Disney Movie Challenge: Treasure Planet (2002)

 Disney Movie Challenge

Treasure Planet (2002)

WHAT IS THE DISNEY MOVIE CHALLENGE: With Disney+ making available almost all of their films from the vault I thought it was a good time to watch all the theatrically released feature length Disney Studio Animated films. That’s a lot of qualifications so what does it all mean? It must be a film developed and released under the Walt Disney Animation Studios (so no PIXAR or Tim Burton stop motion films). Must have been released in theaters (no direct to video releases). And feature length (no shorts that played prior to the features). Currently there are 59 films. Starting with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937 going to Raya and the Last Dragon in 2021.   

Directors Ron Clements and John Musker have had a long career at Disney.  The first film they directed for Disney was The Great Mouse Detective. After that they pitched two films to Disney head Jeffrey Katzenberg The Little Mermaid and Treasure Planet. While both films were initially rejected, The Little Mermaid would end up being a huge success and Clements and Musker would go on to direct Aladdin and Hercules.  But they never gave up on doing Treasure Planet and when the studio wanted them to make Hercules they put in their contract a guarantee that Disney would let them make Treasure Planet.  Eventually in 2002 they got to release the film and it turned out that maybe the studio was right as it became one of Disney’s largest box office flops.  

The movie is a retelling of the Robert Louis Stevenson classic “Treasure Island” in space.  I have never read or seen any of the other versions so I don’t know what was changed.  The movie follows Jim Hawkins (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), a teenager with a thirst for adventure.  He loved listening to stories as a kid about pirate adventures and one day he gets his chance to go on his own adventure when a map to treasure planet ends up in his hands.  His friend Doctor Doppler is also intrigued and hires a captain and crew.  Unbeknownst to them the crew they hired is made up of pirates who are trying to get their hands on the map also.  Captain Amelia (Emma Thompson) knows there is something not right with the crew and tells them to hide the map.  Jim is told to work in the Galley with Mr. Silver (Brian Murray).  After a rocky start they seem to form a bond and Jim begins to mature and learn.  When it’s revealed that Mr. Silver is a pirate and leads the mutiny, Jim begins to question everything Mr. Silver taught him.  After they make it to treasure planet a race breaks out who can find the treasure first. 

Treasure Planet is one of the most expensive animated films ever made.  This was because they ended up using multiple kinds of animation to make the film.  They had traditional hand drawn animation, CGI animation, and 3D animation using “Deep Canvas” created for Tarzan.  There are times when all are on screen at the same time. One of the biggest uses of CGI was Mr. Silver’s robotic arm and leg.  To see how CGI would look on top of traditional animation they did a test using Captain Hook from Peter Pan.  Here is a small clip from the tests. Watching the movie you don’t notice anything and everything looks pretty flawless.  The visuals are pretty stunning. 

It’s disappointing that the movie bombed because it’s not a bad movie.  I think it was the weird sci-fi element that didn’t click with people.  I think people found it hard to believe people would just be sailing around space in open boats with no helmets on.  But if you can get past that the story is mostly fun. The voice acting is pretty great.  I loved Emma Thompson as Captain Amelia.  The biggest issue I had was when Martin Short’s character of B.E.N. was introduced.  While I love Martin Short he was a little too much Martin Short. I found the character pretty annoying and it kind of took me out of the film.

 I also think some of the emotional arcs the characters go through just didn’t work right.  It was kind of confusing how we are supposed to feel about Mr. Silver.  We get hints early on that he is a bad guy but then he is a good guy, but then bad guy again and then good guy.  The movie never really gives a good reason why Jim would forgive him at the end.  There is also a weird love story between Captain Amelia and Dr. Doppler that just pops up out of nowhere.  I think if they had ironed out some of the characters better maybe the film would have found more of an audience.  

Overall: Not a bad movie.  The animation looked great and integrated all animation aspects pretty brilliantly.  Unfortunately the story  just didn’t resonate with an audience. Not sure if it’s just people don’t like Disney Sci-Fi (Atlantis: The Lost Empire also flopped), or just the characters weren’t interesting enough. Also a random Goo Goo Dolls song pops up and that kind of took me out of the movie also.  

Random Facts

Along with Lilo and Stitch, the first Disney Animated Films to be nominated for Best Animated Features at the Oscars, both lost to Spirited Away.  This was only the second year that category existed.  The first year no Disney Animated films were nominated (Pixar's Monsters Inc. did get a nomination the previous year but lost to Shrek.)

The movie lost over $70 million at the box office. It is one of Disney’s largest financial losses.  

Biggest discussion between my son and I.  Was Morph a good guy or a bad guy? If he was with Mr. Silver all that time he should have known Silver was planning a mutiny. I almost figured when he left with Jim that he was acting as a spy.  

Disney’s third adaption of the book Treasure Island.  The first two were the 1950 movie Treasure Island and the 1996 Muppet Treasure Island

Disney Movie Challenge: Lilo and Stitch (2002)

Disney Movie Challenge

Lilo and Stitch (2002)

WHAT IS THE DISNEY MOVIE CHALLENGE: With Disney+ making available almost all of their films from the vault I thought it was a good time to watch all the theatrically released feature length Disney Studio Animated films. That’s a lot of qualifications so what does it all mean? It must be a film developed and released under the Walt Disney Animation Studios (so no PIXAR or Tim Burton stop motion films). Must have been released in theaters (no direct to video releases). And feature length (no shorts that played prior to the features). Currently there are 59 films. Starting with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937 going to Raya and the Last Dragon in 2021.

The 2000’s are not known for quality films in the Disney Canon.  One of the movies that defied the odds and became a beloved classic and actually made money was Lilo and Stitch. After making some expensive films that underperformed Michael Eisner turned to the 40’s for inspiration on what to do next.  After the financial disasters of Fantasia and Pinocchio, Disney cranked out the cheap and quickly made Dumbo in 1942.  The movie was a hit and saved Disney from financial disaster.  Along came Chris Sanders and his crazy idea about an alien that gets banished to Earth and learns about family.  Eisner looked to Lilo and Stitch to do repeat Dumbo's success and for the most part it did.

The film is about an alien Experiment 626 who was created to wreak havoc anywhere he went.  When an alien council discovers this unauthorized experiment they try to destroy him. But experiment 626 escapes and heads to Earth.  There we meet Lilo and her sister Nani who are trying to adjust to life without their parents. Hoping a dog will help, they go to adopt one at the local shelter.  Lilo decided she wants to adopt 626, who was pretending to be a dog to escape being captured by the alien council.  Lilo names the “dog” stitch and they bring him home.  Stitch brings nothing but trouble to the house but he begins to learn the concept of “Ohana” which is Hawaiian for family.  

Chris Sanders originally had an idea for Stitch as a children's book many years earlier, but that never came to be.  When Eisner was looking for a story that could be done quickly and cheap, Sanders pitched his idea.  Eisner liked it and it was greenlit.  Taking more inspiration from Dumbo, Sanders wanted to make the film using watercolors for the background.  Watercolors had been used in prior Disney films but Dumbo was one of the only features to use it extensively.  Since watercolors hadn’t been used in over 50 years and computer animation was becoming more prevalent the animators had to be taught the technique.  The film also had a distinctive look because the animation was based on original drawings made by Sanders.  

I didn’t see the film when it was first released but what I do remember is hearing about the changes it made after 9/11.  The time period after 9/11 saw movies being very careful how they depict certain things. Sony changed the ending of Spider-Man (2002) to  show New Yorkers coming together.  The series premiere of 24 was pushed back because it showed a plane being hijacked.  Disney is quick to avoid controversy so you know they were going to be very cautious with their first animated film released after the attacks.  The original ending had Stitch hijacking a 747 from an airport and flying it through the city of Honolulu.  This was changed to Stitch flying a spaceship through the mountains.  A late change to an animated movie that had already been fully animated is quite rare and only done a few times in Disney Animated history.  Here is a video of the original scene compared with the scene in the official release. https://youtu.be/F2uJvwiSZAQ

While I like the movie’s message about “Ohana” and that anyone can be family I find the two title characters annoying.  I get that Stitch is supposed to be annoying because that is how he was made and that Lilo is struggling after the loss of her parents but I can’t help just getting frustrated with them.   It’s hard to root for a character that is fighting and biting people. And while I know that the guy from family services is supposed to be an intimidating “bad guy” but I find myself rooting for him since the family clearly needs help.  While the end has some fun action scenes it almost feels like it wraps up the emotional journey too quickly.  

Overall: I know a lot of people love this movie but it’s a mixed bag for me.  It has some fun scenes and a good message but when you find the main characters annoying it’s hard to enjoy a film.  I do love that it has a distinctive look and stands out from other Disney animated films.  

Random Facts:

The same year Daveigh Chase voiced Lilo she also played Samara in the horror film The Ring.

 

Lilo and Stitch was nominated for Best Animated Feature Oscar but lost to Spirited Away.  Daveigh Chase also voiced a character in the American dub of Spirited Away.  

Lilo and Stitch is only the third Disney animated film not based on previously released material.  The other films are The Lion King and Dinosaur.  

Since Elvis is featured prominently in the film I remember there being a resurgence in Elvis fandom after the release as it was the first introduction to Elvis for a lot of kids. 

Ving Rhames character Cobra Bubbles is drawn to look very similar to his character from Pulp Fiction

The last Disney Animated feature for David Ogden Stiers.  He had previously been in Beauty and the Beast, two characters in Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Atlantis: The Lost Empire. 

Originally the film was supposed to take place in Kansas, but Sanders decided that the colors of Hawaii would benefit the story and when taking a tour of the island of Kauai learned about the concept of Ohana it changed the whole story of the film.

Along with Treasure Planet the first Disney Animated Films to be nominated for Best Animated Features at the Oscars, both lost to Spirited Away. This was only the second year that category existed. The first year no Disney Animated films were nominated (Pixar's Monsters Inc. did get a nomination the previous year but lost to Shrek.)

Disney Movie Challenge Bonus: The Hunchback of Notre Dame II (2002)

 Disney Movie Challenge Bonus

The Hunchback of Notre Dame II (2002)

When Disney decided to do a sequel to The Hunchback of Notre Dame they looked at the response to the first one and thought “remember how everyone thought the first one was too dark for kids, let's do the opposite of that”. So a fun lighthearted love story was born.  

The sequel picks up years after the first one.  Esmerelda and Phoebus are married and have a kid named Zephyr. Quasimodo still lives in the bell tower but is frequently visited by Esmerelda, Phoebus, and Zephyr.  This year at the Le Jour d'Amour festival Quasimodo wants to explore the city and see if he can find someone to love, instead a beautiful girl named Madellaine comes to the bell tower and he falls for her.  She seems to be interested in him but once she sees his face she runs away frightened.  It turns out the girl was sent there by an evil magician, Sarousch,  who wants to steal a bell full of jewels called La Fidèle.  Sarousch wants Madellaine to pretend to like Quasimodo to distract him from the bell.  But of course Madline starts falling in love with Quasimodo.  Eventually Quasimodo figures out the scheme and is hurt that Madeleine didn’t really love him.  But she proves her love to him by betraying Sarousch in the end and Quasimodo finally finds love.  

First thing I need to do is be honest.  I watched this movie once and fell asleep towards the end.  Don’t think I missed much so never went back and rewatched it.  With that out of the way let's start with the most amazing thing about the film.  Somehow Disney got pretty much the entire cast of the first one to come back for the sequel, including Tom Hulce, Demi Moore, Kevin Kline, and Jason Alexander.  Usually Disney animated sequels are a lot cheaper and they can’t pay for A-List talent but maybe by 2002 this cast wasn’t considered A-List.  Joining the original cast are some other high profile newcomers including Jennifer Love Hewitt as Madellaine, Haley Joel Osment as Zephyr, and Michael McKean as Sarousch.  Even with the stars of the film returning Disney didn’t put much effort into the film.  The animation doesn’t look good, the songs are bad, and the story is just bland. 

Overall: A mostly forgettable film.  The whole movie feels like a reaction to the complaint that the first one was too dark.  Here the hero gets the girl and Quasimodo finally gets his happily ever after.  Not having read the book I am going to assume Victor Hugo didn’t have any of this in his story. 

Chicago

Chicago became the first musical to win Best Picture in 34 years the last musical to win Best Picture was Oliver in 1968.  Again this year the stiffest competition for Best Picture was from a Lord of the Rings film. This was also the second year in a row that a musical was nominated for Best Picture following Moulin Rouge's nomination in 2001. 

Chicago is about a bored housewife Roxy (Renee Zellweger) who has dreams of becoming a big star on the vaudeville in Chicago during the 20's.  When she her dreams are dashed by the guy she thought was going to make those dreams come true she ends up killing him and is sent to jail.  Inside her head is a fantasy world where every event is turned into a musical number.  In jail she meets a some colorful characters. There Velma Kelly (Catherine Zeta Jones), Matron Mama Morton (Queen Latifah) and the flamboyant lawyer Billy Flynn (Richard Gere).  A rivalry begins between Kelly and Roxy over the attention of Billy and the tabloids.  Each trying to manipulate the press to see them not as murderess but as glamorous stars.  In the end Billy is going to "Razzle Dazzle" the jury and get both of them off. 

What I love about this movie is the creative way they used the music.  One of the biggest complaints about musicals are always "why would they start singing" and  they answered that by having it  all in Roxy's head (the only musical number that doesn't really work is Mr. Cellophane which is sung by Roxy's husband Amos when she is not around).  The movie is highly entertaining and the acting is superb.  But besides being a highly entertaining movie with great musical sequences the movie is much deeper then that too.  The movie is an exploration of how people become famous for nothing, how media outlets are always trying to find the newest biggest thing, and the public obsession with celebrity trials and how they have become just a big circus.  In the age of celebrities like Paris Hilton and celebrity trials like OJ Simpson's this movie felt very current.  And I look at it as one of the first movies of the decade to deal with social issues to win Best Picture (Million Dollar Baby in 2004 and Crash in 2005 also deal with social issues). 

So the biggest question again this year was should Lord of the Rings have won best picture.  Again I feel the answer is no. While The Two Towers was a great movie like the first one it didn't have an ending and this one didn't have a beginning. While I understand that it is part 2 of a trilogy and it won't have a beginning and end my argument (as it was when the first one didn't win) is that you have to take each movie on its own merit.  If you just watch this one with out watching the first or the third one then it doesn't make much sense.  What I don't understand is how come Peter Jackson wasn't nominated for Best Director. Granted I don't think he would have won but he deserved a nomination.  And after watching it again recently I realized Viggo Mortensen should have been nominated for Best Actor or Supporting Actor because he was really great. 

Other Snubs- Leonardo DiCaprio should have been nominated for either Gangs of New York or Catch Me if You Can.  Also, About a Boy was one of my favorite movie and I think deserved more then just a Best Screenplay Award. Also My Big Fat Greek Wedding was one of the biggest and most loved movies of the year and should have at least been nominated for Best Actress for Nia Vardalos (she did get a Best Original Screenplay Nomination).

Oscar Trivia:
John C. Reilly was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for Chicago but also had supporting roles in Best Picture nominated The Hours, and The Gangs of New York.  Making him one of the few people to be in three movies nominated for Best Picture in the same year but the first since the Best Picture field was limited to 5 movies.
At 29 Adrien Brody (The Pianist) became the youngest person to win Best Actor
Julianne Moore was nominated in both Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress the ninth time that has happened.
Meryl Streep was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for Adaptation with her 13th nomination she surpassed Katherine Hepburn as the most nominated performer in Oscar history. 
Adaptation was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay for Charlie Kaufman and Donald Kaufman. Donald Kaufman was an alter ego used by Charlie Kaufman in the movie and is the only fictional person ever to be nominated for an Academy Award.
Roman Polanski won Best Director for The Pianist but could not be present to accept the award because he is a wanted criminal for statutory rape.

IMDB Top 250 for 2002 movies.
City of God-number 18
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers-number 30
The Pianist- number 51