Treasure Planet

Disney’s Christmas release in 2002 was another new take on an old tale. Treasure Planet, adapted from the Robert Louis Stevenson novel, Treasure Island, starred Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Brian Murray, Emma Thompson, David Hyde Pierce, Michael Wincott, Laurie Metcalf, and Roscoe Lee Browne. A box office failure, the film lost about $29 million. It was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, but lost to Spirited Away.

Young Jim Hawkins (Gordon-Levitt) sets out with Dr. Delbert (Pierce), sailing through space searching for the treasure of the evil pirate, Flint. Aided by Captain Amelia (Thompson), they must outwit a pirate crew lead by the cyborg Silver (Murray).

This film is kind of all over the place. It’s a mix of cyberpunk and steampunk, with the spaceships being actual sailing ships in space and a whole bunch of alien species. The film has also been pointed to as the reason Disney decided to kill its traditional animation studios from 2002/2003 until 2009. However, it was about 40/60 in terms of traditional vs. CGI and the CGI portions were all the robots and tech while everything else was traditional. It’s noticeable, yes, but also done very well.

The film also handles its characterization and relationships spectacularly too. All their interactions are realistic and have great development. It’s also quite different for a Disney film to have the missing family member actually walk out instead of dying. This helps to solidify Jim’s character as the delinquent who needs a role model. And while Silver ends up becoming that figure, he does so begrudgingly until the very end, when it actually matters. The way the two part ways at the end show how the two have grown to sort of understand each other.

On the other hand, while he’s got some hilarious lines, Martin Short as BEN can sometimes get annoying. His shtick of stupid robot who manages to screw things up while simultaneously doing everything right has been done a lot better in other series and films. He gets better once he finds and puts his memory back in though.

It’s not one of Disney’s best films, but it’s still good.

#44

A Bug's Life

Since Toy Story was such a success, Pixar decided to keep making films. Their next project, A Bug’s Life, retold Aesop’s fable of The Ant and the Grasshopper. Starring Dave Foley, Kevin Spacey, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, David Hyde Pierce, Denis Leary, Bonnie Hunt, Brad Garrett and Mike McShane, the film made over $300 million worldwide. It was also nominated for Best Original Score, but lost to Shakespeare in Love.

Yearly, a peaceful ant colony is terrorized by a biker gang-esque group of grasshoppers, led by Hopper (Spacey). The ants are forced to give them an offering of food. But one year, and and named Flik (Foley) accidentally destroys the offering and Hopper forces the ants to create a replacement that is twice as large. He give them until the last leaf falls. The ants fear that the demand could ruin the colony and Flik volunteers to redeem himself by recruiting tough bugs to fight the grasshoppers. Princess Atta (Louis-Dreyfus) sees it as a way to get him away so she gives him her blessing.

Flik travels to the city and meets a bunch of recently fired circus bugs (Pierce, Leary, Hunt, Garrett, McShane, Joe Ranft, Jonathan Harris, Madeline Kahn), who he mistakes for warriors. He takes them back to the colony to prepare for the grasshopper’s arrival.

The Seven Samurai meets The Three Amigos with insects. For such an odd idea, this is actually a really good film.

Flik starts out as a complete loser. He’s got great ideas, but implements them terribly and is treated with contempt by everyone around him. And he’s either oblivious to that fact or just doesn’t care, believing his next thing to be what people love. In other words, he’s your average inventor who just wants to make his world better. And he’s so determined that he’ll risk his life to do it.

And it’s not that the other ants are bad for disparaging him. They’re just wary and weary of him. They’re tired of having to deal with all the stuff that hasn’t worked out and they don’t know what he’s going to do next. Atta and the royal council are actually quite justified.

Hopper is also a very intimidating villain. His only justification for what he does is that he feels insignificant to the ants and wants to be lord over them. Problem is, one ant has now realized Hopper is not as superior as he makes out to be. So he turns the screws and becomes even more threatening. But that’s his downfall when the ants realize he’s just someone projecting his own inferiority onto someone that can’t do anything but continue to defy him and stand.

The chemistry between the circus bugs is also really good, especially with Francis, Slim and Heimlich. The provide most of the comedy in the film and it never comes off as trying too hard or not trying at all.

It’s also got a great score.

#11