Treasure Planet is a great family film, but compared to the classics, it's just "pretty good". With recent screenings of classic Disney films like The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast on IMAX, an old saying seemed to come to mind, "They just don't make them like they used to". That being said, Treasure Planet is a great family film, but compared to the classics, it's just "pretty good". Supposedly aiming for a Treasure Island-meets-Star Wars vibe, it's not as great as either one (of course), but it's a pretty fun ride nonetheless.
Now it seems Ol' Mickey's movies have come down to marketing and demographics. You can almost picture the meetings: frantic middle-age execs trying to figure out what kids these days want, how to keep up with DreamWorks, what fast food chain will get the promotional tie-in, etc., etc. Apparently in trying to keep up to date, they've also done away with the "musical" aspect and instead get modern singers to do theme songs that usually end up being pretty lame (case in point: this one has the Goo Goo Dolls' Johnny Rzeznik with the absolute most boring, nondescript Disney songs you've ever heard).
It seems that this is Disney's "one for the boys", in answer to Lilo and Stitch, which targeted a young female audience. This one, though, has elements the whole family can enjoy. While other cartoons in space have been just dreadful (Titan A.E.) and some by sea have been even worse (Disney's own Atlantis), they've managed to make a winner here with the strange combination, but no doubt the credit is due to the great source material. Based on Robert Louis Stevenson's classic novel (had to say it because it's doubtful kids read it anymore), this one has a few liberal updates, but no more than any other Disney adaptation.
In fact, another old saying comes to mind when reviewing this one, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". Directed by John Musker and Ron Clements, Disney took the safe road by getting the successful team behind The Little Mermaid and Aladdin to help stay on the upswing. Another staple in recent Disney cartoons is the B-list celebrity voices, this time including Joseph Gordon-Levitt as the angsty young Jim Hawkins, David Hyde Pierce, the great Emma Thompson, and the hot/cold Martin Short providing the most entertainment with his C-3PO-ish spastic robot voice. All adding a bit of familiarity to the umpteenth version of this classic, this may be something completely new for the kids, but retread for the parents. There's not a lot of new angles here. Either way, it's "safe" entertainment, which is what the big D is hoping parents are still looking to give their kids.
Overall, it's worth checking out in the theater if you're going to see it at all. In fact, for the first time ever, this one is being released in regular theaters as well as IMAX simultaneously. It's a visually impressive piece of work, so it may be worth it to shell out the extra few bucks for the kiddos to see it the best way possible. Either way, you'll distract them for seeing this week's other animated film, the Adam Sandler stinker Eight Crazy Nights.