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STORY STUDY - MEDIUM: FILM - “Treasure Planet"

Jeffrey Tung
Oct 2, 2017
3 min read

I love worlds that are created when you mash-up different genres and centuries into one reality. I don’t care if it doesn’t make any sense: it’s an ALTERNATE REALITY! Their physics don’t apply like ours do.

For this particular world, it is a combination of the far future and the 18th century. Welcome to the universe of Treasure Planet.

Directed by Ron Clements & John Musker, screenplay by Clements & Musker and Rob Edwards, story by Clements & Musker and Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio, and based on the novel Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, the film is somewhat faithful to the plot points of the novel.

Jim Hawkins is a teenage troublemaker. His mom, Sarah, owns a local motel called the Benbow Inn.

One night, a spaceship crashes near the inn, and the Hawkins help the pilot, Billy Bones. Bones gives Jim a sphere, and gives a warning: “Beware the cyborg.”

They flee with the help of their friend and frequent guest, Dr. Delbert Doppler when a gang of pirates invade the inn, and burn it down.

At Dr. Doppler’s study, they find that the sphere is a map to the fabled “Treasure Planet,” where the legendary pirate Captain Nathaniel Flint hid all of his treasure without being seen or captured by the authorities or his rivals.

Jim sets out to find Treasure Planet so he can hopefully find enough treasure to rebuild the Benbow Inn, and make Sarah proud of him. They set out on a ship that Dr. Doppler has commissioned for the journey: the RLS Legacy, piloted by Captain Amelia, her first-mate, Mr. Arrow...

and their own hired crew, one of which is the ship’s cook: cyborg John Silver.

The film spends a good portion of its story set on the Legacy itself as it travels through space. They don’t reach Treasure Planet until almost the last half four. Either way, you still get invested with the story no matter how long it takes.

The selling point is the world, but what the audience will remember are the characters, particularly Jim and Silver. Jim finds a father figure in Silver and the feeling is reciprocated with Silver. Captain Amelia is an awesome captain; intelligent, brave, and has a sense of humor. The villain to hate is the spider-crab alien Scroop.

The animation itself is absolutely gorgeous, blending the genres of sci-fi and 18th century to create a unique universe. While every character and building has the 18th century aesthetic, the technology, such as the ships and Silver’s robotic limbs, are straight out of science fiction.

The animation even commits to this theme: only the tech is given the computer animation treatment; everything else is traditional, hand-drawn animation.

I also love the facial expressions on everyone, but I’ll just use Jim as an example. When he is supposed to be an arrogant teen, filled with anger, his facial expressions show just that.

When he’s vulnerable and opening up, the animation shows just that as well.

Everything seems to fit so perfectly, but when something obviously doesn’t fit, it really shows, and that’s the robot B.E.N. His sudden appearance in the film isn’t a problem, as he is stranded on Treasure Planet and has amnesia.

The problem is his hyper, overreacting personality. No one else has this kind of personality, and since the entire sequence on Treasure Planet is supposed to be suspenseful, with Jim hiding from the pirates, B.E.N.’s role consistently breaks that tension.

I wasn’t even a teenager when Treasure Planet came out, and when I saw the trailer, I was immediately drawn to it. I still absolutely love this film, and it’s a shame that it didn’t do well at all at the box office, thus cancelling its planned sequel, though, personally, seeing this world as a series would’ve been good too.

Treasure Planet is filled with swashbuckling action, memorable characters, and amazing visuals. It is one of the most underrated animated films that Disney, or any company has ever produced.