Treasure Planet

Yep, the 2002 Disney movie: 

Why not view another variation of the Treasure Island story for the first time? I know people will gasp but as someone who is ::coughcough44yearsold:: there are many on Letterboxd who are quite a bit younger than me. By the time this came out I was a “too cool for it adult” and despite millions holding a soft spot for the picture, it’s just now that I felt like giving this picture a shot.

This blending of a science fiction future with an 18th century aesthetic didn’t always hit the mark with its story beats or its humor. Minor quibbles aside, the film was still a pretty good time. There were various story beats and characters I recognized from viewing Muppet Treasure Island just the day previous. Jim Hawkins is an impetuous teenager (instead of a young boy) who is handed a treasure map by Billy Bones, he and John Silver have a parent-child sort of relationship, there’s the first mate Mr. Arrow, etc.

The look and style of the movie was delightful… even if “a nautical vessel flying through space” had been done in anime before and well, there’s a 1982 Bulgarian animated movie called Treasure Planet which has the same basic plot… although skimming through it on YouTube and viewing its amazingly janky visuals and many WTF visuals, let’s not even go down that rabbit hole now! Rather, let’s talk about the interesting voice cast, including big names like Joseph Gordon-Levitt, David Hyde Pierce and Emma Thompson, along with great voices like Roscoe Lee Browne and Michael Wincott.

The 2002 Treasure Planet was still a fun adventure in a cool steampunk sort of environment fearing a teen hero who is kind of whiny at first yet still felt different from the norm for Disney—he had both an earring and was on probation for minor offenses. Heck, even the lead singer of the Goo Goo Dolls provided a pair of catchy tunes for the soundtrack-and there was a nice James Newton Howard score. AND, Thompson voiced a Girlboss who wasn’t insufferable or an idiot.

I’ll accept a minuscule part of the blame for not supporting the film at the time and resulting in Disney’s 2D animation department falling apart. I was happy that Treasure Planet did not disappoint.