pirates, treasure, and mutiny, along with the standard Disney message of realizing your potential.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Very Pretty, No Politics
Review: Disney went to outer space for some relief from politically correct social commentary. The heroine is not an action hero beating up male bruisers, and she's a beautiful incarnation of Wendy Hiller (see "I Know Where I'm Going"). The hero is a troubled adolescent, but there's no overdone "You're tearing me apart." The scenery is great to see, and the supporting comedic characters are genuinely funny. Shortcomings: the music is a zero, and the villain is not impressive.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: So true to the story--a wonderful movie!
Review: This could easily be my favorite Disney film of all time. I wanted to see this film from the trailers last year, but I was leary of Disney-fication. No worries. So touching, wonderful relationships, wonderful casting, tons of excitement, minimal sidekicks (and who can complain when the sidekick is Martin Short?), enough SFX to satisfy without taking over the story, just grand! Both my 5 and 10 year old boys LOVED IT! As did Mom.

Don't pay any attention to the reviewers or box office results. Take your kids to this movie! It has some intense bits so don't bring them too young. My 5 year old has a stronger sensibility than most and we went to an afternoon showing just in case (no lingering images at bedtime...)It truly deserves its PG rating. Be warned.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Wonderful Family Values Adventure
Review: The same way "Fantsia" was unappreciated in it's initial release, "Treasure Planet" has so much happening it's not surprising it opened to mixed response: it will take repeated viewings and some time for it to sink in, it's that good....

Opening to low box office, many were quick to lable it a bomb or dud, but far from that, this is a great film that will be around for years.

Incredible animation in an assortment of forms, (ie: simple, computer, saturday morning, anime, straight Disney, and combinations) it's as good as it gets.....I loved the Captain, an english woman with a lot of pluck, and a variety of supporting characters that are all blended in nicely to tell the story of a space age "Treasure Island"

There are many of the regular Disney touches, a very nice song, (only one, and that's fine) and a return to Parent and Child love and respect often missing these days...

I say, open your mind and allow it to wash over you, don't start with preconcieved notions, and you will leave the theater with a good feeling, a moist eye and the knowledge that you will have to see it again to see everything...

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Much better then the summers Disney flick.
Review: The #1 movie of the season if not the year. It never stops amazing me how much better Disney animation is compared to even the most hyped movies each year. This is what happens when you spend 4 years working on a film. PURE QUALITY! Unlike the joke that was Lilo and Stich. (The first animated Disney flick I hated in the last 10 years by the way.)
Hot off the heals of the awesome Atlantis, this movie felt like a 19th century fantasy novel, instead of something written today. (Much the same as Atlantis felt it was written in the early 20th century.) It's so refreshing to see a fantasy that doesn't let facts bog it down and is free to 'chart it's own course.' Excellent Retro Sceince fiction. I really feel sorry for anyone who can't see, or accept this.

Adam Sandler doesn't stand a chance against a classic like this. I've seen it 2 times already and it get's better each time! But I wonder why they did this, when only 5/4 years ealier they produced a Muppet version? Oh well.

This has to be one of the longest, most story based Animated films Disney has produced recently, if ever. I wouldn't expect less from the people that brought us Little Mermaid, Aladdin and Hercules.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: A Classic Pirate Adventure Through Pop American Eyes
Review: Treasure Planet brings the classic pirate tale of Treasure Island to many young Americans whose culture overshadows other views of the world. This animated film is made for kids that relate to sliding skateboards on stairway railings, or a cast of alien creatures resembling Saturday morning cartoons.

I rate it a "thumbs up" since it combines the old with the new, marvelling youngsters with the plot of the pirate novel by Robert Louis Stevenson, combined with enough space-age fiction to keep the kids interested. Purists, of course, will criticize its lack of reality; but cartoons provide an escape from reality not found in video films.

It is rated PG, but I am not sure why this made-for-kids animation needed parental guidance. If parents cannot leave their kids to watch this cartoon tale, what can the kids watch? Perhaps the film rated PG from the occasional violence and suspense.

I found the science fiction entertaining, and not too off base. If the ship can have artifical gravity, why not artificial air? And though the solar-sail ships accelerated too quickly, perhaps some positron generators using lithium crystals made the vessels fly.

Take the kids, or go to see some modern Disney animation without the kids. I recommend the film for: space buffs; kids 10 and above; or lovers of animated features.


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