The Passion Project That Flopped Spectacularly
Ever since 1985, John Musker and Ron Clements had been begging for approval for an adaptation of Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson set in space. But four times they were denied and given another project to work on, namely, the Great Mouse Detective, the Little Mermaid, Aladdin and Hercules. The reason they kept being denied is because they were the only ones who had any faith in this project whatsoever. Everyone else, including Michael Eisner, Chairman Katzenberg and Peter Schneider, thought it was a terrible idea. When their contract was up for renegotiation in 1995, Musker and Clements were considering walking away from Disney and taking their pitch somewhere else. With Katzenberg having gotten the boot the previous year, the directors requested a deal: Upon the completion of Hercules, they would stay at the studio if they were given a stipulation that they could direct Treasure Island in Space. Eisner agreed and the duo signed a new seven-year contract.
However, even after Katzenberg’s ejection, there was still dispute over the project in 1997 when the time came for green lighting new projects. Especially from Peter Schneider. By this point, Musker and Clements were fed up and bluntly reminded the executives that they had now made four successful animated films and deserved what they were promised. So finally, Eisner relented and Treasure Planet was greenlit.
The pair teamed up with their Aladdin screenwriters Terry Rossio and Ted Elliott to flesh out a story outline, taking elements of Stevenson’s original novel and modernising their adaptation to be appealing to a teenage audience. In Stevenson’s book, the protagonist Jim Hawkins was written as a young boy of around 12, but Clements and Musker felt the film would work better from the perspective of a troubled adolescent trying to find his place in the world.
As such, their adaptation placed greater emphasis on Jim’s search for a father-like mentor, with his backstory revealing Jim’s father abandoned his son at a young age. They combined the characters of Squire Trelawney and Dr. Livesey into a new character Dr. Delbert Doppler, who would serve as Jim’s closest ally and moral compass. To strengthen Jim’s quest for a mentor, the relationship between the teenager and John Silver was emphasised further, with the pirate standing as another father figure for the troubled teen.
To further modernise the adaptation, the story team rewrote Jim’s trusty skipper Captain Alexander Smollett as a female protagonist named Captain Amelia, who was the commander of the hybrid spaceship/water ship RLS Legacy, with those three letters obviously standing as a tribute to the novel’s author. While Jim would remain a human character, practically every supporting character was rewritten as various species of anthropomorphic animals or futuristic robotic creations.
Dr. Doppler was written as a dog, while Captain Amelia was cast as a cat, with the pair forming an unexpected connection despite their differing species. John Silver became a cybernetic human with a mechanical arm, leg, and eye, which were the result of an unknown accident many years earlier. Silver’s arm served numerous purposes, including morphing into cooking implements, a sword, and a pistol, while his eye allowed the pirate to improve his aim during combat. The original Stevenson character of Ben Gunn was rewritten as an eccentric robot named B.E.N., who literally lost his mind after being marooned on the titular island.
THE PLOT
On the planet Montressor, young Jim Hawkins is enchanted by stories of the legendary pirate Captain Nathaniel Flint and his ability to appear from out of nowhere, raid passing ships, and disappear in order to hide the loot on the mysterious "Treasure Planet". 12 years later, Jim has grown into an aloof and isolated troublemaker due to his father abandoning him and his mother. He reluctantly helps his mother Sarah run the family's Benbow Inn, and derives amusement from "Alponian solar cruising": skysurfing atop a rocket-powered sailboard. One day, a spaceship crashes near the inn. The dying pilot, Billy Bones gives Jim a sphere and tells him to "beware the cyborg". Suddenly, a gang of pirates raid and burn the inn to the ground while Jim, his mother, and their dog-like friend Dr. Delbert Doppler flee. At Doppler's study, Jim discovers that the sphere is a holographic projector containing a star map, leading to the location of Treasure Planet. Despite Sarah's reluctance, Jim and Doppler decide to travel to Treasure Planet in order to gain the funds to rebuild the inn. Doppler commissions the ship RLS Legacy on a mission to find Treasure Planet. The ship is commanded by the feline Captain Amelia along with her stone-skinned and disciplined first mate, Mr. Arrow. The crew is a motley bunch, secretly led by the half-robot cook John Silver, whom Jim suspects is the cyborg he was warned about. Jim is sent down to work in the galley, where he is supervised by Silver and his shape-shifting pet, Morph. Despite Jim's mistrust of Silver, they soon form a tenuous father-son relationship.
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For the casting of Jim, the filmmakers conducted an exhaustive audition process in New York, Los Angeles, and London. After months of auditions, the role was offered to Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who was coming to the end of his run on the hugely popular television show 3rd Rock from the Sun. Musker felt Gordon-Levitt brought the right balance of determination and vulnerability to the character, which were exactly the qualities found within Jim characterisation.
For the roles of Dr. Doppler and Captain Amelia, Clements and Musker had specifically written the characters with David Hyde Pierce and Emma Thompson respectively in mind. As Pierce was currently in the Disney studio recording his dialogue for Pixar’s A Bug’s Life, the directors met with the actor to show him the script and their preliminary drawings. He immediately accepted the role. Thompson also leapt at the opportunity, namely due to being pregnant at the time and knew the role would allow her to play an action heroine without the need to physically exert herself.
After their success with the now-obligatory Disney comedic sidekick character voiced by a famous comedian in both Aladdin and Hercules, Clements and Musker knew the role of B.E.N. needed to echo this tradition. As such, the filmmakers offered the part to comedian Martin Short, who, coincidentally, had just finished voiceover work for my favourite DreamWorks film, The Prince of Egypt. In a similar fashion to Robin Williams’ Genie, Short adlibbed numerous recording sessions, with the actor’s manic performance style mirrored in the animation of his character.
MY VERDICT
Over the course of this project, there are several films that I have called incredibly ambitious. But none of them have even come close to the levels of Treasure Planet. Musker and Clements spent FIFTEEN YEARS trying to get this passion project greenlit. They actually reached for the stars. But they turned out this bizarre blend of humans and aliens in 18th century clothing in sailing ships flying through space, and half human half cyborgs and robots. It just doesn’t mesh well. Plus the fact that this was a time when hand - drawn animation was truly digging it’s own grave and by 2002, audiences had generally moved on. Animation studios like Pixar and DreamWorks were coming up with their 3D CG films, and this style of animation was clearly what the people desired. If this film had been released during the Renaissance, perhaps it could have done better. As it is, it remains one of Disney’s most disappointing films to date.
Is Treasure Planet a Disney Classic? This is another case of style over substance. It was undoubtedly an admirable project with the greatest of intentions that sadly failed to understand the changing climate, and thus failed itself. It has recently attained cult status for some people, but not nearly enough to consider Treasure Planet a true Disney Classic.
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