Treasure Planet [Blu-ray]

Alright, space buccaneers and solar surfers, let's talk about "Treasure Planet," a movie that's basically "Treasure Island" if Long John Silver traded his parrot for a cyborg and his ship for a solar-powered galleon. And honestly? I'm here for it.First off, can we just appreciate the sheer audacity of this concept? They took a classic pirate tale, threw it into a blender with some steampunk aesthetics, and hit "frappe." The result is a visually stunning, slightly bonkers adventure that's like a fever dream you have after eating too much space-pizza.Jim Hawkins? He's your classic rebellious teenager, but instead of spray-painting graffiti on walls, he's solar-surfing through asteroid fields. Same difference, really. And Long John Silver? He's a cyborg with a heart of gold... or at least, a heart of slightly tarnished chrome. He's basically your cool uncle who also happens to be a master manipulator and space-pirate. You know the type.The animation? It's like they took traditional hand-drawn animation and injected it with a shot of pure, unadulterated "whoa." The blend of 2D and 3D is seamless, creating a world that's both familiar and utterly alien. You'll be gawking at the visuals while simultaneously wondering if you accidentally ingested some space-dust.The plot? It's your classic "treasure hunt with a twist," but instead of buried chests, they're searching for a literal planet filled with treasure. And let's be honest, who wouldn't want to find a planet made of gold? I'd trade my Netflix subscription for that.But the real star of the show is the sheer, unadulterated fun of it all. It's a movie that doesn't take itself too seriously, embracing its absurdity with open arms. It's like a cosmic rollercoaster ride with an adorable floating blob a robot pirate, and so much more. Dogs and Cats living together ( if you know, you know ). What's not to love?So, if you're looking for a movie that's both visually stunning and hilariously bonkers, "Treasure Planet" is your ticket to adventure. Just remember to pack your space-seasickness pills, because those solar sails can get a little bumpy.

Treasure Planet was not a blockbuster hit like its predecessors, through no fault of its own. It is one of Disney's rare cult classics, gathering a small but rabid following of fans who praise its beautiful, revolutionary art direction, including the use of fully-mapped CGI environments upon which the characters were animated, and the fun, genuine voices of the all-star cast including Emma Thompson, David Hyde Pierce, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. It is a true Disney story with its young protagonist, Jim Hawkins, growing from a sullen teenager to a brave, hard-working young adult in one amazing adventure through space.The story was pulled from Robert Louis Stevenson's swashbuckling masterpiece Treasure Island, in which the young Jim Hawkins grows to care for his mentor John Silver and is therefore devastated to learn that his teacher is in fact a pirate in disguise, looking to mutiny along with the rest of the crew. The story is translated to sci-fi amazingly well, using a 70-30 ratio for the mise-en-scene of the whole thing. 70% is true to its original tale; characters wear 18th century fashion, the architecture of the spaceport is all Georgian, and the ship on which they travel is a beautiful three-mast schooner with a few modifiers for the journey. 30% is sci-fi, with laser guns, giant holographic treasure maps, and a crew of exotic aliens ranging from cute to downright scary.(Detractors of the movie quickly point out that the ship is not closed, and how could they be breathing in space anyway? The directors, Ron Clements and John Musker, revealed in the 'Art of...' book that the universe where they live does not work with the same properties as ours. There is air and weather in space, as well as nebulas and dying stars to make the journey treacherous.)Treasure Planet as a whole deserves more credit. It features all the basics of a Disney classic: a handsome, sympathetic main character; a diabolical antagonist who you come to care for as much as the heroes; a bumbling sidekick and his leading-lady love interest; and the slightly-annoying Third Act Addition character. The story carries as much heart as, say, Lion King or Pinocchio. The art is truly stunning; just sit back and watch the colors of space swirl across your TV screen, or the subtle-but-perfect facial expressions of the characters. Clements and Musker admit much time and thought was put into the eye movements of the characters, trying to make them look as real-life as possible.Last but not least, I need to mention and rave about the score. James Newton Howard really seemed to throw himself into making the soundtrack as beautifully classic as possible, with a full orchestra really setting the mood for a pirate tale set in the 1700's. It has several moments of pure adrenaline, pure bittersweet happiness, and pure longing for your own ship and crew to take to the stars.The picture quality for the Blu-ray is sound. The transition up from standard def did not result in the sparkling white of the drawn lines that afflicted the Beauty and the Beast Blu-ray; everything here is crisp and clear and smooth, and the upscale resulted in the most vibrant colors I've ever seen from this movie. The background of space in its swirls of blues and purples and the warm and cool colors of the digital lighting from fire to nighttime are better than they've ever been. The CGI parts of the movie were also upgraded with the release; one of the detractors of the film was that the brand-new computer graphic technology looked janky or amateur. Not anymore. Now it fits seamlessly into the 2D world and you barely notice it.The sound of the movie blew me right out of my living room. Granted, I do have Bose speakers, but I've watched my DVD of Treasure Planet plenty of times, and never before has it sounded so grand and clear. It was clearly tinkered with, to give even more life to this movie. I heard background noises that I've never noticed before, like the conversion had made them better.The ONLY, ONLY ONLY ONLY, problem I had with this release was that the special features have all been seen before. The only new parts were introductions to each section of feature (art direction, characters, animation, development, etc.) by Laurie Metcalf, the actress who voiced Jim's mother Sarah Hawkins. The interviews with the creators and directors were all on the DVD, and they're included on the Blu-ray in standard def, with black borders and pixellated images reminding you that you're watching featurettes from 10 years ago.Regardless, this is a Blu-ray worth buying and treasuring forever. Since I never, ever believed it would come out in 1080p glory, I'm about to fall to my knees and kiss Disney's boots. You will not regret giving this larger-than-life movie a chance, and I'm willing to bet you will find it a welcome addition to your Disney Blu-ray collection.