Treasure Island

When Jim Hawkins, an innkeeper's son, comes into possession of an old map, a ship is fitted out. Long John Silver, taken on as cook, treats the boy like a father. Once at sea it turns out most of the crew are pirates, and Silver leads them. The film is not interested in treasure. It is interested in a boy trusting someone for the first time and being deceived: Silver genuinely loves Jim and is using him at the same time, and both of them know it. The parting at the end is therefore not a simple escape. The form is colour adventure: the deck, the island, a cave and sword fights. The clear colours and broad sets belong to Disney's early live-action work. Byron Haskin directed, from Robert Louis Stevenson's novel. It is Disney's first feature made entirely with live actors; until then the studio had produced animation or hybrids. It was shot in England. Bobby Driscoll plays Jim and Robert Newton plays Silver. Newton's exaggerated West Country accent and delivery became the direct source of the voice everyone reaches for when imitating a pirate; every later pirate rests on him. Who it is for: viewers who like classical adventure and Stevenson adaptations. Who it is not for: anyone after complexity. The plot is simplified, the supporting parts are thin and the violence is softened for its time.