Treasure Planet

Walt Disney’s 2002 flick, “Treasure Planet,” has passion and humor and some loveable supporting characters, but was this futuristic look on the classic Robert Louis Stevenson novel really needed? Eighteenth century galleons and pirate ships go sailing through the stars, and this doesn’t seem to look right. The film wants to be a pirate flick with“Star Wars” attire, but the pants are too short and the elbows stick out. For those of you who grew up watching the Disney’s 1950 “Treasure Island,” or remembers the 1934 Victor Fleming flick, this one looks like a cheat.

This is what Roger Ebert said in his review:

I am not concerned about technical matters. I do not question why space ships of the future would look like sailing ships of the past. I can believe they could be powered by both rockets and solar winds. It does not bother me that deep space turns out to be breathable. I do not wonder why swashbuckling is still in style, in an era of ray guns and laser beams. I accept all of that. It's just that I wonder why I have to. Why not make an animated version of the classic Treasure Island ? Why not challenge the kids with a version of an actual book written by a great writer, instead of catering to them with what looks like the prototype for a video game? These are, I suppose, the objections of a hidebound reactionary. I believe that one should review the movie that has been made, not the movie one wishes had been made, and here I violate my own rule. But there was something in me that ... resisted ... this movie. I hope it did not blind me to its undeniable charms.

To start off, there is a likeable protagonist named Jim Hawkins, who’s voiced by Joseph Gordon-Levitt and the singing is provided by Goo Goo Dolls member John Rzeznik. Jim is a nice enough youth (Austin Majors at age 5) when we first see him read to sleep by his mother (Laurie Metcalf) in the typical standard-issue Disney fatherless home. As a teen, he is a troublemaker, and it is only the possession of a holographic treasure map and the adventure in this movie that makes him into a fine young man.

Wishing he’ll sail away to a planet where “the treasures of a thousand worlds” have been deposited, Jim joins in as a cabin boy under the command of Captain Amelia (Emma Thompson), and soon becomes friends with the cook, John Silver (Brian Murray), a cyborg whose right arm has a handful of attachments and gadgets. Also on deck is the affluent Dr. Doppler, voiced by Dr. Niles Crane from “Frasier,” David Hyde Pierce, who is financing the ship. (His canine appearance and Amelia’s catlike nature makes us think, when a love story starts, whether their relationship will be long lasting) Ebert said, “I will not be spoiling much, I assume, to suggest that John Silver is more than a cook, and less than a friend.” He has rebellion as a plan. The troubles on the ship are backdropped by troubles in space, where a black hole is clear in view, and there is a “space storm” as dangerous as that you would see in the Caribbean.

It is mandatory in every Disney animated movies that there must be some kind of cute miniature sidekick, and the playful little being this time is Morph, a blue blob that can shape-shift into anything, is cuddly and energetic, and takes sides. Another supporting character is B.E.N., voiced by Martin Short, a cybernetic navigator who evidently has some memory boards ruined, and has a handful of one-liners. Ebert admits, “He would be obnoxious unless you liked creatures like him, which I do.”

Disney tests with its animation techniques in the movie. The foreground characters are two-dimensional in the classic animated way, but the backgrounds are 3-D and computer-generated (“painted,” the Web site tells us, but with a computer stylus rather than a brush). Ebert said, “Some may find a clash between the two styles, but the backgrounds function as, well, backgrounds, and I accepted them without question.”

Ebert went on to say, “I'm aware that many, maybe most, of the audience members for this film will never have heard of Robert Louis Stevenson.” They may find out in the opening scene that he once wrote a book titled Treasure Island, but when this book is opened by Jim’s mother, it doesn’t have the old-fashioned words, only pop-up moving images. For these people, the loss of the story’s literary birth may be pointless. They might think about what old sailing ships are doing in a futuristic time society, but then there’s a lot think about in every animated feature, isn’t there, since none of them are believable. Ebert ended his review by saying, “My guess is that most audiences will enjoy this film more than I did. I remain stubbornly convinced that pirate ships and ocean storms and real whales (as opposed to space whales) are exciting enough. Even more exciting, because they're less gimmicky. But there I go again.”

I will say that this movie is nice, but I wasn’t really excited when I saw it. I still think that if you have little kids, they’ll enjoy it. However, this is another novel adaptation that I have never read, so I can’t compare this to the book. Go ahead and see it, but I’m leaving it up to you if you want to check it out. I won’t force you, but if you see it great. If not, then it’s not a total loss. Look out tomorrow for more excitement in “Disney Month.”