Treasure Planet (2002)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Directors:

Ron Clements
John Musker

Writers:

Robert Louis Stevenson (novel)
Ron Clements (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

27 November 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Adventure | Family | Romance | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Find your place in the universe.

Plot:

A Disney animated version of "Treasure Island". The only difference is that the film is set in outer space with alien worlds and other galactic wonders.

Plot Keywords:

Rough Captain | Nerological Robot | No Opening Credits | Disney Animated Feature | Black Hole

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win & 10 nominations

Cast

Roscoe Lee Browne	...	Mr. Arrow (voice)
Corey Burton	...	Onus (voice)
Dane A. Davis	...	Morph (voice)
Joseph Gordon-Levitt	...	Jim Hawkins (voice)
Tony Jay	...	Narrator (voice)
Austin Majors	...	Young Jim (voice)
Patrick McGoohan	...	Billy Bones (voice)
Michael McShane	...	Hands (voice) (as Micheal McShane)
Laurie Metcalf	...	Sarah Hawkins (voice)
Brian Murray	...	John Silver (voice)
David Hyde Pierce	...	Doctor Doppler (voice)
Martin Short	...	B.E.N. (voice)
Emma Thompson	...	Captain Amelia (voice)
Michael Wincott	...	Scroop (voice)
Jack Angel	...	Additional Voice (voice)

MPAA:

Rated PG for adventure action and peril.

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.50 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Ireland:PG | Iceland:L | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Brazil:Livre | Canada:G | Finland:K-7/5 | France:U | Germany:6 (bw) | Hong Kong:I | Japan:U | Netherlands:AL | Norway:7 | Peru:PT | Philippines:G | Singapore:PG | South Korea:All | Spain:T | Sweden:7 | Switzerland:6 (canton of the Grisons) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | Taiwan:GP | UK:U | USA:PG

Company:

Walt Disney Feature Animation

Trivia:

This film was pitched to Disney by John Musker and Ron Clements several times: (1) In 1985, during production on The Black Cauldron (1985), but they ended up assigned to direct The Great Mouse Detective (1986). (2) After directing The Little Mermaid (1989), but they ended up assigned to direct Aladdin (1992). (3) After directing Aladdin (1992), but the studio wanted them to direct Hercules (1997). Musker and Clements agreed to direct that film only if they were allowed to make Treasure Planet right after it.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the scene when Mr. Arrow is telling the crew off for fighting, in one scene Mr. Scroop has a mole or something on the left side of his face, then in the next scene it's gone, then it's back on again, then it's gone for the rest of the movie.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Narrator: On the clearest of nights, when the winds of the Etherium were calm and peaceful, the great merchant ships, with their cargos of Arcturian solar crystals, felt safe and secure. Little did they suspect that they were persued by... pirates. And the most feared of all these pirates was the notorious Captain Nathaniel Flint.

Movie Connections:

Featured in DisneyPedia: The Life of a Pirate Revealed (2003) (V)

Worth more than the credit everyone gives it...

Upfront, I thoroughly enjoyed this movie beyond what I thought I would take from it. Being an animation major I can thoroughly pick apart most movies, especially what Disney puts out now-a-days. Unfortunately for their movie Treasure Planet, either it was ahead of itself ambitiously, or it was rumors that spread like wildfire (when it was being released) that killed it. Actually, that's why I didn't see this film until very recently, because of everyone's (and mine at the time) prejudice against Disney features springing up amongst way too many viewers, and especially for this film. I believed them that this film was terrible, and subsequently never got to see it until a week ago. Man, everyone was wrong.

I'll be honest, and give it its weak points: The main character (Jim) is quite blank and not very well developed. Which is bad because an audience cannot connect to a flat, central character. Secondly, the CG (although very well stylized) I think didn't mesh as well with the 2D animation as it should have. Other than that...you might pick apart a few other things about the movie (and no, the dialouge isn't that bad. it's a G rated movie...it's not supposed to be incredibly complex).

Treasure Planet keeps pretty tight in line with the original classic, "Treasure Island", even when softening it down for a younger audience. I grew up with that story, and had no problem with the adaptation in Planet. Also, this film contains two masterfully animated characters, John Silver and Dr. Dilbert Doppler (animated by two masters, Glen Keane and Sergio Pablos, respectively). If you're an animation enthusiast, these two are gold to watch (especially the pencil tests in the special features on the DVD).

This whole review is a little long-winded, but in closing, this movie is more than what was said of it. If anything dealt the killing blow in this movie failing at the box office, it was everyone's bad word for it. Not true. Please see for yourself!