Official Title: Treasure Planet
Release: November 27, 2002 (Second release this year!)
Running Time: 85 minutes
Estimated Cost: $140 million
Estimated Revenue: $109.59million (we haven’t seen a box office flop since Black Cauldron)
Overall Rating: 3 stars out of 5
Plot Summary:
Jim Hawkins, a rebellious teen, finds a map to Treasure Planet where pirate Captain Flint has buried all of his treasures. Jim’s mom allows him to go on this adventure with her explorer friend, Dr. Delbert Doppler.
Doppler hires a space traveling ship and a crew – including Captain Amelia, First Mate: Mr. Arrows and cook: John Silver. Amelia makes Jim Silver’s cabin boy. Silver, who’s right side was mostly robotics, is revealed to be the leader of the mutinous crew. Mr. Arrows is the first victim of the mutiny as the crew pushes him overboard during a solar storm.
Jim, Doppler and Amelia escape from the mutiny onto the treasure planet, but the map was back on the ship. Jim gets kidnapped in trying to rescue the map, as do Amelia and Dopper.
After discovering that the map can create a dimensional transport, Jim leads Silver and the crew to Flint’s treasure. The place was booby-trapped, a fact then B.E.N. – robot guard – only remembers at the last possible second. Silver abandons his crew and the loot to save Jim.
The planet starts to self destruct, but Jim recalculates the map to send them back home. Jim also lets Silver free, as opposed to being tried for mutiny. Silver gives Jim whatever booty he had; which Jim gives to his mom to rebuild her inn.
An epilogue, shows a slightly older Jim return from the Interstellar Academy to a party at the inn. Dopper and Amelia have kittens/pups.
Songs:
Not a musical.
Plot Rating: 2.5 stars out of 5
Didn’t I just watch this movie? Wasn’t it the basic same plot as Atlantis? What this plot had going for it, was that it got me hooked much sooner than Atlantis
Animation Rating: 3 out of 5
The 70/30 rule was liberally applied to all aspects of this film (both in its design, 70% old/ 30% sci-fi/tech; and in the way it was drawn). That allowed this to be a very visually appealing movie. I must say the best 3D animation from WDAS yet, was Silver’s CG arm! It seamlessly blended with the rest of his body, I had to second guess myself many times.
The Test of Time:
Lost, just like the treasure.
Through the Modern Lens
Retellings, rebootings and sequels are what rule the box office in the early teens. This wasn’t quite the rule in the early aughts.
Through the modern lens, I say WDAS has a lot to live up to for the rest of the their life, making CG segments as wonderful as those in this movie.
Next Up:
Brother Bear
