Treasure Planet

Once again Disney in the early 2000s with a Science Fiction film.  This one is again supposed to be that huge blockbuster film with the music and voices and famous IP.  But it falls short just like most of the films in this era.  Treasure Planet had a 140 Million dollar budget and only brought in 110 Million in boxoffice.  The story is based on Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson.  It starred Joseph Gordon Levitt, Martin Short, and David Hyde Pierce.  The big musical number was from the Goo Goo Dolls.  The rise of Pixar with Toy Story and Monsters Inc. really took the children’s market away from the Disney Animated Studios.  This is another example of too much towards the adults and teens and not enough directed at children.

This movie is somewhat of a complicated mess.  The storyline moves very quickly in the beginning where they try to explain the world, the history, the main character, as well as the story of treasure island.  There is too much too quickly.  As the film goes, it starts to fall in line, but the confusion in the beginning somewhat taints most of the understanding of what is happening.  I don’t know the original book, but when you get near the end I am assuming they took some pretty big liberties as to what was changed from the original.

The animation and music both feel like an after school cartoon.  The aliens are very stylized, but not very Disney-esque.  The music fells like something from top 40 radio at the time that was forced into the film.  The connection between everything that makes many of the Disney Canon films magical are all overlooked here.

I think picking Joseph Gordon Levitt was a bit of a misstep here.  He had just finished the show Third Rock from the Sun as the cute kid in the series.  I think the idea was to use him similar to Jonathan Taylor Thomas in the Lion King.  But Levitt was in his early twenties and growing as an actor.  Rather than having that familiar voice and fun child acting, we got a more dramatic performance from a voice that was less iconic than it had been a few years earlier.

In the end this is one of those Disney films that tried too hard.  It came out at a time when they weren’t surging in popularity and did not have the marketshare needed.  It feels much more like Sword in the Stone, Black Cauldron, or Robin Hood than it does like Aladdin or Lion King.  In general, this one isn’t very good.  If you are looking for something Sci-fi and serious go with Atlantis. 

Run Time – 95 Minutes

75th Academy Awards – 1 Nominations

Best Animated Feature Film - Nominated

Disney Animated Canon so far in order of Quality

1. Beauty and the Beast 9-29-1991

2. The Hunchback of Notre Dame 6-21-1996

3. Lady and the Tramp 6-22-1955

4. Aladdin 11-25-1992

5. Tarzan 6-18-1999

6. Mulan 6-19-1998

7. Peter Pan 2-5-1953

8. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh 3-11-1977

9. One Hundred and One Dalmatians 1-25-1961

10. The Lion King 6-15-1994

11. Hercules 6-13-1997

12. The Emperor’s New Groove 12-15-2000

13. Lilo & Stitch 6-21-2002

14. Dumbo 10-23-1941

15. Atlantis: The Lost Empire 6-15-2001

16. The Fox and the Hound 7-10-1981

17. Oliver and Company 11-18-1988

18. Cinderella 2-15-1950

19. The Little Mermaid 11-17-1989

20. Pinocchio 2-7-1940

21. Sleeping Beauty 1-29-1959

22. The Adventure of Ichabod and Mr. Toad 10-5-1949

23. The Jungle Book 10-18-1967

24. The Great Mouse Detective 7-2-1986

25. Fantasia 2000 6-16-2000

26. Robin Hood 11-8-1973

27. The Rescuers Down Under 11-16-1990

28. Make Mine Music 4-20-1946

29. Fun and Fancy Free 9-27-1947

30. Dinosaur 5-19-2000

31. Treasure Planet 11-27-2002

32. The Aristocats 12-11-1970

33. Pocahontas 6-23-1995

34. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs 12-21-1937

35. Saludos Amigos 8-24-1942

36. The Sword in the Stone 12-25-1963

37. The Rescuers 6-22-1977

38. Alice in Wonderland 7-26-1951

39. The Black Cauldron 7-24-1985

40. Melody Time 5-27-1948

41. Bambi 8-13-1942

42. Fantasia 11-13-1940

43. The Three Caballeros 12-21-1944