Review of Treasure Planet (2002) by Colson V — 17 May 2010

When Treasure Planet released in the winter of '02, I was at the age where you didn't need a good story, intelligent script or fascinating characters to make a movie. All I needed was a bunch of pretty colors, some cool explosions and a couple decent chase scenes for me to think that it was an awesome movie.

Treasure Planet was that movie for me.

Seeing Treasure Planet on the big screen at that young age would have been the equivalent as to every person in the world that saw Avatar (You know, that overrated Dances With Wolves remake with just a bunch of pretty colors?). It left my mouth agape and I walked out in awe.

"That was the bestest movie ever!" I can imagine myself saying. I'm sure my parents didn't enjoy it as much as I did but they still seemed to enjoy it, not for the reasons why I liked it, obviously, but for the reasons I couldn't comprehend at that time in my life. Having seen Treasure Planet again nearly 8 years later, I no longer think of Treasure Planet as "The Bestest Movie Ever" but boy, oh boy is it just as exciting as it was 8 years ago.

Treasure Planet revolves around 15 year old Jim Hawkings (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), an angst ridden teen who is trying to get over his father's departure from he and his really hot mom. His cougar mom is now working at a local tavern trying desperately to keep her and her son financially stable. It's clear that her job is tedious and her pay isn't that great, but what's worse is the fact that Jim is in constant trouble with the police, school and the people who get in his way in general. Jimâ??s mom does her best to raise the angst-ridden lad alone while tending to the diverse alien clientele at her inn, but it's just not enough. So when a one man spaceship goes down outside the inn, Jim takes the injured pilot to the inn in hopes of helping him. But trouble arises when the pilot tells Jim that a deadly cyborg is out looking for a map to Treasure Planet, a planet filled with as much gold that Jim and his mother would never have to fear financial struggle again. After hearing this news, Jim is interested in Treasure Planet and he finds that this planet might be his ticket to redemption.

"I know I keep letting you down," Jim tells his cautious mother, "but this is my chance to make it up to you.".

Jim's mother is against the idea as it may be "too dangerous" but friend of the family, Dr. Doppler (David Hyde Pierce) convinces her otherwise. Soon after, Doppler and Jim are finally aboard a ship of professional groups of spacers led by the feline Captain Amelia (Emma Thompson). Amelia introduces Jim to the cyborg cabinboy, John Silver (Brain Murray). At first glance, Jim is suspicious of this cyborg, remembering the words that the pilot said to him earlier, but as the journey (and the movie) keep going, Jim and Silver grow an unbreakable father-and-son like bond. Silver was the father that Jim never had. He teaches him things like how to tie a rope, but also life lessons as well.

"Youâ??ve got the makinâ??s of greatness in you!" Silver says to the troubled teen.

Imagine the shock and dissapointment that Jim endures when it is revealed that Silver is nothing more than the deadly cyborg that the pilot mentioned earlier.

With Silver's secret now out in the open, Jim must find a way to find Treasure Planet safely and more importantly, escape his deadly plans. Jim knows what he has to do to escape and survive, but Silver on the other hand doesn't. He still has compassion and warmth for the kid and he doesn't want to hurt him.

What's a cyborg to do?

Judging by that synopsis, you might think you know how the rest of the film plays out and for the most part, you probably could. The things you probably wouldn't figure out are the things like how the characters and their motivations come into play. You see, Treasure Planet isn't like many other Disney movies I have seen. Treasure Planet is much more complex than the average princess movie. Both Jim and Silver are incredibly complex characters that can't be broken down in just one sitting. Disney is practically notorious for killing or separating the protagonist's parents and while Jim's father is absent from this film, Treasure Planet does more than just use an absentee dad as a convenient device to imply a transition to adulthood. It explores the implications and consequences of his absence on Jim's character. It's a very powerful and profound character study that doesn't generally see the light of day in a Disney animated flick. I found it very provocative.

Besides being a fascinating character study, Treasure Planet is just flat-out entertaining. It has tons of explosions, interesting chase sequences and guns and swordplay combat. The ainmation is truly remarkable and the climax of the film is just a giant spectacle. It's fun, it's exciting, it's loud and it has an epic feel to it. While Treasure Planet certainly isn't going to be remembered as an epic masterpiece within the next 30 years, it's a fun ride filled with humor and heart.

Written and directed by Ron Clements and John Musker (the same team who wrote and directed The Little Mermaid, Hercules and Aladdin), Treasure Planet is one of those remarkable films that at first glance looks as a simple action fantasy, but then becomes somthing much deeper and intelligent. At times, I often forgot I was watching a re-imagination of the classic Robert Louis Stevenson story. All of the sight gags and verbal humor based off the original story are relentless. Instead of crashing waves, the ship gets destroyed by space storms, cosmic debris and a black hole. Rather than a peg leg and an eye patch, John Silver sports a mechanical leg, cybertronic eye and a right arm that functions like a high-tech Swiss army knife. This version also injects playful comic relief by substituting a shape-shifting blob named Morph for Silverâ??s parrot, and a hilarious robot (voiced by the manic Martin Short) for the person of Ben Gunn. It's fascinating how it mirrors the original source material to make way for something almost completely original!

All in all, Treasure Planet might not be as great as the classic Disney films, and it might not even be as great as the writers'/directors' previous works, but Treasure Planet is an underrated gem filled with plenty of action, tons of humor, incredibly gorgeous animation, and a story filled with heart. It's a movie I wish more people will see. It cost $180 million dollars and it only made $101 million worldwide making it Disney's biggest financial loss, and that's sad. Treasure Planet is a fascinating film that can be enjoyed throughout the ages. When I first saw it, I loved it for the visuals and the actions, seeing it now, I love the fascinating character study and the relationship between Silver and Jim. I can only imagine my opinion when I have a son of my own one day.