Treasure Planet

I remember being disappointed in this movie when I first saw it way back in '03.  Being one of the few Disney movies my wife had not seen, however, we gave it another go round.  Sadly, my opinion only lessened.

Treasure Planet is - not surprisingly - a Disney retelling of Treasure Island but in space.  The film gets started with a young Jim Hawkins (Austin Majors, voiced by Joseph Gordon-Levitt for the rest of the movie) "reading" an ingenious holo-novel about the legendary Treasure Planet, narrated by the late, legendary, Tony Jay.  Fast forward to Jim's teen years and he's a precocious daredevil whose run-ins with the robocops distress his mother (Laurie Metcalf) who is trying to run a busy tavern by herself.  Their lives are sure to change, however, when Billy Bones (Patrick McGoohan) - here a giant snapping turtle creature - dies on their doorstep leaving a mysterious map.  Any more summary would be ridiculous as the movie follows the outline of Treasure Island nearly verbatim despite being set in another world.  A few changes were made that Disneyfied the story a bit like the fact that Jim is no longer an orphan and the ending was a bit happier.  Anyone who knows the story though will suffer from some unpleasant deja vu.

The artwork here is the best part of the movie.  At times it is inspired - a rich science fiction pallet with a steampunk influence.  At others it is absurd as goofy aliens fly aboard sailing ships in space.  It also can never make up it's mind as to what should be shown as 3D renderings and what shouldn't.  The characters all feel pretty recycled as nearly each one not only is a reflection of the Robert Louis Stevenson characters, but has the skeleton and voice of some other Disney character.  From the female feline captain of the "RLS Legacy" (Emma Thompson) and her first mate Arrow (Roscoe Lee Browne) to the cyborg cook John Silver ((Brian Murray) it all feels tired and done before.  Even David Hyde Pierce as Jim's excitable canine-esque companion (oh look everybody, a cat character and a dog character!) and Martin Short as B.E.N the android can't put an original spin on these characters that should be able to be so.

This adaptation had so much potential but fell about as flat as it could.  If you want a good retelling of this classic yarn, try Muppet Treasure Island instead.

** (2/5 stars)