I believe Treasure Planet was at one point among the most expensive animated films ever made, and while that obviously didn’t automatically make it brilliant, I think the movie is still pretty great.
Treasure Planet (2002)
Equally, it’s ‘under-performance’ box-office wise doesn’t automatically make it poor, either.
To me, this early 2000s era of Disney is kind of a push toward making animated films for somewhat older audiences. This one and Atlantis or even Hercules perhaps, seem to point to that (since-abandoned) trend, but most folks consider the time period as a slump for the company.
Still, tweaking Robert Louis Stephenson’s Treasure Island and transferring it into a sci-fi setting definitely let the artists showcase a new world and fun ideas (like the solar surfing) while at the same time holding onto a tried and true storyline.
For me, everything pretty much works great in the change from sea pirates to sky pirates.
There are a few aspects I didn’t love (like poor old Ben), but they were minor. One thing that stood out were the performances, especially Brian Murray as John Silver and David Hyde Pierce as Dr Doppler, though it was impossible not to hear Niles Crane the whole time 😀 (I was also thrilled to recognise Roscoe Lee Browne as Mr Arrow.)
While I’ve hinted at the maybe slightly older audience here, our hero Jim never crosses over into what could be called ‘cold-blooded, weapons-based violence’ – even to save himself. So that’s one reason for me to note that it’s still clearly a PG text, but that’s not a mark against the film either.
There’s a classic, adventure mix of action, suspense, mystery and exploration in Treasure Planet but above all for me, I think it’s the mentor/surrogate father figure relationship that keeps everything together.
4 Stars
The Review Heap 
“This is what I always think of as the ‘One-Eyed Willie’ homage, just with bonus eyes of course”…haha, loved The Goonies reference😂😊
I’m probably even more behind with Disney than with anime. There are so many classic films that I haven’t seen yet, that encyclopedia isn’t even correct for that list anymore😅 So, it’s probably going to be a long while before I see this, but I do like the sound (and the look ) of it. Great post!
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Hope you like it if you do get time – I feel the same with Disney, plenty of gaps in my knowledge there 😀
I thought you’d like that little reference, what a classic film, huh?
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Definitely! It’s one of my favorite childhood movies. I have a cardgame that’s based on the movie that is pretty neat too! Definitely a lot of fun to play! 😄
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It’s too bad that this film didn’t do better at the box-office, it’s pretty fun and visually very interesting. I also love the Captain, she rules!
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Yes! Emma Thompson, love her voice. I wonder if the lack of a romantic sub-plot was also a factor re: box office?
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Could’ve been a factor. I also think the popularity of CG graphics made people less interested in movies with traditional animation. Which is too bad because the animation in Treasure Planet looks great!
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Agree 🙂
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I remember seeing that movie when I was a kid. I remember liking it even though I didn’t consider it to be my favorite Disney movie (saying nothing about my current long-running issues). The sci-fi attempt at Treasure Planet did work more often than not.
This review also gives you another similarity to me with Iridium Eye. Both of us have reviewed an animated film with Brian Murray in it. Fun fact: Murray is originally from South Africa of all places.
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Yeah, that source material helps so much, I reckon. Disney aren’t too bad at adaptations… when they’re not ripping people off, that is.
Cool! What Brian Murray film have you featured?
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Of course. It was a creative take which I’ll give Disney credit. I know, right? Hahahaha! XD
It was the movie My Dog Tulip. He does a good job acting in it, but…I wished that movie was better and that’s me putting it nicely.
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😀
Cool, I’ve checked out the review now and woah, it does not sound good.
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Thanks!
Yeah, it wasn’t a good part of his filmography or Christopher Plummer’s portfolio.
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