Treasure Planet (Animated) (DVD)

...a freebie.

Treasure Planet is due to be released in the UK on Valentines Day (Feb 14 2003) – not really the kind of slushy romantic film one would expect to be released on such an auspicious date BUT…


MY OPINION HABITS

There will be no spoilers here and infact much of the plot goes undiscussed – discover it your way.


THE PLOT

For those of you who hadn’t guessed ...
...film is based around Stevenson’s Treasure Island. The connection is somewhat tenuous, however, with Stevenson’s masterpiece providing a basic plot sequence and some character names to play around with, but little more.

The story sees us following the childhood of one James Hawkins, an only child. His father has left his mother who is struggling to keep a tea house and control of her growing son. When Jim sees the chance to realise ... more

FILM REVIEW ONLY - NO DVD INFO

Jim Hawkins is just a typical teenager (well, as typical as you get these days) shunning work in favour of fast vehicles. He has driven his poor mother to the end of her wits following his father’s departure from the family home and his now frequent run-ins with the police.

What Jim needs is direction, a guiding hand that will show him right from wrong (that compulsory Disney element) and that will challenge him to reach ever higher. A chance meeting with a ‘gentleman’ who crashes his spaceship outside Jim’s mother’s tea house provides the impetus. Never recovering from the crash, Jim is left holding a strange sphere which literally and metaphorically holds the key to his future.

MY CINEMA HABITS

Don’t go getting strange ideas here, but I do feel that it is important to know a bit about the background of the reviewer to appreciate where some of the thoughts may have come from.

I don’t go to the cinema much, it’s not really my thing. I don’t tend to pay that much attention to who (or what) is in vogue but I am a stickler for a freebie and this particular visit fell into that category – a freebie.

Treasure Planet is due to be released in the UK on Valentines Day (Feb 14 2003) – not really the kind of slushy romantic film one would expect to be released on such an auspicious date BUT…

MY OPINION HABITS

There will be no spoilers here and infact much of the plot goes undiscussed – discover it your way.

THE PLOT

For those of you who hadn’t guessed from the title of the film and the name of the lead character, this film is based around Stevenson’s Treasure Island. The connection is somewhat tenuous, however, with Stevenson’s masterpiece providing a basic plot sequence and some character names to play around with, but little more.

The story sees us following the childhood of one James Hawkins, an only child. His father has left his mother who is struggling to keep a tea house and control of her growing son. When Jim sees the chance to realise his childhood dreams, born out of childhood tales read with a torch under the bed clothes, and the chance to search for Treasure Planet, Dr Doppler is only too keen to assist young Jim in his quest (hoping to make his own name at the same time).

The good Doctor agrees to finance a voyage of discovery, led by the able Captain Amelia and a hired crew of questionable merit. Amelia is, however, despite her sexy feline characterisation, not one to be messed with, and she soon has Jim working hard as a cabin boy overseen by John Silver, Master of the Galley.

Despite the long journey, we soon arrive at Treasure Planet where the real story unfolds. Enter, stage left, a robot, B.E.N, whose missing chips lead to a bad case of cybernetic dementia and the scene is set for a reliable, almost predictable ending, true to Disney’s style but with the odd twist and turn to keep you on your toes.

The plot is concise and well tuned to the needs of animation. Unusually for Disney, the film does not tend to the sickly sweet, favouring the darker side. Themes include love (of the sweet and not so sweet varieties), greed, loyalty, courage and general fortitude. Recipe for a moral film if ever there was one.

THE ACTION

Disney rarely disappoint when it comes to films designed to enthral and capture the attention and this film is no different. This is a fast paced animation (save for one section about an hour in, of which more later) and we are whizzed from one world to the next in a seemingly never ending journey through worlds and emotions. Fight sequences (of which there are many) are fast paced and detailed and these contrast well with the more emotional scenes, be they love (it IS Disney), learning or darker realisations.

Air surfing and sailing scenes are literally bursting with energy, one could almost feel tired watching them and collective sighs of relief were heard as close shaves were survived. This can only be a credit to the animators.

THE ANIMATION

This IS Disney. It IS amazing. A good balance has been struck between computer animation and good old fashioned hand drawing. The film is rich and colourful with a depth of image more associated with IMAX style films. This is not 3D but one could be forgiven for thinking it so, particularly during the scenes prior to Jim’s journey commencing as we are flown to the spaceport, starting out a long way away and gradually moving in, become part of the bustling streets below.

I’d love to see this film made into full 3D IMAX format as I think it would be superb. It has been made in large screen format but to go the extra mile would be brilliant.

The detail is incredible and attention to continuity is good. The mix of computer and hand drawn images lends itself well to the believability of that which we are seeing. This is not the flat animation of the Jungle Book or, more recently, Lilo and Stitch, but a complex mix lying somewhere beyond traditional animation yet stopping short of the Pixar creations such as Monsters Inc..

THE CHARACTERISATION

Something that Disney has always been good at is giving its characters character. This film is packed full of human emotion yet, with the exception of Jim and his mother, none of the characters is of human form. Somehow, the alien forms do have exceedingly human characteristics.

The Doctor is of canine form, the Captain, feline. Mr Silver is a cyborg (half human, half robot) complete with pneumatic leg and a rather strange optical device in place of one eye. The cute character comes in the form of Morph, a jelly-like blob who can, and does, reform into the shape of whatever it desires before reverting back to a bug-eyed, cute, jelly state. Then we have all manner of alien forms, multi-headed monsters and flatulent blobs. The evil element is supplied by a giant arachnid with lobster-like claws who has the ability to unnerve the most spider loving amongst us. Rarely is such a mix between the almost real, the real but altered and the make-believe seen used to such good effect.

As a result of us having followed Jim from his formative years and on through the story, his character is the best developed. The traditional morals that flow from every good Disney movie are “learned” by Jim and the audience in an almost simultaneous fashion.

The characterisation in not just down to the artists, however. Those who provide the voices contribute enormously to the authenticity and believability of the characters.

Emma Thompson makes for a wonderful captain, with a haughty air that could only be conveyed by a plum accent. Bill Murray is another veteran of the voice scene and provides a wonderfully rich and adaptable voice to John Silver. Joseph Gordon-Levitt provides the voice for Jim although in terms of characterisation Jim is the least dependent on a voice to portray his persona as the animation is so superb.

MUSIC

Unlike many of the traditional Disney animations, music is not one of the high points of this release. James Newton-Howard produced the score but I can safely say that despite a penchant for remembering music, I cannot recall a single thing about the soundtrack. It was unmemorable. This is a shame in some respects as the Disney take-away tune is, for many, one of the highlights of the genre. The Goo Goo Dolls just didn’t live up to it!

AUDIENCE APPEAL

The bottom line with any film is, will you enjoy it? Here I struggle. I cannot identify the target audience for this piece.

Although rated U (PG in the US), this film is much darker than one would have expected (both in screen tone and theme) and there are elements that would be fairly scary for the younger audience members. Despite this, however, there is not really enough to keep the older teenager amused. I fear that this is a film that might well find itself between ages, too old for the young ones, not old enough for the older kids but decidedly “too childish” for the age in between (in their opinions).

The opening of the film is narration, a not-quite-audibly-clear narrator setting the scene using words that would probably be beyond the comprehension of your average 6-8 year old. The younger members of the audience were lost again about an hour into the film (there was a very noticeable restlessness in the auditorium at this point) when the plot slowed for just too long.

In terms of characterisation and hidden messages the plot is also fairly advanced, cutting itself off from some of the younger audience members. There is a subtlety about this film that requires explanation for the youngsters. The villain (Silver) is not bad through and through, he has a soft side. The hero (Jim) is a little too rebellious as a child for a parent not to want to intervene and explain to her own child that his behaviour is not to be taken as an example.

That having been said, the story is paced such that the younger child will understand. Pauses in the animation are built into scenes where it is critical to identify a certain portion of the screen or character’s action. The cute element is there in the forms of Morph and B.E.N.. There is even the obligatory toilet humour in the form of a flatulent alien who speaks “Flatular”… yes, you guessed it ….raaaaaassssssspp!

As an adult the film was fun, it did not drag as I suspected it might and contained enough double entendres and Freudian slips to keep most amused. I was left slightly bemused by the point of the film (as if Disney has to have a point) but this did not detract from the overall enjoyment.

I would imagine that the target audience is 8-13. There is enough to challenge them intellectually (the child behind me proffered an explanation as to the behaviour of black holes at one point) but enough action and “wow” scenes to keep them amused. Hopefully children of this age will find it within themselves to act and think like children for the 1 hour and 35 minutes required by this film as it won’t disappoint.

CAREBEAR’s BOTTOM LINE

Yep, I’d recommend this one. Not entirely sure why but over analysis sometimes leaves one feeling that way. A good family film that is unlikely to disappoint.

 

...less