Directed by Ron Clements and John Musker
Novel by Robert Louis Stevenson (Treasure Island)
Story by Ron Clements, John Musker, Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio
Screenplay by Ron Clements, John Musker and Rob Edwards

Roscoe Lee Browne .... Arrow (voice)
Dane A. Davis .... Morph (voice)
Joseph Gordon-Levitt .... Jim Hawkins (speaking) (voice)
David Hyde Pierce .... Dr. Doppler (voice)
Austin Majors .... Young Jim (voice)
Mona Marshall .... (voice)
Patrick McGoohan .... Billy Bones (voice)
Laurie Metcalf .... Sarah (voice)
Brian Murray .... John Silver (voice)
Johnny Rzeznik .... Jim Hawkins (singing) (voice)
Martin Short .... B.E.N. (voice)
Emma Thompson .... Captain Amelia (voice)
Michael Wincott .... Skroopf (voice)

Produced by
Ron Clements .... producer
Roy Conli .... producer
Peter Del Vecho .... associate producer
John Musker .... producer

Original Music by James Newton Howard
Songs by Johnny Rzeznik

Film Editing by Michael Kelly

MPAA: Rated PG for adventure action and peril.
For rating reasons, go to FILMRATINGS.COM, and MPAA.ORG.
Parents, please refer to PARENTALGUIDE.ORG

Treasure Island
by Robert Louis Stevenson, N.C. Wyeth (Illustrator)
Climb aboard for the swashbuckling adventure of a lifetime. Treasure Island has enthralled (and caused slight seasickness) for decades. The names Long John Silver and Jim Hawkins are destined to remain pieces of folklore for as long as children want to read Robert Louis Stevenson's most famous book. With it's dastardly plot and motley crew of rogues and villains, it seems unlikely that children will ever say no to this timeless classic. --Naomi Gesinger

Treasure Planet: A Voyage of Discovery
by Jeff Kurtti, Jeff Kurtii, Jody Revenson
Great book! It has plenty of background info and production and prepoduction work. The Glenn Keane animation drawings alone are worth getting the book. I enjoy the behind the scenes work in animation productions as well as the films themselves. I believe this book satisfies interest on both accounts. This book is a welcome addition to anyone's library. I look forward to seeing the movie. --Stephen Smelley

Fifteen-year-old Jim Hawkins, a fatherless boy growing up on the planet Montressor, is searching for his place in the universe. A bit of a loner, he escapes his daily routine of helping his Mom run the Benbow Inn by soaring through the air on his homemade solarsurfer. His life takes a sudden and dramatic turn when a space cruiser crash-lands near the Inn. A crazed turtle-like alien named Billy Bones emerges from the wreckage with wild talk and a warning about a fiendish cutthroat cyborg that is following him.

Just as Bones expires, a band of pirates land and begin ransacking the Inn as they search frantically for the chest Bones had in his possession. The Benbow Inn is destroyed in the process. With the help of a family friend, astrophysicist Dr. Delbert Doppler, Jim and his mother narrowly escape to Doppler's home. There they discover that the chest contains a gold metallic sphere with odd engraved markings. Jim fiddles with the object and a 3D holographic image of the planets and stars fills the room. An avid reader of pirate tales since his childhood, Jim immediately identifies the luminescent two-ringed green planet as Treasure Planet, the legendary hiding place of Captain Flint's treasure trove: the loot of a thousand worlds.

Determined to help his mother rebuild the Inn with the treasure, Jim answers the call to adventure. Doppler agrees to finance the expedition with his savings and the plan is swiftly set into motion. Shortly afterwards, Jim and Doppler arrive at the bustling crescent moon-shaped spaceport of Crescentia. Here they get their first glimpse of the impressive space galleon, the RLS Legacy, and meet the beautiful catlike alien officer Captain Amelia.

Along with her first officer, Mr. Arrow, the Captain runs a tight ship but must contend with a motley crew of assorted aliens hired by Doppler. Jim is assigned by the Captain to work in the ship's galley where he meets John Silver, the charismatic cyborg cook who demonstrates how he uses his mechanical arm as an eggbeater, torch and ladle. He also meets Morph, Silver's devoted little protoplasmic pet who expertly adopts the shape and personality of any person or object. Jim suspects that Silver is the cyborg that Bones ranted about and he engages in a cat-and-mouse exchange trying to see if Silver reveals any clues to his true identity. But the shifty Silver is a quick-thinking con man and manages to out-maneuver the wary boy.

The voyage through the Etherium is eventful as the crew observes a majestic herd of Orcus Galactici (gigantic flying space whales), and faces destruction when a supernova star devolves into a life-threatening black hole. Along the way, Silver and young Jim form a bond. Silver discovers that Jim grew up without a father and assumes the role of mentor, initially just to keep the boy in check. In spite of himself, the hardhearted pirate develops a soft spot for Jim. He offers words of encouragement and tells the boy that he has the "makins of greatness" in him.

He adds, "And when the time comes you get the chance to really test the cut of yer sails and show what yer made of…well, I hope I'm there catchin' some a the light comin' off ya that day!" When Jim overhears Silver talking to his crew about plans for a mutiny and denying any feelings for the boy, he feels horribly betrayed. Jim, Captain Amelia and Doppler manage to escape in one of the galleon's longboats and crash-land on Treasure Planet. While Doppler tends to Amelia's wounds, Jim searches for a hiding place and encounters B.E.N. (Short for Bio-Electronic Navigator), a rickety marooned robot who has literally lost his mind (or at least his primary memory circuit) and is desperate for company.

The pirates give chase and Silver offers Jim a deal that if he turns over the map, an even portion of the treasure will be his. Jim scorns the offer and Silver gives him until morning to change his mind. B.E.N., By chance, leads Jim to a vast underground network of machinery that makes up the inside of Treasure Planet. In fact, the planet is a gigantic machine built by an ancient alien race millions of years ago as a means of exploring the universe. The planet powers the portals that were used to travel all over the universe and Captain Flint had used them to steal treasure and acquire the "loot of a thousand worlds."

Silver and his band of cutthroats forcibly gain control of the situation and soon discover that the treasure lies hidden in the center of the planet's mechanical inner workings. They also discover that Captain Flint booby-trapped the planet to explode if anyone but himself reopened the portals. With the planet about to explode and Jim's life in jeopardy, Silver is confronted with the choice of either saving Jim or keeping the treasure he's been searching for his whole life. In the explosive finale to the story, both Jim and Silver are tested in ways beyond their wildest imagination and their futures literally hang in the balance.

HISTORICAL TREASURE ISLAND
BECOMES FUTURISTIC TREASURE PLANET

What I find interesting about this film is how an adventure novel written in 1883, about a historical time in the 1700s, can be so adaptable in 2002 as a science fiction tale of the future. Historical Treasure Island becomes futuristic Treasure Planet.

History and the future become kissing cousins. The film is 70% traditional and 30% futuristic or high-tech. For example, from a distance, Jim's house looks like an traditional English cottage, but as you get closer, you realize that there's all this metal work and pipes. Things that are clearly futuristic.

GOOD STORIES NEVER DIE
Treasure Planet also demonstrates the timeless quality of a good story. A good story never dies; it is just adapted to each new generation in distinctive ways. For example, how many times and in how many ways has Cinderella been retold? Even the Brothers Grimm adapted Cinderella from previous sources.

The impact of Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island is considerable. Traces of it can be found in Superman, Star Wars and Harry Potter. --A fatherless boy receives a call (Hawkin's map, Superman's crystal, Potter's letter, R2D2's recording) and sets out on a quest.

In fact, this general theme can even be connected to the ancient biblical story of Abraham, who received a call from God and set out on a quest that would ultimately change the world by giving birth to the 3 great world religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

CULTURE SHIFT = SETTING SHIFT
In terms of setting, Pirates of the 1700's are cast as futuristic space buccaneers. Story settings often shift with the culture. For example, when the Old West setting in the once popular cowboy western movies had run its course (1920-1970), the setting was changed to space. Star Wars IV is a good example of how the Old West genre was revitalized by placing it into the futuristic setting.

Treasure Planet also speaks to a very important shift in our culture from historical thinking to a future mind set. There was a time when historical novels were very important. Society generally understood itself by looking to its history, hence the popularity of pirates, cowboys and patriots. Beginning in the mid seventies as reflected in the popularity of Star Wars (2001 A Space Odyssey in 1969 being the foreshadow) this all changed. Society began to understand itself by looking forward. Goal setting, management by objectives, true north, and staying ahead of the curve became the major concerns. Destiny has become the buzzword of our day. As Star Wars so aptly states, "It's your destiny Luke" so, "give in to the force."

A FUTURISTIC VIEW OF HISTORY
We will always enjoy a good historical novel, and they will always be important, but in a different way. Understanding history is critical. The past will continue to inform us. It's just that we now see the past as it relates to the future, and the future is what concerns us. We are futurists, not historians. Treasure Island has become Treasure Planet indeed.

SOME THOUGHTS

Life without a goal is like entering a jewel mine and coming out with empty hands.
--JAPANESE PROVERB

The man without a purpose is like a ship without a rudder—a waif, a nothing, a no man.
--THOMAS CARLYLE (1795–1881)

Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.
--Jesus

God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I'm off and running, and I'm not turning back.
--St. Paul

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