Treasure Planet
Year: 2002
Director: Ron Clements & John Musker
Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, David Hyde Pierce, Brian Murray & Emma Thompson
Runtime: 95 mins
BBFC: U
Published: 16/09/21
Director: Ron Clements & John Musker
Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, David Hyde Pierce, Brian Murray & Emma Thompson
Runtime: 95 mins
BBFC: U
Published: 16/09/21
Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel Treasure Island is one of the most beloved stories ever written. A tale of forgotten treasure, adventure into the unknown, and of course pirates, that has been passed down for generations. The story has been adapted to film countless times, with three separate adaptations by Disney in just over fifty years. But their third adaptation is one of the more interesting adaptations of Stevenson’s novel to ever hit the big screen, and in 2002 was one of Disney’s most ambitious films ever created. So why did Treasure Planet flop so hard and become an obscure cult classic remembered by so few?
Throughout his childhood Jim Hawkins (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) was fascinated by the legend of pirate Captain Flint and Treasure Planet. Now a young man who frequently has run-ins with the law, Jim discovers a map that details a route to the thought fictional place. With the help of his friend Dr. Delbert Doppler (David Hyde Pierce) the two lead an expedition to find the planet and recover Flint’s treasure. But life aboard the spaceship RLS Legacy is far from plain sailing, with Captain Smollet (Emma Thompson) running a tight ship, and the new cook John Silver (Brian Murray), a cyborg who Jim believes has less than honest intentions for being a part of the ship’s crew.
If you’re familiar with Treasure Island, then you already know what you’re in for with Treasure Planet. Aside from a sci-fi update the story is left mostly intact, albeit slightly streamlined to fit within a ninety-five-minute children’s film. The story does, for the most part, translate well; however, what holds the film back from being incredible is the underwhelming character development. Most of the bonding between Jim and Silver happens in a montage. Smollet doesn’t get any particular moments to shine; and Doppler often comes across more as comic relief than someone who has actual genuine need to be there. So despite being one of the more interesting adaptations of the property in recent years, Treasure Planet does ultimately sacrifice much of what gave the original story so much gravitas by having characters that are so by-the-numbers.
The only other major problem I had with Treasure Planet was how long the film feels. Ninety-five-minutes is not a long time, especially for an adaptation of Treasure Island, but it feels like it goes on for over two hours. The pace of the film is so slow, and whilst the film is still enjoyable, I feel like the pacing needed to be considerably tighter and allow for greater character development.
Throughout his childhood Jim Hawkins (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) was fascinated by the legend of pirate Captain Flint and Treasure Planet. Now a young man who frequently has run-ins with the law, Jim discovers a map that details a route to the thought fictional place. With the help of his friend Dr. Delbert Doppler (David Hyde Pierce) the two lead an expedition to find the planet and recover Flint’s treasure. But life aboard the spaceship RLS Legacy is far from plain sailing, with Captain Smollet (Emma Thompson) running a tight ship, and the new cook John Silver (Brian Murray), a cyborg who Jim believes has less than honest intentions for being a part of the ship’s crew.
If you’re familiar with Treasure Island, then you already know what you’re in for with Treasure Planet. Aside from a sci-fi update the story is left mostly intact, albeit slightly streamlined to fit within a ninety-five-minute children’s film. The story does, for the most part, translate well; however, what holds the film back from being incredible is the underwhelming character development. Most of the bonding between Jim and Silver happens in a montage. Smollet doesn’t get any particular moments to shine; and Doppler often comes across more as comic relief than someone who has actual genuine need to be there. So despite being one of the more interesting adaptations of the property in recent years, Treasure Planet does ultimately sacrifice much of what gave the original story so much gravitas by having characters that are so by-the-numbers.
The only other major problem I had with Treasure Planet was how long the film feels. Ninety-five-minutes is not a long time, especially for an adaptation of Treasure Island, but it feels like it goes on for over two hours. The pace of the film is so slow, and whilst the film is still enjoyable, I feel like the pacing needed to be considerably tighter and allow for greater character development.
But the rest of Treasure Planet works excellently. The voice performances are generally stellar and the soundtrack is engaging and used to great effect. But what really makes Treasure Planet stand apart from almost any other Disney Animated Classic is the way the film looks.
During creation of the film a plan was devised by director Ron Clements to maintain a 70/30 percent split between traditionality and sci-fi respectively. So, whilst Treasure Planet is a sci-fi adaptation of Treasure Island, it effectively translates to seeing nineteenth century technology being given a sci-fi twist. For example, ships look like actual nineteenth century sailing ships, but fly through the sky rather than float on water. Everyone dresses in period appropriate attire, but some people are aliens and some, like Silver, have cybernetic enhancements. What is presented is a fantastically original approach to sci-fi that blends old and new seamlessly into something that is truly a sight to behold.
This mix of old and new doesn’t stop with the art style either but is baked into the animation process. Treasure Planet has the most extensive use of 3D computer animation in any traditionally animated Disney Classic to date. This is used in a multitude of ways including allowing the camera to move around a 3D environment whilst our 2D characters inhabit it and allow objects to be manipulated in three dimensions giving the scene considerably more depth. There are some moments where this 3D animation looks out of place or dated, but surprisingly the majority of these effects still look good twenty years later.
It was one of the earliest Disney animations, aside from Fantasia 2000, to be designed for IMAX and it really shows with the scale and scope of some of the shots used. Treasure Planet feels massive and presents a vast, gorgeous galaxy that you want to explore.
Despite being ripe for sequels, Treasure Planet didn’t even make back its budget at the box office making it one of the hardest bombs in Disney Animation history. Likely due to releasing during a very busy release schedule where it was competing against Harry Potter, Bond, and even other more established Disney properties. Much like Atlantis: The Lost Empire, I feel like Treasure Planet is perfect for a live action remake and could go on to be a successful franchise, especially now that Pirates of the Caribbean has been put out to pasture.
Treasure Planet is exceptional in a number of ways, but its hollow characters and slow pace make the film one I find myself finding difficult to recommend for family viewing. There’s a lot of style on show but not an awful lot of substance and whilst the film is generally enjoyable, it’s something I would find surprising if people find particularly engaging.
During creation of the film a plan was devised by director Ron Clements to maintain a 70/30 percent split between traditionality and sci-fi respectively. So, whilst Treasure Planet is a sci-fi adaptation of Treasure Island, it effectively translates to seeing nineteenth century technology being given a sci-fi twist. For example, ships look like actual nineteenth century sailing ships, but fly through the sky rather than float on water. Everyone dresses in period appropriate attire, but some people are aliens and some, like Silver, have cybernetic enhancements. What is presented is a fantastically original approach to sci-fi that blends old and new seamlessly into something that is truly a sight to behold.
This mix of old and new doesn’t stop with the art style either but is baked into the animation process. Treasure Planet has the most extensive use of 3D computer animation in any traditionally animated Disney Classic to date. This is used in a multitude of ways including allowing the camera to move around a 3D environment whilst our 2D characters inhabit it and allow objects to be manipulated in three dimensions giving the scene considerably more depth. There are some moments where this 3D animation looks out of place or dated, but surprisingly the majority of these effects still look good twenty years later.
It was one of the earliest Disney animations, aside from Fantasia 2000, to be designed for IMAX and it really shows with the scale and scope of some of the shots used. Treasure Planet feels massive and presents a vast, gorgeous galaxy that you want to explore.
Despite being ripe for sequels, Treasure Planet didn’t even make back its budget at the box office making it one of the hardest bombs in Disney Animation history. Likely due to releasing during a very busy release schedule where it was competing against Harry Potter, Bond, and even other more established Disney properties. Much like Atlantis: The Lost Empire, I feel like Treasure Planet is perfect for a live action remake and could go on to be a successful franchise, especially now that Pirates of the Caribbean has been put out to pasture.
Treasure Planet is exceptional in a number of ways, but its hollow characters and slow pace make the film one I find myself finding difficult to recommend for family viewing. There’s a lot of style on show but not an awful lot of substance and whilst the film is generally enjoyable, it’s something I would find surprising if people find particularly engaging.