Review of Treasure Planet (2002) by Jeffrey L — 29 Apr 2012

A Disney creation not remembered like most but still just as fun, Treasure Planet retells the classic story of Treasure Island but switches the setting to a futuristic dimension in space. A hip animated update; a new generation may get the same feel for this treasured story like we all did growing up.

Still in their 2D days (with only a limited time before all their animated films became "Pixar-ized"), the imaginative Disney animation team came together quite notably to create this futuristic Treasure Island story. Keeping most of the original theme and many of the same characters, the future (perhaps not as distant as one may think) is more galactic than ever with technological advances emerging at every corner. As space exploration is the norm, we are introduced to our main character, Jim Hawkins. Here he is an adventurous yet troubled youngster, struggling along with his single mother to get through daily life. Things make quite a shift, however when he comes across a treasure map containing the whereabouts to an old king's treasure. Convinced that obtaining this ransom will solve all problems, he finds himself off with a handful of quirky shipmates. But things darken considerably when he realizes his favorite shipmate shares this desire and may not stop at any cost to obtain it. Yet, other friends he has made along the way and his expertise on getting where he wants to go may prove a worthy advantage.

A film that mostly came and went at the box office, Disney once again gets kudos for their creativity, skill and nifty character design. But like a handful of their other films, this one will likely appeal to the younger, more undemanding audience. Still, the voice cast is great and the shape shifting Morph just may be one of Disney's most lovable characters yet. Patrick McGoohan's voice role as Billy Bones was his final acting role before his death in 2009.