Treasure Planet Review

Treasure Planet

Release Date: 26th December 2002 – Australia

Production Companies

Walt Disney Pictures (presents)

Walt Disney Feature Animation

Distribution

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Australia

Genre: Animation/Family/

Sci-Fi

Rating: PG

Runtime: 95 minutes

Budget: $140,000,000

Box Office Gross: $110,041,363 (Worldwide)

Plot Summary

A rebellious teen, Jim Hawkins, is seen as a slacker without a future. One fateful night, he comes across a dying pirate who gives him a map that leads straight to Treasure Planet. Thus begins a fantastic space voyage for Jim when he sets aboard a majestic space galleon that roams across the universe and becomes its cabin boy. He even finds a mentor of the ship's cyborg cook, John Silver, who teaches him the makings of a shipmate. Jim then realises that his new friend Silver is not who he seems when he is secretly a pirate seeking Treasure Planet and is plotting a mutiny.

Voice Cast

Joseph Gordon-Levitt – Jim Hawkins

Brian Murray – John Silver
David Hyde Pierce – Dr.

Delbert Doppler
Emma Thompson – Captain Amelia

Dane A. Davis – Morph

Martin Short – B.E.N

Tony Jay - Narrator

Austin Majors – Young Jim

Laurie Metcalf – Sarah Hawkins

Patrick McGoohan – Billy Bones

Roscoe Lee Browne – Mr. Arrow

Corey Burton – Onus
Michael Wincott – Scroop
Jack Angel – Grewnge/
Additional Voices
Rodger Bumpass –

Turnbuckle/Additional

Voices

Peter Cullen – Captain

Nathaniel Flint (Uncredited)

Crew

Producers/Animation Story/
Screenplay/Directors – Ron

Clements and John Musker
Adapted From the Novel "Treasure Island" – Robert Louis Stevenson

Animation Story – Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio

Screenplay – Rob Edwards

Associate Producer – Peter Del Vecho

Producer – Roy Conli

Casting Directors – Ruth Lambert and Mary Hildago

Production Designer/Story Artist – Frank Nissen

Production Designer –

Steven Olds

Art Director – Andy Gaskill

Associate Art Director – Ian

Gooding
Artistic Coordinator – Neil

Eskuri

Character Designers/Visual

Development Artists – Peter Clarke, Peter DeSeve, Craig Elliott, Buck Lewis, Rick Maki, Alex Nino, Michael Spooner and Rowland B. Wilson

Artistic Supervisor: Story –

Barry Johnson

Artistic Supervisor:

Layout – Razoul Azadani

Artistic Supervisor: Background – Dan Cooper

Supervising Animator: "Jim Hawkins" – John Ripa
Supervising Animator: "John Silver" – Glen Keane

Supervising Animator: "Doctor Doppler" – Sergio Pablos

Supervising Animator: "Captain Amelia" and

"Scroop" – Ken Duncan
Supervising Animator: "Morph" – Michael Show

Supervising Animator: "Sarah" – Jared Beckstrand
Supervising Animator: "Billy Bones" –

Nancy Bieman

Supervising Animators: "Silver's Crew" –

Adam Dykstra and Ellen Woodbury
Supervising Animator: "Onus" – Brian Ferguson
Supervising Animator: "Hands"/Animator:

"John Silver" – Marc Smith
Supervising Animator: "Mr. Arrow" –

T. Daniel Hofstedt
Supervising Animator: "Captain Flint & His

Crew" – John Pomeroy
Supervising Animator: "B.E.N." – Oskar Urretabizkaia

CGI Lead Animator: "Silver" – Eric Daniels

Artistic Supervisor: Clean-Up/Key Assistant

Animator: "Sarah" and Miscellaneous

Characters – Vera Pacheco

Artistic Supervisor: Visual Effects – Dave Tidgwell

Artistic Supervisor: Computer Graphics Imagery –

Kyle Odermatt

Editor – Michael Kelly

Sound Designer/Supervising Sound Editor –

Dane A. Davis

Foley Artists – Alyson Dee Moore

and John Roesch

Re-Recording Mixers – Mel Metcalfe,

Terry Porter and Dean A. Zupancic

Music/Orchestrator/Score Producer –

James Newton Howard

Original Songs – John Rzeznik

Executive Music Producer – Chris Montan

Music Production Supervisor – Tom MacDougall

Electronic Score Producer – James T. Hill

Score Recordist/Mixer – Shawn Murphy


Awards

2003 Academy Awards
Best Animated Feature – Ron Clements (Nominated)

Review
TREASURE PLANET is a science-fiction animated movie adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's classic story Treasure Island. It's not the first time Disney has brought this source material to the big screen, having done so in 1950 and again in 1996 with The Muppets. Interestingly, the filmmakers of this picture have the guts to change its setting to outer space, as it is an intriguing and clever way to transform a classic tale into something fresh.

The differences between the original novel and this film, other than the setting and plot points, are the characters, such as Long John Silver from being a one-legged pirate into a cyborg and the main hero, Jim Hawkins, being a rebellious teen. I was amazed that it took place in a different universe where space has an atmosphere, and the spaceships looked like old ships from the 18th century.

Despite its bizarre setting and weird logic, I found this film imaginative and authentic to the original novel. I liked the heartwarming relationship between Hawkins and Silver and the character of the little shape-shifting blob Morph. The film has the stellar voice acting of Joseph Gordon Levitt, Brian Murray, David Hyde Pierce and Emma Thompson. It even has an ingenious music score by James Newton Howard. I liked how TREASURE PLANET impressively combines 2D and CGI animation to make the movie a whole visual experience.

TREASURE PLANET was intriguing, and the film was better than the similar movie Titan A.E. and is my second favourite Disney animated feature. For anyone who loves Disney, this underrated animated film is worth seeing. Or you like to watch the Pirates of the Caribbean movies instead.

Star rating: (5/5) Best Movie Ever

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