Treasure Planet
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Movie Reviews of Treasure Planet
Movie Review: Imaginative Approach to a Classic Story
Summary: 5 Stars
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.
Movie Review: My Favorite Disney Movie
Summary: 5 Stars
*** Spoiler Warning - this review might reveal surprises in the movie ***
First off for a frame of reference, I'm a 30-year old male and a sucker for Disney movies in general.
When this movie came and went to the theatres in a flash, I heard so much bad about it, how it was the worst Disney movie ever, that I actually didn't go see it in the theatre. I regret that now. First time I actually saw this movie was on a 14-hour flight from Los Angeles to London, and I fell heads over heels in love with it!
I adored the original Novel "Treasure Island", and I believe that Treasure Planet lives up to it. The central theme of Treasure Planet, in my mind, is the boy, Jim, who grows up with only a vague recollection of his father who in the movie appears like a shadow in Jim's faded childhood memories.
I think this particular "flashback" scene was very powerful, it featured the absolutely brilliant "I'm still here" track by Johnny Rzesnik, and led the viewer to fully understand Jim's childhood, and to share his teenage frustration and delinquency that stems from his father abandoning the young Jim and his mother. Possibly, I might a bit biased in this respect, since I can strongly identify with this situation as my own father was "married to the sea" when I grew up, and i can admit that i blubbered like a baby during the flashback sequence.
This is right in line with the core message of the film. A young, reckless and frustrated boy who is taken under the wing of the Old Salt, who becomes his new father figure. He learns how to take orders, work hard, grow, face adversity, and eventually become a man by making tough choices. An excellent message in this day and age, if you ask me.
I also loved the theme the producers chose. A type of anachronistic retro-futuristic design, where we in the future still use old, creaking, wooden, pirate ships, but with ultra futuristic systems. The movie also suspends the viewer from reality in many flavorful ways - for instance when the spaceship travels through the universe, it encounters a pod of whales. Or how Jim takes a dhingy "comet surfing".
I think this film provides excellent entertainment, suspense and has a great message for kids. But as an adult, I think I also got a kick out of this GREAT and CLEARLY UNDERRATED Disney flick.
SEE IT!
Movie Review: Great Movie in a Great Year for Movies
Summary: 5 Stars
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.
Movie Review: OK, after watching this movie...
Summary: 5 Stars
I am very impressed with this movie. The thought that went into the design alone is--just-----INSANE!! The number of designs and concepts they went through is sheerly amazing. The animation is pretty good, not to mention the lovely blend of CG and 2D; it doesn't distract or pull the eye away from performance unless it's meant to or you're looking for an excuse to pummel Disney movies. The staging is great--every single scene is well-planned, furthers the plot, and is totally comprehensible while still managing subtlety and understatement. The gadgets are amazing, the ships, environments, characters--all fantastical, yet believable. As for breathing air on the ships--they had their own gravity field, right? Not to mention that other movies have done the exact same thing (even the much-worshipped and glorified anime genre has!); people just have this need to pick on Disney and put anime on a pedestal. I'm not saying either is better than the other, just that everybody THINKS that one is better than the other. I could write a book just about animation and people's idiotic opinions. I mean, just... "You let me know when I'm rambling!"
Ahem... The commentary is helpful as to explaining any scruples veiwers might have, although everything is (to my view) sufficiently explained in the movie OR better left to the imagination.
As for un-funny comedy, watch Amelia perform for ten seconds and you'll change your mind. All the comic relief characters (even Morph! how weird is that!?) are there with a PURPOSE, to ADVANCE the plot. When they aren't, they're at least interesting to look at.
I think this movie worked extremely well, and my only question is, "WHY DIDN'T IT DO BETTER?!?!?" This could have been an instant classic. I mean, "The Little Mermaid" was; all it had to its advantage was that it
a) came after the Dark Age of Disney, and
b) had really good music.
Just--watch this movie. Even if you hate it, remember how hard people worked on it (the directors had wanted to make it since 1985). See ya!!
Movie Review: Treasure Island with an edge of Sci-Fi. How Cool Is That?!!
Summary: 5 Stars
The tale of Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson has been a much-loved classic by all ages. Out of the many variations from filmmaking history, this animated rendition is one of the most unique and magnificent, probably one of the best. It's Treasure Island with a touch of science fiction and that is very cool! Love the mix of historical charm with some cunning edge technology. A small example of this is the ship The USS Legacy, an old nautical like vessel with the option of solar power rockets.
Even if the story is familiar to you, this movie will not fail in grabbing your attention and drawing you in. And getting caught up in Treasure Planet is easy, because it just has the right amount of complexity and unpredictability. There's a great thrill of discovery when Jim Hawkins and the pirates reach the hidden mysterious trove. And on the way there, the actions of some characters will take you by surprise (like B.E.N. for example) thus adding to the humor and suspense of the film. With interesting diversity and rich dynamic visuals, there is enough here to keep you captivated and entertained way beyond your imagination. Some characters are extremely bizarre and agreeably can be a bit repulsive. But that just adds to the inventive weirdness of the film and makes the kids laugh.
Being based on Treasure Island this movie's depiction is very impressive and I'm glad that I got to see it. I gained a renewed fascination for the story afterwards, making me love everything about this classic legend even more. It's an excellent portal for unlocking this timeless tale to the minds of young viewers, and it really has a lot to offer for the enjoyment of an adult audience.
If you like a good old adventure with a bit of modern science (especially astronomy) you'll enjoy Treasure Planet! If you love Treasure Island and you're a bit curious, don't hesitate, because it does an admirable job with illustrating the story and it's valuable life lessons. Well worth it and quite rewarding, Treasure Planet has become one of my big favorites.