Treasure Planet

 
Treasure Planet produced by Disney.

Plot: A sci-fi version of the classic swashbuckling tale. Instead of sailing to the island of treasure, the crew take a ship-rocket hybrid. The captain is a cat-woman, the first mate is a talking rock, Ben Gunn is a robot, and a certain cook is a cyborg with an unexpected heart.

Genre: Science Fiction, Treasure Island, Animation, Movies

Reading Level: Rated G

Similar Titles: Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Titan A.E.

Personal Thoughts: The movie received mixed reviews. Much of the "original" aspects of the re-telling are gimmicky, such as a spaceship-sailing ship. Also, most of the characters fit into ridged stereotypes. For example, the captain is the tough chick, the doctor is the goofy scholar, and Jim is the troubled teen. The characters fail to surprise or captivate the audience, since they are largely mirrors of other films.

Still, the movie does provide value, especially from a film history perspective. Treasure Planet represents one of the last attempts to mingle science fiction, computer graphics, and traditional animation. Similar titles, such as Titan A.E., tried similar techniques. While the methods proved unpopular, they do reveal a brief, but meaningful, period of experimentation in animation history, when studios tried to combine old animation with new technology while keeping both aspects distinct, rather than interdependent.