REVIEW
Featuring the voices of David Hyde Pierce, Emma Thompson and Martin Short
Directed by Ron Clements and John Musker
Now showing
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As I sat through The Ring last weekend, I watched a mother stuff three 10-year-olds into my row of seats before running off to see Harry Potter, occasionally checking in on her frightened kids with a big smile and more snacks. Only slightly appalled, it suddenly crossed my mind that the Potter series may not necessarily be any less frightening. And heavens to Betsy, what about the children?
Woooosh, along comes Disney and Treasure Island’s Jim Hawkins to solve that problem. This time, Jim (voiced by Joseph Gordon-Levitt) gets in trouble on a jet-powered, snowboard-looking thingy that flies through space, until he lands the mother of all responsibility – a journey to Treasure Planet, where Captain Flint’s treasure awaits.
Treasure Island was first made into a film in 1934, and everyone from Chinese director Herman Yau to the Muppets has since toyed with Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic formula. Disney is no dodo on cashing in like good swashbuckling pirates. The franchise has hit the poop deck this time, with some new, highly marketable characters, and Disney already released Treasure Planet on Playstation 2 before the film’s release date. Arrrgh!
Pirating aside, Disney has done an excellent job adapting Stevenson’s 19th century story for "spacers," combining a buccaneer esthetic with galactic fantasy. While Beauty and The Beast or The Little Mermaid appeal to young girls, it’s refreshing to see Disney release boyish material that makes up for Atlantis.
Disney is also making up for its racial stereotypes, pulling every style of animated character it has ever created out of the vault. The recent influence of Japanese animation is evident, as well as more traditional, full-colour characters like Jim’s mom (Laurie Metcalf) and the ship’s captain (Emma Thompson). The result is a little too eclectic for the film’s contrasting backdrop of past and future.
Toddlers at the preview seemed to respond well to the robotic B.E.N. (voiced by Martin Short), and while adults may snooze without missing much, Treasure Planet does harken back to the days of "blow me down" adventure and is a perfect alternative to, well, The Ring. Jolly Roger! |
