idontneedhave When this movie released I was too young to give it the support it deserves. Now looking back, having watched this movie more than 10 times in the past year alone, I wish it got more love at release. If you haven't watched it I highly recommend it. The animation is breathtaking, the story is well written and the sound track fits perfectly. If you have seen it go watch it again. You know you want to.

namrof I don't know how I never knew this movie existed but I just saw it and I really liked it! It's a great coming of age film. There are pirates, aliens, adventures, treasure, adorable animal sidekicks, a robot companion with great comedic timing and hover boards. What more could a movie lover ask for? This movie has a bit of everything and the story isn't bad. I would actually like this to be a series because I think it could be really cool. A live action version would be interesting to see.

TheMovieDoctorful Until the release of "Frozen", "Treasure Planet" may have been the most over marketed Disney film of all time upon release. Back in 2002, it was EVERYWHERE. TV Spots for it were played almost religiously, "Treasure Planet" action figures and games were constantly being advertised between commercials on pretty much every kids entertainment channel and various fast food restaurants and cereal brands included "Treasure Planet" toys with their products. So obviously under-marketing was not the movie's problem...Which baffles me as the film was a massive financial flop earning only $109.6 million on a $140 million budget. So taking that into consideration, along with the fact that Disney would follow up "Treasure Planet" with the dismal "The Jungle Book 2" and the atrocious "Home On The Range", that MUST mean the movie was awful right? WRONG. Not only is "Treasure Planet" a childhood favorite, but is hands down one of the best, most emotional, most exciting and most investing Disney movies of all time. It's the most underrated without question.The visuals shown in the movie are unforgettable. Director Ron Clements and his production team have created a gorgeous, expansive and diverse universe; the planets, the aliens, the technology, the architecture, the weaponry. The world of "Treasure Planet" is one I was disappointed to leave by the end of its 95 minute run-time. The imagination behind the world building is "Star Wars" like in its scale.The film is also extremely well paced. From beginning to end, there was not a single moment where I was bored, expertly balancing character scenes, action sequences and comedic moments. It's almost to the point where I'm genuinely frustrated when the film ends as I was just having so much fun. On top of that, "Treasure Planet" is a film that's not afraid to put its character's through down-right traumatizing danger. Make no mistake about it, whether characters getting torn apart in black holes or melted in volcanic, planetary destructions, "Treasure Planet" can be extremely dark in its tone. Fortunately, "Treasure Planet" has the deep, investing characters to back up its gorgeous visuals. Jim Hawkins is extremely relatable and likable, a born rebel who just wants to make his loved ones proud of him. On the surface, his desire to find Flint's trove seems to be motivated by casual greed, but this is little more than a mask for his true motivation; to prove to his mother, his paternal figure John Silver and most importantly to himself that he can be somebody. Underneath his angsty exterior is a very emotionally vulnerable and broken person finally given a spark of hope by fate, and the movie has us consistently rooting for him to succeed. John Silver is very much a kindred spirit to Jim; he represents both the best (His compassion, determination, drive and loving nature) and worst (His anger, greed, stubbornness and impulsivity) personality traits of Hawkins, and thus works extremely well as a mentor figure. If Jim represents the youthful pursuit of one's validation and dreams, Silver represents how that passion can burn bright even into one's veteran years, strengthened by lessons learned along the way. In many ways, it is Silver's development and arc into a selfless, noble person that sparks Jim's transition into adulthood.Long before "500 Days Of Summer" made him a star, Joseph Gordon Levitt did a phenomenal job as Jim Hawkins. The passion and sincerity that Levitt gets out of the character has to have come from a personal place, as Hawkins inner torment and plight felt as real to me as an animated character's suffering could be. The diversity of Levitt's emotional range here is staggering, from beginning to end he is giving nothing less than 500% of his effort.As impressive as Levitt's performance is here, Brian Murray as John Silver is even better. How Murray is not consistently getting A-List work after this movie is completely beyond me. Murray can be charming, hilarious, intimidating and emotional as Silver, making the absolute most of a very complex character. The range of emotions Murray has to portray as John Silver is seemingly endless, and there isn't a single one that he doesn't nail on the head. His final scene with Jim Hawkins gets serious tears out of me to this very day.Emma Thompson is electrifying in her portrayal of Captain Amelia, and much like Levitt and Murray, delivers serious emotional range. Effective in both the film's comedic and serious scenes, Thompson displays great comedic timing and infectious charisma as the no- nonsense Captain of the RLS Legacy, and she is clearly having an absolute blast here.The lack of attention "Treasure Planet" gets as a Disney classic is extremely frustrating. It's not JUST an underrated film, it's not JUST a diamond in the rough, it's hands down one of the best and most mature works Disney has ever or will ever pump out. The movie has achieved somewhat of a cult status among Disney fans, but Lord knows that it deserved so much more. Definitive proof that you don't have to break box office records to make a masterpiece.

sharky_55 The very first scene of Treasure Planet establishes its objective to break free of the traditional roots of Robert Louis Stevenson's adventure novel; the young Jim Hawkins' book does not contain words, but moving, flashing pictures which allow for complete and utter immersion. His gigantic head pops up in the midst of a great big cargo ship being pursued, not through the seas, but the spies above us. The film's take is modernised, and aligns with this objective; traditional animation still etches out most of the human characters, but there are additional three dimensional renders which are shown off to their fullest by the proud animators. The most stunning of these is the reveal of the living breathing port town on the moon; we don't simply jump right into the action, but zoom in from afar and swivel around via their Deep Canvas technique so that each facet of the environment and the digital render is on display. The setting of the adventure story is a vague anachronistic future where civilisation has taken to the stars and galaxies above but still shoot through space in wooden ships with sails. Jim's mother owns an inn which serves weird patrons of all sizes and species with weirder foods. The society is also advanced enough to delegate its policing to robots, who rough up Jim and give him one last warning. Another robotic character that we meet later is B.E.N, who is voiced by a comedian and exists only to make the odd one-liner and dole out crucial plot details whenever necessary. It seems that every animated film must have one of these wacky, obnoxious sidekicks. B.E.N is rendered digitally in 3D so at least all his crazy antics are captured vividly. The rest of the cast is established in varying amounts of detail but it lacks the charm and personality of Disney's earlier film, Atlantis, which produced stereotypes but also gave heart and agency to its motley crew. One of the crew is a pirate in disguise, John Silver (as if the name did not ring any bells), who develops a soft spot for Jim and slowly becomes a proxy father figure. A pleasant surprise sees their relationship built from the genuine reactions and experiences of the two characters; Silver is able to diagnose the source of Jim's feistyness and impulsiveness because perhaps he sees the same qualities in a younger version of himself, bouncing from pirate ship to ship. The theme of missing parenthood is a common one in many children's films, but it does not feel forced here, but rather a natural extension of their stories and actions. Was Treasure Planet one of the coming signs of the death of traditional animation and the boom of digital? The film was a box office bomb, and in the coming years the shift was inevitable. Paradoxically, much of the digital elements now seem retrograde and dated; B.E.N could have done just as well drawn by hand, and although the sight of massive waves of individually rendered gold pieces and treasure is an impressive feat, it looks overly shiny and fake. But that aging comes with any technology. Treasure Planet cannot escape from the worst of these animation films; the pop song over spirited montage, the unavoidable blossoming romance, the crass flatulence humour. There is a better film hiding within its premised, and in the magical folds of Jim's storybook.