Treasure Planet - Movie Analysis Essay

Introduction

Treasure Planet is a science fiction action animated film. It is based on the novel called Treasure Island, written by Robert Louis Stevenson. The film is about a kid with spirits, Jim Hawkins, who troubles his mother by associating himself with a contraption resembling a flying skateboard. In the process, he receives a map from a man who is dying. The map leads him to a hidden planet where it is believed the greatest pirate in history hid some treasure. As such, Dr. Doppler, who was a family friend to Jim’s family, offers to facilitate the expedition’s financing to search for the treasure.

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Doppler and Jim embark on the mission with a ship under the lead of Captain Amelia. Jim is put alongside John Silver, the cook on the ship that is partly human and partly cyborg, and a machine. Jim thinks they are on the same side until he eavesdrops when John tells the crew of the plans to overthrow and the leading crew and steal the treasure when they reach the planet with the treasure. Jim meets Ben, a new friend when they land on the new planet with the treasure who has part of his memory missing. It is on the planet that they begin to struggle to get the treasure.

Portrayal of Pirates

In Treasure Planet, pirates are portrayed to be working in cohesion from the beginning without taking sides. They are all focused on achieving the intended purpose of obtaining the treasure and work as a team. The above is opposite to the majority of similar movies where the antagonist and protagonist are always identified in the formative stages of the film and go on to fight against each other all through. In most of the movie, there is also minimal cohesion among team members at the beginning. It is usually substituted and frequented by fights tasking the captain always to decide the case of wars from within their teams (Kinkor, 204). The captain in this particular film is a lady, Captain Amelia. However, in most of the pirate films, the captains are usually male. Captain Amelia is a calm and incredibly intelligent, a good leader, at the same time, strong-willed to achieve the mission (Deppe, n.p). In other piracy movies, the captains are usually arrogant and rough in their dealing with the subjects. Therefore, women are given a place in high positions to take charge of men, as portrayed by Captain Amelia.

Historical Moment

The historical moment being portrayed in the movie encompasses renaissance piracy and later piracy in the sense that Treasure Planet is set in the past, the present, and the future (High, 2014). Its setting is a fantasy universe dominated by galleons travel, powered by solar that travels around various galaxies. In this particular universe, the favorite sport is solar-surfing. In the treasure planet, it is where the eighteenth-century pirates merge with the twenty-fourth-century space technology.

Constructs of Gender and Race

In the majority of piracy movies, the characters are usually male because of the harsh settings and the nature of activities that are undertaken that are believed to favor a single-gender (Rediker, 23). Just like the other movies, Treasure Planet’s representation of gender was also a matter of concern. The film only identifies two women who are Jim’s mother, Sarah, and Captain Amelia. However, there is also a monster crew member that seems to be female coded. The other characters, Jim, Billy, Arrow, and Delbert, were all male, including Ben, the robot. The women are also suppressed to the extent that they cannot interact in the film. The is no instance at which they meet in the entire scenes like the men.

Comparison of the Movie and the Book

Superficially, Treasure Planet and Treasure Island seem to be exhibit differences. However, a closer examination depicts a similar picture. The names that have been used in the film and the book, personalities, and the settings are different. However, the heart of the two stories shows the adaptational importance (Lopez, 131). The movie rewrites the story through various elements. For instance, Jim in Treasure Planet views the world at a childish perspective, just like Jim in the book. He also matures in the film with the essence of their change remaining the same. In the book, Jim lacks maturity, and he is ready to challenge Billy Bones, who other boys are afraid to do so and does not like Captain Smollet because of the work he gives him.

He fails to understand the wisdom by which other people are treating him, a childish perspective to view the world. Similarly, it is echoed in the film when he begins with recklessness and isolation of how boys view themselves in these modern days (Ebert, n,.p). We see him looking down upon his mum and won’t talk to her as he surfs. In the book, Jim finds it hard to separate from Silver after promising him that the pirate lives a happy life while he is wrong. In the film, Jim solar-surfs to save the day and hugs his mum. He accepts to mingle with people around him in a meaningful way, which he never did before. The above shows maturity adapted from the book and echoed in the film.

Works Cited

Deppe, Megan. “7 Things We Love About Treasure Planet.” D23, 27 Nov. 2017, d23.com/7-things-we-love-about-treasure-planet/.

Ebert, Roger. “Treasure Planet Movie Review & Film Summary (2002): Roger Ebert.” Movie Review & Film Summary (2002) | Roger Ebert, 27 Nov. 2002, www.rogerebert.com/reviews/treasure-planet-2002.

Kinkor, Kenneth J. “Black men under the black flag.” Bandits at sea: A pirates reader (2001): 195-210.

López Nadal, Gonçal. “Corsairing as a commercial system: the edges of legitimate trade.” Bandits at sea: a pirates reader (2001): 125-136.

Rediker, Marcus. “Liberty beneath the Jolly Roger: The Lives of Anne Bonny and Mary Read, Pirates.” Iron Men, Wooden Women: Gender and Seafaring in the Atlantic World, 1700-1920 (1996): 1-33.