Disney’s
latest beautiful work of animation Treasure Planet is an
enchanting intergalactic version of Robert Louis Stevenson’s
classic novel
Treasure Island.
Treasure Planet might be altering one of history’s
greatest tales, but it certainly is a fantastic ride that all
children and adults will enjoy. It uses a beautiful sense of
style in its animation, great voice talents, and an
astonishingly powerful original song. This is a creative and
skillful work that beats out Lilo and Stitch, and is the
new best animated film this year. The screenwriters provided a
terrific adaptation of the original novel, and the direction is
superb. Despite a few confusing moments, Treasure Planet
is not only the best animated films of the year, but one of the
best real ones too.
The flick
opens up to a youngster, reading a story about a hidden
treasure, past his bedtime. His mother walks into his room and
reprimands him. Despite her attempts to make him go to sleep,
the two end up reading the rest of the book.
The movie
then jumps forward in time, by twelve years to be exact. We see
the once young, but now grown, Jim Hawkins riding a high-tech
motorized glider through the air. He is having a blast, while
skillfully curving through buildings, construction sites, and
landforms. This party soon comes to a stop, however, when he is
pulled over by two robot cops who tell him that he was riding in
an illegal zone. The police escort him back to his mother’s
restaurant.
They tell
his mom that if he chooses to commit one more illegal act, than
he will be sent to Juvenile Hall. She is very angry at him, once
again, and wishes that he were the little boy reading fantasy
books past his bedtime that she used to know. He starts to pick
up dishes and clean tables in the restaurant for a while, but
then heads outside.
His
mother stares at him through the window, and feels deeply sorry.
She explains to a family friend that the only reason he is such
a troublemaker is because his father left them at a young age.
Though the friend feels very controversial about Jim, he is very
sad, too. The once perfect little boy is now failing classes and
committing felonies. No one knows what to do with him.
A few
moments later, the screen erupts in chaos. A rather odd-looking,
space ship type vehicle crashes into the land right outside of
the restaurant. Jim rushes to investigate the scene, and finds
that the driver is alive, but not in very good condition. He is
bizarre looking, and the crash appears to have made him somewhat
crazy.
Jim drags
the driver inside, who hands him a golden ball. He tells Jim
that people are coming, and will try to steal it, no matter what
the cost. Jim must protect it. The man then dies, and the people
he was talking about come to the restaurant. Jim, his mother,
and their friend escape safely, by jumping out the window and
driving away.
Once out
of harm’s way, they activate the intriguing golden ball. They
find that when you press a button on it, a giant, transparent
treasure map projects off of it. Jim and the family friend,
named Dr. Doppler, decide that they must follow the path that it
leads, to find the treasure. They recruit a crew, and begin to
sail a ship across the planet to find it. Little did they know
that on board would be several villains, who try to take the map
from them.
The
screenwriting, done by John Musker and Ron Clements, was an
excellent way of adapting the classic novel Treasure Island,
by Robert Louis Stevenson. Many critics say that it was
unnecessary of filmmakers to change the original writing, but
the idea of a “Treasure Planet” instead of “Treasure Island,”
strikes me as much more exhilarating. There have been several
versions of the original novel done, one being animated, and I
think that it has gotten to be a little tired. This film,
however, looks great and feels it. This fact alone should earn
critical applause. For a refreshing new look at a delightful
literary classic, Treasure Planet is an action-packed,
and tremendously exciting flick.
The
original music used for the film, done by John Rzeznik, is a
great fit for it. It’s edgy, and works with the action scenes. I
especially enjoyed a scene where Jim, and a villain from the
ship he’s traveling on are dashing through the air on a small
boat while a song entitled “I’m Still Here” is playing in the
background. The two songs, preformed by Rzeznik worked along
with the feature beautifully. Treasure Planet has one of
the best original scores I have seen this year; it deserves an
Oscar.
Treasure Planet is a movie that I never questioned. I didn’t
look at my watch, twiddle my thumbs, or doodle on my notepad
once during its duration. A film called Solaris, which I
recently reviewed, was nothing but painful to watch. I wanted to
turn the projector off! I played with my cup, made funny faces,
and cheered when it was over. There is nothing better than a
film that you can enjoy, no matter what format it is in.
Treasure Planet is one of these films, and deserves all of
the recognition it can get.
-Danny, Bucket Reviews