Treasure Planet

Treasure Planet (2002) moves Treasure Island into space, and it is one of Disney's most expensive failures. Jim Hawkins is an innkeeper's son. A map comes into his hands: a planet in space with a pirate's treasure on it. He joins a ship, and on that ship is a half machine cook named Silver. Stevenson's novel is kept almost intact; only the sea is space and the ships run on solar sails. The directors Ron Clements and John Musker had been pitching this to Disney since the mid eighties and were turned down every time. After The Little Mermaid and Aladdin they were allowed to make it as a reward. So the film was an idea that had waited twenty years. The visual method is mixed: the characters are hand drawn, the sets and ships computer generated. For its period the two blend unusually well. It sank commercially. The budget was very high and it did not return it. That failure was one of the things that hastened Disney's decision to abandon hand drawn animation. The relationship between Silver and Jim is the heart of it and carries an ambiguity rare in children's films: the man is both using him and fond of him. It runs 95 minutes. Good for: adventure animation, classic adaptations, and space. Less good for: some supporting characters are written squarely at children and break the pace.