This is definitely a stand out for me in Disney's cannon, despite how forgotten it is in the studio's current era. I know some might think it blasphemous to say this, but at the time it came out, Treasure Planet affected me deeper than The Lion King, Aladdin or any of the Disney Renaissance films combined. I don't really know what it is about the film that did so, when you consider that although it's based on classic source material, the idea to adapt Treasure Island to a sci-fi setting seems a little silly.
The film is basically a re-telling of Robert Louis Stevenson's novel Treasure Island with some minor differences and some major differences. Despite it's vast changes, every difference works in the film's favour, at least for me. For instance, the main character Jim Hawkins is a rebellious, generation x style youth, the antagonist pirate John Silver has more of a genuine "soft spot" for Jim and the captain of the ship is now a female, cat-human hybrid. For those of you who don't know, the story is pretty much the same as the novel - Jim Hawkins comes into contact with a treasure map that leads him to "Treasure Planet". He is then whisked away on a ship with a hired crew in search of the planet, whilst making friends with the ship's mysterious cook John Silver. It's quite incredible that Disney manage to improve on such a classic novel by changing the setting, which is very hard to do.
I think the strong point of this film is the relationship between Jim and Silver. Although both characters represent the classic Good/Evil dynamic, Jim ultimately sees Silver as a father figure and inspiration by the film's conclusion, resulting in one of the most tear- jerking "parting of the ways" scenes that I have ever seen when Silver leaves. Although Silver gets away with his crimes in the novel, he is still the villain at the end of the book, but in this adaptation, you are genuinely sad to see him go despite the bad things he has done. Other than that, the relationships between the other characters are also great and have their own unique quality. This, coupled with timeless animation, refreshing humour and exciting action - make Treasure Planet an unforgettable and genuinely touching animation. If you haven't seen it already, I highly recommend it as one of Disney's best.
The film is basically a re-telling of Robert Louis Stevenson's novel Treasure Island with some minor differences and some major differences. Despite it's vast changes, every difference works in the film's favour, at least for me. For instance, the main character Jim Hawkins is a rebellious, generation x style youth, the antagonist pirate John Silver has more of a genuine "soft spot" for Jim and the captain of the ship is now a female, cat-human hybrid. For those of you who don't know, the story is pretty much the same as the novel - Jim Hawkins comes into contact with a treasure map that leads him to "Treasure Planet". He is then whisked away on a ship with a hired crew in search of the planet, whilst making friends with the ship's mysterious cook John Silver. It's quite incredible that Disney manage to improve on such a classic novel by changing the setting, which is very hard to do.
I think the strong point of this film is the relationship between Jim and Silver. Although both characters represent the classic Good/Evil dynamic, Jim ultimately sees Silver as a father figure and inspiration by the film's conclusion, resulting in one of the most tear- jerking "parting of the ways" scenes that I have ever seen when Silver leaves. Although Silver gets away with his crimes in the novel, he is still the villain at the end of the book, but in this adaptation, you are genuinely sad to see him go despite the bad things he has done. Other than that, the relationships between the other characters are also great and have their own unique quality. This, coupled with timeless animation, refreshing humour and exciting action - make Treasure Planet an unforgettable and genuinely touching animation. If you haven't seen it already, I highly recommend it as one of Disney's best.