Disney Movie Marathon Challenge

Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001)

This one is very strange! Watching it was a first for both of us and it is another one (perhaps even more so than The Emperor’s New Groove) which tends to get forgotten! For those that haven’t seen the film, it’s unsurprisingly about the search for Atlantis, but there is some pretty weird stuff that goes alongside this.

Milo a would-be explorer/academic/linguist/archaeologist (as usual in pop culture, academics can do everything!) joins a gang who are determined to find the lost city. Spoiler: we later find out the rest of gang are in it for monetary purposes.

There is some OK world building here. The bugs/creatures they see on the way to Atlantis, the steampunk/Jules Verne tech, and the look of the city itself are really cool. However, the real issue is that there is just too much going on. There are lots of good ideas, but also too much plot, so you are bombarded without having time to take it all in.

This starts with the opening sequence, where so much action is packed into about two minutes that we initially weren’t sure if Atlantis was being attacked by aliens or what was going on. ‘Maybe they’re going with alien invasion as the reason for Atlantis disappearing into the sea,’ we thought, ‘interesting twist.’ Later developments seemed to suggest this was not the case, though what actually did happen I am still somewhat fuzzy about.

The movie continued in this mystifying vein, never really bothering to explain anything, and finally culminating in the inexplicable appearance of some ‘iron giant’-looking chaps to protect the city at then end. This looked pretty spectacular, but again was completely unexplained! This is not to mention, the whole crystal consuming Kida and her mother element, which apparently provided the force of the city!? It was never clear whether the crystal was conscious or what the heck was going on. You definitely don’t need explanations for everything in movies (see my thoughts on the live action Beauty and the Beast for more on this :p), but this felt like too many ideas. Children would certainly find it difficult to follow I think. I certainly did!

Because of the complicated plot, you don't get enough time to get to know the characters, who, when the film pauses for half a second, turn out to be really worth getting to know. The gang Milo goes in search of Atlantis with are an interesting diverse group and I wanted more time with them. Dr Joshua Sweet and Audrey Ramirez in particular are great characters. The Atlanteans, on the other hand, are less developed and only the heroine Kida gets a bit of a personality. I do like the fact that Michael J Fox is in this movie. He deserved a better film though! More Michael J Fox in Disney movies, please!

For me, ultimately, if you want an animation about the search for a lost city you are better sticking with The Road to Eldorado.

I’m glad we watched it, but won’t return in a hurry! :)
 
This is the story of Sting writing the music and then Disney revised the story so much that they dumped his material? It's a shame, I like Sting...a lot more than Tom Jones. :rolleyes1

Yep that's the one! The songs Sting seems to have come up with look interesting but only one or to made the final cut! The original story was basically completely different though and he seems to have written the songs for that film.
 
Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001)

This one is very strange! Watching it was a first for both of us and it is another one (perhaps even more so than The Emperor’s New Groove) which tends to get forgotten! For those that haven’t seen the film, it’s unsurprisingly about the search for Atlantis, but there is some pretty weird stuff that goes alongside this.

Milo a would-be explorer/academic/linguist/archaeologist (as usual in pop culture, academics can do everything!) joins a gang who are determined to find the lost city. Spoiler: we later find out the rest of gang are in it for monetary purposes.

There is some OK world building here. The bugs/creatures they see on the way to Atlantis, the steampunk/Jules Verne tech, and the look of the city itself are really cool. However, the real issue is that there is just too much going on. There are lots of good ideas, but also too much plot, so you are bombarded without having time to take it all in.

This starts with the opening sequence, where so much action is packed into about two minutes that we initially weren’t sure if Atlantis was being attacked by aliens or what was going on. ‘Maybe they’re going with alien invasion as the reason for Atlantis disappearing into the sea,’ we thought, ‘interesting twist.’ Later developments seemed to suggest this was not the case, though what actually did happen I am still somewhat fuzzy about.

The movie continued in this mystifying vein, never really bothering to explain anything, and finally culminating in the inexplicable appearance of some ‘iron giant’-looking chaps to protect the city at then end. This looked pretty spectacular, but again was completely unexplained! This is not to mention, the whole crystal consuming Kida and her mother element, which apparently provided the force of the city!? It was never clear whether the crystal was conscious or what the heck was going on. You definitely don’t need explanations for everything in movies (see my thoughts on the live action Beauty and the Beast for more on this :p), but this felt like too many ideas. Children would certainly find it difficult to follow I think. I certainly did!

Because of the complicated plot, you don't get enough time to get to know the characters, who, when the film pauses for half a second, turn out to be really worth getting to know. The gang Milo goes in search of Atlantis with are an interesting diverse group and I wanted more time with them. Dr Joshua Sweet and Audrey Ramirez in particular are great characters. The Atlanteans, on the other hand, are less developed and only the heroine Kida gets a bit of a personality. I do like the fact that Michael J Fox is in this movie. He deserved a better film though! More Michael J Fox in Disney movies, please!

For me, ultimately, if you want an animation about the search for a lost city you are better sticking with The Road to Eldorado.

I’m glad we watched it, but won’t return in a hurry! :)

Atlantis is a favorite of mine. I absolutely love the animation style (character designs by comic book artist Mike Mignola - widely known for the Hellboy series), and I love this era of movies that use some CG backgrounds blended with traditional animation. I love the spirit of adventure, the characters, the music, the whole vibe. I was so disappointed when this one did not do well and became a footnote in Disney history.

I think you might want to re-watch the opening again. The plot points regarding Atlantis are not inexplicable, and are shown. Atlantis developed a technology beyond all others, and this led to them feeling superior. Their hubris led to their own downfall as they were punished. It is a tad vague as to what happened, but it was either a cataclysmic accident (i.e. trying to use too much of the crystal's power) or direct punishment by the gods (which are wholly intertwined with the crystals, so maybe both). Their ancestors/gods took mercy upon them and saved the people, though condemning them to life in ruins, trapped below.

Anyway, I still love this movie. I love the team and the ships. My only complaint is that the Ulysses gets about a minute of good screen time before it is unceremoniously destroyed. Boo! I love that thing! Not since Harper Goff's Nautilus has a more beautiful submersible been designed. That was unfortunate.
 
I really like Atlantis but I can understand why it wasn't a huge hit. Lots of celeb voices in this one that make it a lot of fun. There are funny bits that might be just a touch subtle, and it has some weird sci-fi elements that I liked, but again, understandably not a warm/fuzzy Disney movie.
 


Alantis is a pretty underrated film in my opinion and I honestly think Disney was trying to make a gamble on not making it a musical like their past films have been but I think there's a lot of reasons why Disney just wants to disown it when really there was nothing wrong with the film itself, yeah sure it's a bit clichéd but I liked the side characters that Milo meets especially Vinne and Mole who I thought were the highlights of the film.

Animation is really nice, like the steam punk angle they went with here, it's got enough action here and I really wish they do more with Alantis personally. Its great regardless.

Also I freaking love Emperor's New Groove it's still a funny film every time I rewatch it as well having a lot of memorable characters in there. My favourite scene would defintaly be the: "I'll turn him into a flea!"scene with Yzma and I still quote that scene to this very day.
 
Speaking of the side characters on team Atlantis, I think my favorite is Florence Stanley as Mrs. Packard. "We're all gonna die." Her acerbic with and unflappable demeanor just make the character. "Commander...Commander...Commander. Commander." She just never let's the fact that nobody is listening to her effect a change in her tone, no matter how dangerously important her news is. She is such a subtle addition that adds so much!
 
Speaking of the side characters on team Atlantis, I think my favorite is Florence Stanley as Mrs. Packard. "We're all gonna die." Her acerbic with and unflappable demeanor just make the character. "Commander...Commander...Commander. Commander." She just never let's the fact that nobody is listening to her effect a change in her tone, no matter how dangerously important her news is. She is such a subtle addition that adds so much!
I forgot about Mrs Packard until tonight. I have a personal favourite line from her I might be paraphrashing: "Whoever took the L from the Motor Pool sign. Haha we are all amused."
 


I forgot about Mrs Packard until tonight. I have a personal favourite line from her I might be paraphrashing: "Whoever took the L from the Motor Pool sign. Haha we are all amused."

I think that's actually spot on. It's a great line that is just delivered in the background. It adds so much character to the film.
 
Well, @RSandRS are taking the holidays off and I hope everyone has had a wonderful Christmas. My Christmas included a couple of Walt Disney Signature Editions, one I had recently seen, Peter Pan, and the other I haven't seen since I was a kid, Lady and the Tramp. They both look like a million bucks in their very well done Blu-ray releases, but I was struck by how amazing Lady & the Tramp looked. The Cinemascope presentation really makes ot a quantum leap beyond Peter Pan, and it ws the first animated feature to use it. Having not remembered much about the movie before, I found I was delighted by it. For some reason I remember the Siamese cats being in it more, but they are only in one scene. They're jerks anyway! One thing I didn't know, and it's super sweet, came from the special features. Walt once gave Lillian a puppy in a hatbox for Christmas! That's right, that whole scene was inspired directly by Walt's life. Lillian actually didn't want a dog, but Walt discovered that a Chow didn't shed, so she said if she had to have a dog, it was the only kind of dog she would want. The two became inseperable!

Anyway, I have yet again been educated by the Walt Disney Signature Edition releases (Peter Pan was cool too - they interviewed the actors who did the kids voices and showed lots of pictures of them doing the live-action reference). They are well worth it! We should be headed into a Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride whenever we resume, but here's wishing everyone a Happy New Year!
 
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Yeah that Lady & The Tramp disc is outstanding for video quality. Disney artwork on the wide screen is a great match. Peter Pan has such iconic characters--Tinker Bell and Capt Hook among them. There's some interesting crossover among the voice talent: Bobby Driscoll(Peter Pan) was also in Disney's Treasure Island and Song Of The South. Kathryn Beaumont (Wendy) also voiced Alice In Wonderland, and Bill Thompson(Mr. Smee) was the White Rabbit in AIW.
 
Happy Christmas and Happy New Year and everything. We’ve definitely fallen behind a bit with the reviewing, for which I apologise. I’ve got a few to catch up with, so I will try and get them out quickly - they may not be as detailed as other ones have been.

Monsters, Inc. (2001)



So...Monsters, Inc. What a lovely film this is. It’s a great mix of heart and humour and works for people of all ages.

The music is really nice - it really embodies the spirit of the film and is equally good for the comedic and the tense bits of the film. Mike and Sully’s duet over the credits is a delight.

Mike and Sully are of course what makes this film such a success. They’re a great duo, managing to balance each other out really nicely. Mike stops Sully from being too sentimental and Sully stops Mike from coming across as a pain. It’s also great to see a male friendship portrayed so positively in a movie. They are really good friends and not afraid to call each other out; they also communicate very well, even after their fight. One of my favourite bits is Mike trying to explain how Sully hurt his feelings while Sully is being beaten up by the invisible Randall.

Boo is also very cute. It’s really a fantastic achievement for Pixar that they’ve created such a dynamic character who doesn’t really speak. Her dialogue is actually all the better for not really being dialogue and the way she doesn’t ever stay where she’s been put is adorable.

The movie is also a great example of one of the things Pixar does extremely well - creating a world that is completely new and original and then filling it with characters and tropes that you do recognise. The animators clearly had huge amounts of fun creating all those different kinds of monsters and then a city that would accommodate them all, going as wacky as they could with the designs, and then gave them names like James and Henry, with real-world issues like climbing the ladder at work, and dealing with a toddler. It’s just delightful is what I’m trying to say!

I’m sure there’s lots more to say about Monsters, Inc. but I am back to work and super busy (plus I have to write two more of these), so I’m going to leave it there. Basically, this is a really great one!
 
Well, @RSandRS are taking the holidays off and I hope everyone has had a wonderful Christmas. My Christmas included a couple of Walt Disney Signature Editions, one I had recently seen, Peter Pan, and the other I haven't seen since I was a kid, Lady and the Tramp. They both look like a million bucks in their very well done Blu-ray releases, but I was struck by how amazing Lady & the Tramp looked. The Cinemascope presentation really makes ot a quantum leap beyond Peter Pan, and it ws the first animated feature to use it. Having not remembered much about the movie before, I found I was delighted by it. For some reason I remember the Siamese cats being in it more, but they are only in one scene. They're jerks anyway! One thing I didn't know, and it's super sweet, came from the special features. Walt once gave Lillian a puppy in a hatbox for Christmas! That's right, that whole scene was inspired directly by Walt's life. Lillian actually didn't want a dog, but Walt discovered that a Chow didn't shed, so she said if she had to have a dog, it was the only kind of dog she would want. The two became inseperable!

Anyway, I have yet again been educated by the Walt Disney Signature Edition releases (Peter Pan was cool too - they interviewed the actors who did the kids voices and showed lots of pictures of them doing the live-action reference). They are well worth it! We should be headed into a Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride whenever we resume, but here's wishing everyone a Happy New Year!

Ah wow thats a lovely story about the puppy! And Lady and the Tramp is a beautiful movie!

We have found watching things about the live action reference really interesting aswell. They have loads of documentaries on Disney's streaming service, which I think has yet to reach the US? Very strange we got a practise one first! I cannot recommend it highly enough though!

Our lead up to Christmas involved giving each other very small Disney gifts based on the movies we have watched. We only tackled the films pre-renaissance and even then had to be choosy!
 
Return to Never Land (2002)

Hello again! Again, this will be a quick one because I’m racing through them!

This was new one for both of us. We’re not really as ‘up’ on our second-tier-Disney-sequels-that-for-some-reason-got-a-theatrical-release as we perhaps should be. Tee hee.

Unfortunately, but perhaps unsurprisingly, this film does not do the original justice!

Return to Never Land follows the time honoured tradition of making the main character the offspring of one of the main characters from the original movie - in this case Wendy’s daughter Jane. Jane is possibly the saving grace of this film because, despite the fact that the film is indifferently written, plotted, animated and even performed, you do end up feeling for her a bit. I suspect this isn’t really because she’s a well drawn character, however, and more just because everyone in the film is really mean to her. She commits the cardinal sin of being quite a grown up and independent kid, which leads to her mum and brother, and later the lost boys and Peter Pan, all being horrible to her and trying to make her act more like a child. But it is the Blitz and her mum is terrible at parenting, so you can’t blame the kid for trying to be the adult.

The rest of the characters leave little to no impression. They are mostly just a bit annoying. Wendy is a very slapdash parent for someone who was being called ‘mother’ when she was about 12. Also, which is very strange, they filmed all the dialogue with the wonderful Kathryn Beaumont and then decided to scrap it and use another actor. Why? oh why Disney? Peter is...well...the way he was in the first movie, and the lost boys are just OK. Captain Hook is pretty good, but not as good as he was in the first film.

I believe there are a handful of songs in this film, but I can’t remember anything about them. I think they might be ‘modern’ songs, rather than ones that fit in with the time period of the film. This is fine and can often work quite nicely, but only if the songs are actually any good, which they were not.

Basically, as an adult, I would suggest giving this one a miss if you haven’t seen it, though kids would probably think it was fine. It’s not the worst Disney sequel but it’s certainly not the best either.

P.S. What are people’s thoughts on the worst Disney sequels? Mulan II? Pocahontas II?
 
Treasure Planet (2002)

We watched this one out of order - I can’t remember why we didn’t fancy watching Lilo and Stitch at that particular moment, but I’m looking forward to watching it now. Treasure Planet was new to me, but sis watched it years ago when at university. We both know of its reputation as one of Disney’s biggest box office bombs. This is still a mystery however, because Treasure Planet is good. Really good. Here’s why…


It’s innovative

The mixture of traditional animation and new computer animation techniques is possibly the best I’ve seen in any movie. They took the cool 3D environments effect that they created for the tree-swinging sequences in Tarzan and applied it to about half the movie. They also tend to use traditional animation (which looks old-school) for the people and the costumes and then use computer animation for the tech, which adds to the steampunk look of the movie. It’s very cool.


It’s beautiful

The aforementioned steampunky look of the film is very well realised. We were literally saying ‘Wow’ a lot of the time as we watched the film, and were constantly impressed at how much care and attention seemed to have gone into every frame.


The story is good

I’ve never read Treasure Island, so I don’t know how closely this movie sticks to the source material, but I suspect it’s not too far off. Anyway, it’s exciting and creative, but gives a lot of time to character development - my favourite kind of plot. It also takes place in a very well-realised fantasy world, but is not overly complicated as some fantasy/sci fi can be (*cough* Atlantis *cough*). The characters don’t waste time explaining things that don’t need explaining, but let the visuals do the work, meaning that you happily accept things like the characters being able to breathe in space, space whales, and everyone wearing Victorian clothes without question.

The characters are mostly excellent

Of course I’m particularly talking about Jim and Silver here. Both are very well developed and likeable and are also performed very well. The time and care that’s given to the development of Jim’s character is really excellent. It’s nice that he’s allowed to be more than just the traditional punky hero, who starts off angry at the world and grows through adversity. He has some properly emotional moments and you really feel for him.

Silver too is a brilliant character. They get the balance right between him being bad and good. I’m glad they didn’t feel the need to dilute his badness, by introducing a bigger, badder villain than him to make him seem tame by comparison, so we’d forgive him for his crimes. This would have been the easy way out. As it is he remains the big bad until the end and is never completely redeemed, but the relationship between him and Jim is the driving force behind a lot of his decisions and, since that’s so well-drawn, the fact that he gets quite a happy ending is very satisfying.

The reason I say ‘mostly excellent’ is that the film’s only downside (that I can see) is the character of B.E.N. the mad robot. This character was clearly popped in at the last minute to provide some humour, but he unfortunately isn't funny. He’s one of those characters who capers about bumping into things when the other characters are trying to be stealthy, and you just want to tell the other characters to leave him behind. He’s a bit Jar Jarish basically.

So yeah, Treasure Planet is a seriously good film; why it failed is a mystery to me. If you haven’t seen it, I would urge you to give it a try.

Next up it’s Lilo and Stitch - see you then! Hopefully, we get a chance to eatch that this weekend!
 
Welcome back RS(and RS!)
Monsters Inc is a really good movie--with John Goodman and Billy Crystal as the lead voices you really can't miss. For me this may be the funniest Pixar of all. The attraction at WDW is also very entertaining.

I'll also agree on Treasure Planet, it is very good. Disney just didn't resonate with their sci-fi/steampunk films like this one and Atlantis(another feast for the eyes.)

Never saw the Pan sequel (or most of the other sequels.) No need to waste time on those when I can watch the originals in the same amount of time and enjoy them all over again.
 
Happy Christmas and Happy New Year and everything. We’ve definitely fallen behind a bit with the reviewing, for which I apologise. I’ve got a few to catch up with, so I will try and get them out quickly - they may not be as detailed as other ones have been.

Monsters, Inc. (2001)



So...Monsters, Inc. What a lovely film this is. It’s a great mix of heart and humour and works for people of all ages.

The music is really nice - it really embodies the spirit of the film and is equally good for the comedic and the tense bits of the film. Mike and Sully’s duet over the credits is a delight.

Mike and Sully are of course what makes this film such a success. They’re a great duo, managing to balance each other out really nicely. Mike stops Sully from being too sentimental and Sully stops Mike from coming across as a pain. It’s also great to see a male friendship portrayed so positively in a movie. They are really good friends and not afraid to call each other out; they also communicate very well, even after their fight. One of my favourite bits is Mike trying to explain how Sully hurt his feelings while Sully is being beaten up by the invisible Randall.

Boo is also very cute. It’s really a fantastic achievement for Pixar that they’ve created such a dynamic character who doesn’t really speak. Her dialogue is actually all the better for not really being dialogue and the way she doesn’t ever stay where she’s been put is adorable.

The movie is also a great example of one of the things Pixar does extremely well - creating a world that is completely new and original and then filling it with characters and tropes that you do recognise. The animators clearly had huge amounts of fun creating all those different kinds of monsters and then a city that would accommodate them all, going as wacky as they could with the designs, and then gave them names like James and Henry, with real-world issues like climbing the ladder at work, and dealing with a toddler. It’s just delightful is what I’m trying to say!

I’m sure there’s lots more to say about Monsters, Inc. but I am back to work and super busy (plus I have to write two more of these), so I’m going to leave it there. Basically, this is a really great one!

Welcome back!

Yes, I adore Monsters, Inc. and think it is one of Pixar's best. Visually it was yet another leap (look at Sully's hair!) and the movie just has a ton of heart. Boo is fantastic, and the entire concept is just kind of amazing. The monster in your closet is real, and he collects your fear to power a city! It's amazing. Of course, John Goodman and Billy Crystal knock it out of the park, though I really love Roz as well. I generally prefer the Monsters to Toy Story, which is probably an unusual opinion, but that's my take on it.
 
Return to Never Land (2002)

Hello again! Again, this will be a quick one because I’m racing through them!

This was new one for both of us. We’re not really as ‘up’ on our second-tier-Disney-sequels-that-for-some-reason-got-a-theatrical-release as we perhaps should be. Tee hee.

Unfortunately, but perhaps unsurprisingly, this film does not do the original justice!

Return to Never Land follows the time honoured tradition of making the main character the offspring of one of the main characters from the original movie - in this case Wendy’s daughter Jane. Jane is possibly the saving grace of this film because, despite the fact that the film is indifferently written, plotted, animated and even performed, you do end up feeling for her a bit. I suspect this isn’t really because she’s a well drawn character, however, and more just because everyone in the film is really mean to her. She commits the cardinal sin of being quite a grown up and independent kid, which leads to her mum and brother, and later the lost boys and Peter Pan, all being horrible to her and trying to make her act more like a child. But it is the Blitz and her mum is terrible at parenting, so you can’t blame the kid for trying to be the adult.

The rest of the characters leave little to no impression. They are mostly just a bit annoying. Wendy is a very slapdash parent for someone who was being called ‘mother’ when she was about 12. Also, which is very strange, they filmed all the dialogue with the wonderful Kathryn Beaumont and then decided to scrap it and use another actor. Why? oh why Disney? Peter is...well...the way he was in the first movie, and the lost boys are just OK. Captain Hook is pretty good, but not as good as he was in the first film.

I believe there are a handful of songs in this film, but I can’t remember anything about them. I think they might be ‘modern’ songs, rather than ones that fit in with the time period of the film. This is fine and can often work quite nicely, but only if the songs are actually any good, which they were not.

Basically, as an adult, I would suggest giving this one a miss if you haven’t seen it, though kids would probably think it was fine. It’s not the worst Disney sequel but it’s certainly not the best either.

P.S. What are people’s thoughts on the worst Disney sequels? Mulan II? Pocahontas II?

I would love to see this as I never have. I had a friend back when it came out who was obsessed with it and saw it a bunch of times. She had a tendency to do that with movies she really liked, and this was one of them. I always assumed it was a bit better than the typical straight-to-video Disney sequels as it was done by different studios. I can't say much about it, but I'd like to give it a watch sometime.

The Disney sequels fascinate me, though I haven't seen that many of them. They seem like they're not worth paying much for, so I kinda see them when I can. I have a few blu-rays that will have the sequel, and they didn't cost much so it's basically a bonus feature. I have seen both Mulan II and Pocahontas II. They are not that bad. They come off as television animation, which, if you take it for what it is, they're fine, not great. The music definitely suffers the most. Mulan has a follow-up song to "Girl Worth Fighting For" which is reasonably fun. Otherwise, they are more like codas or side-stories, and as such, they work ok. Pocahontas is weird because it draws from real life where she meets her actual husband, so it's strange that she doesn't "end up" with John Smith (in the context of the movie, not real life). Anyway, I think the sequels get more hate than they deserve, though they're not amazing or anything. I saw a Tarzan one which was basically a long version of the TV series, and that TV series wasn't bad or anything.

I still want to see Return to Neverland.
 
Treasure Planet (2002)

We watched this one out of order - I can’t remember why we didn’t fancy watching Lilo and Stitch at that particular moment, but I’m looking forward to watching it now. Treasure Planet was new to me, but sis watched it years ago when at university. We both know of its reputation as one of Disney’s biggest box office bombs. This is still a mystery however, because Treasure Planet is good. Really good. Here’s why…


It’s innovative

The mixture of traditional animation and new computer animation techniques is possibly the best I’ve seen in any movie. They took the cool 3D environments effect that they created for the tree-swinging sequences in Tarzan and applied it to about half the movie. They also tend to use traditional animation (which looks old-school) for the people and the costumes and then use computer animation for the tech, which adds to the steampunk look of the movie. It’s very cool.


It’s beautiful

The aforementioned steampunky look of the film is very well realised. We were literally saying ‘Wow’ a lot of the time as we watched the film, and were constantly impressed at how much care and attention seemed to have gone into every frame.


The story is good

I’ve never read Treasure Island, so I don’t know how closely this movie sticks to the source material, but I suspect it’s not too far off. Anyway, it’s exciting and creative, but gives a lot of time to character development - my favourite kind of plot. It also takes place in a very well-realised fantasy world, but is not overly complicated as some fantasy/sci fi can be (*cough* Atlantis *cough*). The characters don’t waste time explaining things that don’t need explaining, but let the visuals do the work, meaning that you happily accept things like the characters being able to breathe in space, space whales, and everyone wearing Victorian clothes without question.

The characters are mostly excellent

Of course I’m particularly talking about Jim and Silver here. Both are very well developed and likeable and are also performed very well. The time and care that’s given to the development of Jim’s character is really excellent. It’s nice that he’s allowed to be more than just the traditional punky hero, who starts off angry at the world and grows through adversity. He has some properly emotional moments and you really feel for him.

Silver too is a brilliant character. They get the balance right between him being bad and good. I’m glad they didn’t feel the need to dilute his badness, by introducing a bigger, badder villain than him to make him seem tame by comparison, so we’d forgive him for his crimes. This would have been the easy way out. As it is he remains the big bad until the end and is never completely redeemed, but the relationship between him and Jim is the driving force behind a lot of his decisions and, since that’s so well-drawn, the fact that he gets quite a happy ending is very satisfying.

The reason I say ‘mostly excellent’ is that the film’s only downside (that I can see) is the character of B.E.N. the mad robot. This character was clearly popped in at the last minute to provide some humour, but he unfortunately isn't funny. He’s one of those characters who capers about bumping into things when the other characters are trying to be stealthy, and you just want to tell the other characters to leave him behind. He’s a bit Jar Jarish basically.

So yeah, Treasure Planet is a seriously good film; why it failed is a mystery to me. If you haven’t seen it, I would urge you to give it a try.

Next up it’s Lilo and Stitch - see you then! Hopefully, we get a chance to eatch that this weekend!

Okay, I'm going to get nitpicky here, but Treasure Planet is not Steampunk. Steampunk is generally based on the idea of highly advanced steam engine technology. TP (unfortunate initials) is from the time of sails and oars. It's more like "pirate-punk." Anyway....

I have always really liked this movie, even though I feel the story is not the strongest. First of all, IT IS BEAUTIFUL! My oh my do those ships look amazing! I also love the character designs, particularly the Captain and Mr. Arrow. The crescent moon spaceport is also brilliant. I love this era of the early CG mixed with 2D animation, and it seems like most of these movies failed, which is too bad.

For the story, I don't really think it comes off that strong. It's good, but I feel like they "montage" a lot of stuff and the song for the montage isn't even all that good (it seems out of place). As for how closely it resembles the book, well, kinda, but kinda not. The character of B.E.N. is based on Ben in the book, who was a marooned sailor who had gone crazy, so I think his presence was always intended. But, hey, it's Martin Short!

If you're unfamiliar with Treasure Island, Disney did a pretty good live-action version of it in 1950. It takes some liberties too, but is overall a good watch.

Also, Treasure Planet fun fact: The ship they use is called the R.L.S. Legacy - R.L.S. stands for Robert Louis Stevenson, the author of Treasure Island.
 
So I just came across this, what a great thread... I wish I had been able to follow along in real time, as you folks have had some excellent commentary going and I'm really a huge fan of everything in here, but anyway I'll be following along now, and @BrianL @RSandRS @Micca can be expecting a bunch of retroactive "likes" as I read back through in reverse-chronological order. Keep up the good work!
 
So I just came across this, what a great thread... I wish I had been able to follow along in real time, as you folks have had some excellent commentary going and I'm really a huge fan of everything in here, but anyway I'll be following along now, and @BrianL @RSandRS @Micca can be expecting a bunch of retroactive "likes" as I read back through in reverse-chronological order. Keep up the good work!

Welcome to the thread!
 

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