Treasure Planet (2002)
One of the more underrated backbones of Disney's success is the studio's usage of adaptation to create their timeless classics. Often drawing from pre-established stories, the backbone of many Disney films are set allowing the company to tinker more with presentation than direction. This has led to numerous inspired adaptations from the company including 2002's Treasure Planet. Adapting Robert Louis Stevenson's foundational Treasure Island novel with the unique twist of the story being set in the future where Pirates roam the vast openness of space rather than the roaring seas, Treasure Planet has the potential to be a grand animated adventure but falls flat against these expectations.
The story loosely adapts the story of Treasure Island focusing on the angsty Jim Hawkins (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) as the lead protagonist. Feeling lost with his place in life and that no one understands him following his father abandoning him and his mother, Sarah (Laurie Metcalf). The one dream Jim holds is to travel out into space and find the mythical Treasure Planet and as Jim comes into possession of a possible map to the legendary island, it appears he might finally have the chance to realize his dream.
It is almost immediately questionable how the film chooses to use its futuristic world and setting. Naturally, the idea of a Pirate adventure through outer space is a promising prospect. Specifically within the medium of animation which allows for endless worlds and creativity, it feels like this should be an incredibly natural path to find excitement and imagination. It is incredibly frustrating then to see Treasure Planet so regularly drop the ball with this element. While the decision to use more grounded iconography on the space ships is understandable, the juxtaposition created by using the more classic Pirate ship designs against the futuristic world is a fun play on expectations that even works to enhance the weight of the unique world the crew runs into. Sadly, outside of a few memorable sequences including a standout segment as the crew tries to escape a black hole, the iconography and drama created feels so basic and standard that no sense of awe or wonder is even approached. The film completely wastes its own gimmick with the most consistent usage of it being in the character design which still feels overall safe and standard. For a studio that has had so many examples of creating unique visuals and pieces of iconography that are still the most recognized versions of their stories to this day, it is a shame to see an effort simply go through the motions as much as Treasure Planet.
It doesn't help that the narrative and drama are equally weak. Most characters feel overly simplified and forgettable which is at least a brighter impact than Jim leaves on the viewing experience. Overly angsty and dark, Jim feels like a compilation of what boomers think younger audiences would connect to. Rather than actually creating a worthy protagonist, this creates an annoying and forced presence that rarely opens and warms up how he really should. After all, if Jim wasn't angry and closed off, how would teens find him to be cool? At least Jim is never as annoying as Martin Short's grating performance as a robot named B.E.N. The one character that does truly stand out is John Silver (Brian Murray). Both in his writing and performance, Silver is the one character that feels like he has an actual conviction and layers as his relationship with Jim evolves and he has to decide what the right thing to do is.
Perhaps most frustrating is how the film uses the character of Jim's mother. Set up with a naturally compelling emotional journey herself and a complex relationship with Jim, it feels the natural progression of the film will see join the adventure, but the film quickly abandons her and seems to mostly forget about her, completely undercutting the most emotionally raw and poignant angle the film actually had. What is even more laughable is how the film still wants a somewhat parental figure to accompany Jim as he grows over the course of the journey so the movie shoe horns her friend, Dr. Delbert Doppler (David Hyde Pierce), onto the journey to fill this role. Even if this more closely represents the events of the novel, in execution as an adaptation a film needs to be willing to rework things to fit the cinematic voice being used with this being the most noticeable mistake.
While there are pieces of a great film scattered throughout Treasure Planet, the film is a clear disappointment. Struggling to find both the heart and fun it looks for, the feature ends up being a rather empty adventure that only offers glimpses of what it could have been.
The story loosely adapts the story of Treasure Island focusing on the angsty Jim Hawkins (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) as the lead protagonist. Feeling lost with his place in life and that no one understands him following his father abandoning him and his mother, Sarah (Laurie Metcalf). The one dream Jim holds is to travel out into space and find the mythical Treasure Planet and as Jim comes into possession of a possible map to the legendary island, it appears he might finally have the chance to realize his dream.
It is almost immediately questionable how the film chooses to use its futuristic world and setting. Naturally, the idea of a Pirate adventure through outer space is a promising prospect. Specifically within the medium of animation which allows for endless worlds and creativity, it feels like this should be an incredibly natural path to find excitement and imagination. It is incredibly frustrating then to see Treasure Planet so regularly drop the ball with this element. While the decision to use more grounded iconography on the space ships is understandable, the juxtaposition created by using the more classic Pirate ship designs against the futuristic world is a fun play on expectations that even works to enhance the weight of the unique world the crew runs into. Sadly, outside of a few memorable sequences including a standout segment as the crew tries to escape a black hole, the iconography and drama created feels so basic and standard that no sense of awe or wonder is even approached. The film completely wastes its own gimmick with the most consistent usage of it being in the character design which still feels overall safe and standard. For a studio that has had so many examples of creating unique visuals and pieces of iconography that are still the most recognized versions of their stories to this day, it is a shame to see an effort simply go through the motions as much as Treasure Planet.
It doesn't help that the narrative and drama are equally weak. Most characters feel overly simplified and forgettable which is at least a brighter impact than Jim leaves on the viewing experience. Overly angsty and dark, Jim feels like a compilation of what boomers think younger audiences would connect to. Rather than actually creating a worthy protagonist, this creates an annoying and forced presence that rarely opens and warms up how he really should. After all, if Jim wasn't angry and closed off, how would teens find him to be cool? At least Jim is never as annoying as Martin Short's grating performance as a robot named B.E.N. The one character that does truly stand out is John Silver (Brian Murray). Both in his writing and performance, Silver is the one character that feels like he has an actual conviction and layers as his relationship with Jim evolves and he has to decide what the right thing to do is.
Perhaps most frustrating is how the film uses the character of Jim's mother. Set up with a naturally compelling emotional journey herself and a complex relationship with Jim, it feels the natural progression of the film will see join the adventure, but the film quickly abandons her and seems to mostly forget about her, completely undercutting the most emotionally raw and poignant angle the film actually had. What is even more laughable is how the film still wants a somewhat parental figure to accompany Jim as he grows over the course of the journey so the movie shoe horns her friend, Dr. Delbert Doppler (David Hyde Pierce), onto the journey to fill this role. Even if this more closely represents the events of the novel, in execution as an adaptation a film needs to be willing to rework things to fit the cinematic voice being used with this being the most noticeable mistake.
While there are pieces of a great film scattered throughout Treasure Planet, the film is a clear disappointment. Struggling to find both the heart and fun it looks for, the feature ends up being a rather empty adventure that only offers glimpses of what it could have been.