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Treasure Planet- 11/17/02 - PG - 95m
Joseph Gordon-Levitt
David Hyde Pierce
Brian Murray
Director: Ron Clements & John Musker
JEF
When I saw the previews for this movie, I said to myself, "I have
to see this movie". I mainly wanted to see it for the animation and
effects, which Disney is famous for. I have not read the book "Treasure
Island" by Robert Luis Stevenson, which the movie is based on. After
thinking about it, I think my only exposure to the story of "Treasure
Island" was from Disney. It was a live-action movie made back in
1950. Of course it had been so long since I saw this movie that the story
line was completely new to me.
Storyline: Jim Hawkins is a typical troubled teen. His
father left him and his mother at a young age, and Jim has had a tough
time fitting in. He’s had a few run-ins with the law for some rouge
"wind surfing". Then, one day, a space ship crash-lands at his
mother’s Inn. This creature is carrying a map to the legendary "treasure
planet". Jim begs his mom to go on this adventure to find the fabled
treasure of this supposed famous pirate. After some talking into, from
him, and his mother’s scientist friend, "Dr, Doppler",
she agrees to let him go. Thus the adventure begins.
Technically speaking this film is a treat for the eyes. The animation
is fantastic. The clever twist of remaking a classic like "Treasure
Island" into a sci-fi space movie works well. All the characters
are aliens (except for Jim, and his family), or robots. The creative talents
of the Disney crew just went wild here. Long John Silver was a cyborg
(part robot, part alien). Dr, Doppler was a sort of dog alien, and the
captain of the ship was a cat sort of alien. The scenery of the planets,
and space ships were incredible to look at.
Story wise, it held my interest all the way through. The voice characters
were well matched. Joseph Gordon-Levitt did the voice for Jim Hawkins.
Levitt is probably best known for his role as the teen from the TV sitcom
"3rd Rock from the Sun". (Hmm, troubled teen in a sci-fi situation…
sounds familiar). David Hyde Pierce played Dr. Doppler, a nervous scientist.
Pierce is known for his nervous character "Doctor Niles Crane"
on the TV Sitcom "Frasier". One more voice character pulled
from another TV sitcom, was the mother of Jim Hawkins, who was Laurie
Metcalf, who was the sister on the "Roseanne Barr" show.
It was while watching this movie that I realized why I still like movies
geared towards kids. They have a storyline. One of my biggest complaints
about some big Hollywood blockbuster movies is the lack of storyline.
Most of these kid’s movies are first and foremost a story, with
the animation playing the second minor role. Although in the case of most
Disney movies the animation is always first class, and is worth seeing
the film for that alone. The previews for this movie showed a new release
by Disney called "Finding Nero". A story about two fish. Again,
the animation looks amazing. I think I’ll be looking forward to
this movie as well.
Also a quick nod to actor "Michael Wincott" who played Skroopf
(one of the bad pirates)… Wincott has played many "bad"
characters, and he always does an excellent job. Two that come to mind
are from "The Crow", and "1492: Conquest of Paradise".
Disney knew what they were doing when they cast his voice as the evil
pirate.
Finally, I just wanted to say that the twist of setting the same storyline
of "Treasure Island" as a futuristic Sci-Fi worked great. Perhaps
the kids now a days can relate easier to the idea of "space pirates"
as opposed to the classic Pirates of Old. Disney put this nice spin on
the story, and I think it worked well.
If you’re a fan of Disney, Animation, Adventure, Pirates, or Aliens
you should make time during the hectic holiday season to take a break
and escape from the rush and take a ride into outer space in search of
"Treasure Planet".