Customer Reviews

Treasure Planet

5 star:		(87)
4 star:		(36)
3 star:		(17)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

*** 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!

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.

Walt Disney was fascinated with the story of Treasure Planet and had actually opted to do it as the first full length animated film. He then realized it didn't need to be animated and did Snow White. He kept thinking about a way to do Treasure Island as an animated movie and eventually made it as the studios first live action film. Now, the Disney team has come up with a brilliant way to do it as an animated film. They set it in space and it is my favorite film version of Treasure Island. I know it did horribly at the theaters, but so did Cinderella and look at how well known that is. You will love Treasure Planet if you liked the book or the live action version. The best part would have to be B.E.N, a crazy robot on Treasure Planet who is clearly missing a few pieces and is voiced by Martin Short. Plus the ending was so cool and original! Definately not the typical cute musicle Disney is known for doing in the past.

Perhaps the failure to include a standard-issue spunky, perky, sassy "girl-power" counterpart to Jim ultimately doomed this movie . . . I don't know. The NC Wyeth-inspired art direction and superior source material should have made TREASURE PLANET a huge success for Disney--instead it was virtually disowned by the company and ignored by audiences. Judging by the inflated price of this DVD, Disney is still trying to recover losses. But even at the higher price, this one is worth it, especially if you have boys (or tomboys). Read Stevenson's TREASURE ISLAND to them first (or show them Disney's fine live-action adaptation starring Robert Newton) and then treat them to this clever sci-fi spin on the classic tale.

Treasure Planet is by far one of my favorite Disney movies of all time. I'm so shocked it gets such bad reviews!

It's a classic story of adventure and coming-of-age, adapted from the novel "Treasure Island" by Robert Louis Stevenson. No, it is not a direct interpretation! But that's ok. The characters and the story are adapted from the novel to fit with the culture and imagination of today's world, and given a magical twist, as if 1800s England had special sci-fi technology.

In this version, Jim is a boy of fifteen whose father-angst has left him committing crimes and having trouble at home and at school, much to the pain of his young mother, Sarah. A chance meeting with old Billy Bones, former cabin-boy to the dreaded pirate Captain Flint, ends with him being given the map and key to Treasure Planet, a fabled place that contains the Loot of a Thousand Worlds, taken by Flint. This begins Jim's chance to set out on his own and learn about the world and who he is, and what potential he has.

The relationship between Silver and Jim is similar, but not exactly the same. It becomes a deep father/son relationship, with Jim finding in Silver what he always wanted from his deadbeat father. Silver is enigmatic, double-faced, and powerful, but grows a deep, unexpected soft spot for Jim that changes his mind about the treasure he's always sought.

Overall, I think the movie is fantastic. The animation is buttery smooth and is visually stunning, the characters are unique and interesting and all have a history long before the story takes place, and the adaptation from the original novel is very clever and updates the story well. The music, done by James Newton Howard and Johnny Rzeznik, is absolutely gorgeous, with a touch of Celtic influence added to the powerful orchestrations and themes. The story is heartwarming and powerful.

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!!

I know that this movie was Disney's biggest financial loss but we don't care. I loved Treasure Island as a child and this remake with a sci-fi twist is intersting and visually stunning. Great music along with the spectacular animation and the remake of a classic story makes this a 5 star movie in our home.

I loved it!!! A very enjoyable and entertaining movie. I knew as soon as I left the theater that I would be buying the DVD as soon as it came out. As a 30-something year old mother of two young boys (ages 5 & 3), I wasn't so sure that I would like the movie, but any doubts were soon put to rest. We viewed the movie on an IMAX screen and the effects were mesmerizing. My five year old son especially liked the movie, with the pirate theme and the adventure-filled story.

"Treasure Planet" bombed at the box office and that's a shame because there is a lot to admire in this under-rated gem. The animation is top notch, the pacing is swift and the movie by and large avoids the treacly conventions that mar most Disney films. If your household is home to a young fan of Pixar features and the animated films of acclaimed Japanese director Hayao Myazaki, I think you will find this a Disney flick worth watching.

Treasure Planet was a positive surprise, and I am a big Disney-fan! Fantastic animation, good story. The music, well, it was a treasure itself found to hear the voice of John Rzeznik, his two songs are superb! The rest of the soundtrack suits the movie as well. What an adventure!

Of course when you watch a Disney-movie you have got to keep in mind that it's a childrens' movie (basically that is) - so to the reviewers who claims Treasure Island to be unrealistic, sorry, but haven't you perhaps missed a great point here? (I mean: "What do they breathe?"!!)

People have, of course, a right not to find the movie amusing, but it must be considered that it's a fantasy-movie. Fish don't communicate the way they do in Finding Nemo either, in "Fantasyworld" everything is possible!

Another great classic from Disney!