Treasure Planet

I saw "Treasure Planet" today and was very disappointed. The animation is pretty terrific, and the blend between computer and traditional animation is seamless, but the movie seems only to concern itself with outlandish effects, while the characters and story get only sporadic attention. There is a nice relationship shown between Jim Hawkins and John Silver, but the other characters are mainly annoying "types." One exception: the captain of the ship, who is voiced by Emma Thompson. In her British accent, she uses her extensive vocabulary as a weapon. Example, when explaining something to a rather dense character: "Let me make this as monosyllabic as possible." From an animation standpoint, this is a technical accomplishment, but not much else. Wait for video.

First of all, there's no air in space, so everyone would suffocate. That may have made for a more interesting - if shorter - story. Second, solar sails require a fair amount of sunlight and would be practically useless in interplanetary space. Third, the radiation from a supernova would fry anyone near it, so you can't "ride the shock wave". These sorts of liberties being taken are a major contributor to the difficulties science teachers have in getting students to unlearn what they think they know. Now I'll get off my soapbox. The CGI sequences in the movie are well done, although they were obviously CGI. The animation is sub-par for Disney (did they fire all their good artists??) but about average for the an industry that has lowered its standards considerably over the last 40-50 years. The retelling of Treasure Island with a space twist just does not work. However, for some reason I'm in a charitable mood. Give it a 4 out of 10 only because I can't give it a 3.5.