Review: Treasure Planet (2002)

Treasure Planet (2002) was based on the Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson. But this film was set in space instead of seas.

It's the most expensive traditionally animated movie from Disney valuing around 140 million USD but flopped so bad with only 109 million USD in profits. I revisited the film just as how I like to revisit the good old shows just to see how my perspective changed.

Was it as good as I remembered it? I liked it back then and it probably got better now since I got more wisdom to process the details I missed the first time I watched it. Yu try seeing the old movies you grew up with again and see how much your perspective has change when you see the same thing as an adult.

Short Version of the Plot:

It follows the story of Jim Hawkins who grew up fascinated with the stories of the adventures of Captain Flint renowned for hoarding treasure in a secret island where nobody knew even after death. He encounters Billy Bones, a space pilot crashing into their family's inn giving him the map the leads to the secret island with a warning of to be wary of the cyborg. He sought consult with Dr. Doppler who commissions the RLS Legacy crew and Captain Amelia to embark on a journey to seek the planet. This happens after they got attacked by pirates pursuing the map. At the start of the voyage, Jim meets John Silver, the ship's cook but fashions a mechanical limbs and eye which leads Jim to believe he was the cyborg the deceased pilot warned about. Jim begins his adventure to find Captain Flint's treasure planet.

I may have skipped some details but the above gives you a gist of the plot.

Long Version of the Plot

Where did it go wrong?

My own opinion alone, it's the right movie but released ahead of its time. It probably didn't have the right amount of audience since this was produced by Disney Studios. It's not a story about princesses and medieval fantasies. The story depicts about real issues that some people have to live with like growing up with an absent father figure, teenage rebellious phase, self discovery, fatherhood, and how harsh the real world can be at times. There's pirates and violence involved. And probably the most obvious thing the movie lacked romance.

Even with all these things against the film, I still think it was just way ahead of its time. It didn't help that it was competing for the best animated film in the same year as Spirited Away at the 75th Academy Awards.

Let's say I haven't seen this film before, if I had to go on first impressions, the animation screams 2000's given that this is how animation was like for games published for playstation 1 and 2 during those days.

But I had to give credit to the song by John Rzeznik: I'm Still Here

Because it's really this song that stuck with me before and after watching the film. I could forget the scenes and most of the small details of the film but this is that one song that just reminds me what I needed to remember. At its core, Treasure Planet has the most relatable real life lessons that remain relevant to the times. Remove the pirates, robots and sci-fi, Jim's struggles as a human being finding his way around life is as real as it can be.

Thanks for your time.