Image courtesy of wallpapercave.com
Hello, everyone. With this review, we go from the end of an official trilogy to the end of an unofficial one. For those who don’t know, this is the third year where I cover an overlooked animated sci-fi movie from the early 2000s that should be held in much higher regard than it is for its 20th Anniversary.
It started in 2020 with Titan A.E., then continued in 2021 with Atlantis: The Lost Empire, and now, in 2022, it concludes with this movie.
Like Atlantis (and, technically, Titan A.E.*) before it, this comes to us from Disney. The only real difference is that Atlantis more underperformed than outright bombed, whereas the bookending movies did**. Even so, they each deserve their own following, and hopefully, these reviews can help in some way to give them more attention.
The biggest thing they have in common is the cores of their stories, which is our protagonists going on their own adventures to achieve their main goals, whether it’s finding a new home (like in Titan A.E.) or looking for the stuff of legends (like in Atlantis and this movie).
Before I continue, I want to clarify one thing: This of course does not mean I will no longer cover animated sci-fi movies or movies I consider to be overlooked gems (far from it, especially in the case of the latter; there are plenty more examples of that). It’s just that this movie was the last big example from the early 2000s that I could remember. I am aware that there are likely more, but these were the three from that time that have really stood out to me.
Folks, for this review, we’re returning to the futuristic type of setting, as we set course for Treasure Planet.
The film serves as a reimagining of Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel Treasure Island, which was a major influence on how we see and read about pirates in our popular culture even today (with one big example even being referenced here, which I will get to later in more ways than one). Even with the difference in settings and the majority of the characters also being reimagined into aliens, robots, and in one case a cyborg, the main plot points are largely the same with some changes here and there.
The story follows a rebellious teenager named Jim Hawkins, who has been seeking adventure ever since he was a kid, when he read about the story of Captain Flint, a pirate who is said to have hidden his loot on what came to be known as Treasure Planet. Ever since Jim’s father left when he was young, he has been trying to help his mother make ends meet working at her inn.
One day, a pirate named Billy Bones crashes nearby. When Jim goes to investigate, he discovers Billy is dying, and before he dies, he gives Jim a map, and warns him to “beware the cyborg”. Shortly after, the cyborg arrives with his own band of pirates, raiding and burning the inn to the ground in search of the map.
Jim then vows to make it up to his mother. Their friend and financier, Dr. Delbert Doppler, accompanies him on the RLS Legacy, which is under the command of Captain Amelia and her first mate Mr. Arrow. However, their crew is led by John Silver, who Jim believes is the cyborg Billy warned him about. Jim is then assigned to work with him. Although the two of them slowly begin to bond, Silver may have different motivations for being on the voyage in search of the planet.
What Worked: As with Atlantis and Titan A.E., there is a lot to like here as well. For starters, the voice cast is amazing. Jim Hawkins is voiced by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who gives a fantastic performance for someone who would go on to be an A-lister with movies like Inception. He embodies Jim’s personality in a similar manner to how Michael J. Fox portrayed Milo Thatch in Atlantis. You can feel Jim’s determination through his performance, too.
South African actor Brian Murray (not to be confused with Brian Doyle-Murray, although he has also voiced a pirate) voices Silver, and he brings a lot of charm and charisma to the role to where even if you don’t agree with his methods, you still like him as a character. In fact, as he bonds with Jim over the course of the movie, you feel that he’s kind of a father figure to him. At times, you do feel like Silver’s a villain, but there’s someone I will get to momentarily that feels like even more of a villain than he does.
Next, we have David Hyde Pierce as Doppler, and he’s no stranger to voice acting for Disney, having worked with Pixar by voicing Slim in A Bug’s Life. Of the characters you can say provide comic relief, he’s the one of three here that’s in the movie the most. As one of the more comedic actors in this, he does get some good moments, and his delivery suits his character very well, especially in those moments. Though he’s in the movie the most, he didn’t provide the best comic relief in the movie, at least to me. As for the one who does, I’ll get to him later.
We then have Emma Thompson as Captain Amelia, who in a way is a parallel to Jim with her desire for adventure. She also gives one of the best supporting performances in the movie, which in turn makes her one of the best supporting characters.
Even though neither are in the movie that much, Laurie Metcalf (who many may recognize as the voice of Andy’s Mom in the Toy Story franchise) and Roscoe Lee Browne are both really good as Jim’s mother Sarah and Mr. Arrow, respectively. Browne in particular gives a very commanding and intimidating presence to Mr. Arrow.
Before I get to the two performances that stand out the most, the smaller roles most worth noting are Patrick McGoohan as Billy Bones, Corey Burton (Mole from Atlantis) as Onus, the Legacy’s lookout, Tony Jay (who you may remember as Judge Claude Frollo from The Hunchback of Notre Dame) as the narrator in the beginning of the movie, and an uncredited Peter Cullen as Captain Flint himself.
Now for the two standouts.
The most intimidating presence hands down is given to the character of Scroop. As alluded to earlier, he’s the one who feels more like a villain than Silver. This is thanks in no small part to the fact that he’s voiced by Michael Wincott, who is perhaps best known for his portrayal of Top Dollar in The Crow. Even outside of the two movies, his voice is still pretty menacing, whether it’s a main character or a supporting one.
The best character in the movie is also the best comic relief, and that is Silver’s pet, Morph, voiced by sound editor Dane Davis, who is otherwise best known as the sound editor for the Matrix franchise. Simply put, every comedic moment they give to Morph is hilarious. You could say he’s kind of like The Genie from Aladdin, which, fittingly enough, also shares the same directors in John Musker and Ron Clements (who also cowrote it). Though they only received story credit here, Aladdin writers Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio were also involved in this.***
The comedic timing itself is overall pretty good. For example, when used during the action sequences, it doesn’t feel like it stops for a moment to make a joke and then get back to the action.
Speaking of the action, it’s very intense when it does happen, most notably a sequence involving a star going supernova and then forming into a black hole.
Both the comedy and the action also help enhance the story, which makes this feel distinct from its source material while still acknowledging it.
They also provide a sense of adventure and excitement, and that is further conveyed by James Newton Howard’s amazing score. To me, it felt reminiscent of Alan Silvestri’s score for Back to the Future and John Williams’s scores for Indiana Jones at times, particularly in the theme.
It may be the main music of the movie, but it’s not the only music. John Rzeznik of The Goo Goo Dolls did two songs for this, the most famous being “I’m Still Here”, which serves as Jim’s central theme. It’s not only a really good song, but it’s also one of those Disney songs that is effective when you hear it in the movie and on its own. It fits the scene it’s used in, which itself is actually very well done. To me, it felt like the “Strangers Like Me” sequence from Tarzan, which was my personal favorite scene in that movie.
The other song, “Always Know Where You Are”, is good, but what’s surprising about it is that there were ultimately two versions made. John’s version can only be heard in the credits, and yet the other version (a cover by BBMak) is the one on the album.
One thing that I felt both worked and didn’t work was the pacing. Narrative-wise, it goes by pretty quickly. However, it goes by so quickly that it feels like one character almost gets the shaft in this movie.
What Didn’t Work: I really only have one major issue. Although Martin Short is really good in the movie, his character, a robot named B.E.N., is barely in it. He comes in at the end of the second act going into the third act. Because he’s only in the second half, he feels almost like an afterthought, as his character arc gets resolved so fast that you could be wondering why he was even in the movie, and I wouldn’t blame you.
Now, that doesn’t mean he’s not useful. He is, and also, as the third comic relief character, he does get some good dialogue. I just felt he could’ve been brought in a bit sooner, and had more screen time to make him stand out more.
Overall: Like Titan A.E. and Atlantis before it, Treasure Planet is another overlooked animated sci-fi gem that deserves way more attention than it initially got. Thankfully, in the years since its release, it has received a well deserved cult following. It also gets a lot right in terms of both acknowledging its source material and putting its own unique spin on it. The core story beats are largely intact, and really the main differences are in the character designs.
Even on its own, it still gets a lot right. It’s funny when it needs to be, it’s intense when it needs to be, and it’s even heartwarming when it needs to be. All of those moments are really sold based on the performances (even with Martin Short’s performance as B.E.N., despite him having minimal screen time), the action, the overall pacing, the humor and writing as a whole, and especially the music.
Not only that, it has compelling characters, including a very sympathetic and likable protagonist in Jim Hawkins, the morally gray Silver, the always hilarious Morph, the always determined Doppler and Amelia, and an outright psychopath in Scroop, among others.
As the old saying goes, it’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey. It holds true for all three of these movies, and then when you see them get to where they need to go, it always feels earned.
To paraphrase another saying, a studio’s trash is an audience’s treasure. These three are treasures certainly worth seeking out, and I hope the reviews for each have helped draw more attention to them.
Next time, we go from facing pirates seeking loot to facing mercenaries seeking money. Only this time, we have Santa on our side instead of John McClane.
To close out this review, similar to Atlantis, this is actually another remake I would love to see. My only problem is it seems even riskier to do this than that. With something like this, it’s more likely to go either way. It could either be a hit or it could bomb harder than the original.
Even so, I’d still love to see it, but it’d probably be best to do Atlantis first, should they decide to go through with doing them.
*It was initially released by Fox when it came out, but is now technically owned by Disney since they bought Fox.
**They didn’t just bomb, they bombed so hard that any future plans were scrapped, including a planned sequel to this movie that would’ve had Willem Dafoe voice Ironbeard, the main villain of the movie, which of course I would’ve loved to see. The planned story was very interesting, too.
***One of their other famous works is also referenced here, so it wouldn’t be that surprising if it turns out they themselves put that in, as a bit of foreshadowing for what they would do later.