Treasure Planet

This topic contains:

• details about Treasure Planet’s classification and consumer advice lines
• a review of Treasure Planet completed by Young Media Australia (YMA) on 19 December 2002.

About the movie

This section contains details about the movie, including its classification by the Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC) and the associated consumer advice lines.

YMA review

This review of the movie Treasure Planet contains the following information:

• a synopsis of the story
• use of violence
• material that may scare children
• sexual references, nudity and sexual activity
• use of alcohol and other drugs
• coarse language
• the movie’s message
• overall comments

A synopsis of the story

The film opens with explosive images of the space pirate captain Flint, a very scary alien with six eyes and long protruding fangs, terrorising and plundering space faring merchant ships in his rocket powered, laser firing galleon. Following the exploits of Captain Flint, one of the films central characters Jim Hawkins is introduced. Jim is a fifteen-year-old teenager who is disillusioned with life as an inn keepers son, and engages in rebellious acts. However all this changes when Billy Bones, an alien space pirate crash-lands his ship and is rescued by Jim. The rescue however is short lived, and Billy Bones dies, but not before revealing a metal sphere that provides Jim with the location of the fabled Treasure Planet. Jim’s search for Treasure Planet begins. 

Jim together with Dr. Delbert Doppler, a dog looking humanoid character, travel to the spaceport of Crescentia, and board the space galleon Legacy. The Legacy is captained by a cat like female alien, and crewed by all manner of aliens including a very scary spider looking alien who murders the first mate during the ships escape from a black hole. On board ship, Jim is made cabin boy, and befriended by the films main villain the charismatic John Silver. Silver is a human cyborg complete with mechanical peg leg, a knife wielding mechanical arm that transforms into a laser cannon, and a shoulder perching protoplasmic pet named Morph. The Legacy finally arrives at its destination of Treasure Planet. At this point Jim discovers he has been betrayed by John Silver and uncovers a plot of mutiny. Jim together with the ships captain and Dr. Doppler escape to the planet’s surface. Here the trio come across B.E.N (Bio-Electronic Navigator), a bumbling robot who has lost his memory circuits. After being recaptured by the John Silver and his band of alien pirates, Jim is forced to use the map as a key, which unlocks a space portal transporting Jim, Silver, the ship and its grew deep within Treasure Planet where they discover Captain Flint’s treasure.

However, as the treasure is discovered a doomsday devise is triggered causing the planet to self destruct, but not before Jim takes a death defying sky surfing ride to take the ship and all aboard back through the portal to be returned safely to the spaceport of Crescentia. 

Treasure Planet has a happy ever after ending. Silver escapes with the assisstance of Jim, romance develops between Dr. Doppler and the captain of the Legacy, the inn is rebuilt and Jim through his adventure grows up abandoning his adolescent attitude, and realises the wealth of family and friends.

Use of violence

• Treasure Planet contains violence from beginning to end, and is portrayed by both the villains and heroes. The violence used by the villains is continuous underhanded and murderous, while violence used by the heroes is used sparingly and used in the guise of self-defence.
• The violence portrayed real life consequences such as murder, aliens falling to their death, and debilitating injury. However, all of the “good guys”, with the exception of the first mate survived or completely recovered from their physical injuries, their was no mention of psychological injury, and all damaged property was rebuilt.
• The violence portrayed in Treasure Planet is set in a life threatening context rather than comic, and although the violence is animated, young children, who maintain both a real and pretend understanding of what they view could easily view this cartoon violence as real and threatening.
• Male alien characters perpetrate almost all of the violence, and the two only female characters portrayed in the film become victims of violence.

Material that may scare children

The horror and violence presented in Treasure Planet is portrayed as real with real life consequences such as terror, death and destruction. As young children are capable of believing phenomena to be both real and pretend at the same time, children under the age of eight age years may find the horror and violence presented in Treasure Planet both scary and threatening.

Treasure Planet from start to finish is full of scary and threatening images that may be of concern to children under eight years including:

• Scary looking aliens with large protruding fangs
• Spider like aliens
• A young Jim being abandoned by his father
• Aliens with detachable heads
• Jim being threatened by a scary spider looking alien
• John Silvers knife wheedling mechanical arm
• Cannons and guns that fire laser beams
• Threatening gestures and dialogue by scary looking aliens
• An alien falling to his death into a black hole
• Fast paced and violent visual effects such as exploding supernovas
• Loud sound effects such as explosions, space storms  and rocket engines
• Life threatening violent space storms
• Jim falling into the depths of an exploding planet on a failing make shift solar surfer
• Extreme solar board riding by Jim while being chased by robotic police

Sexual references, nudity and sexual activity

• Sexual references are non-existent, which is no surprise considering there are only two female characters presented in the film, Jim’s mother and the captain of the Legacy. However there is occasional eye contact between Dr. Doppler, and the captain of the legacy, and the occasional comic innuendo between these two.

Use of alcohol and other drugs

• Non-existent

Coarse language

• The use of the term “screwed up” by Jim is the worst that you will hear. The use of occasional put downs are poetic when compared to the usual “scurvy dog” found in most pirate movies. For example, the captain of the legacy refers to her crew as “a ludicrous parcel of drivelling galoots”.

The movie’s message

The main take home messages presented in Treasure Planet besides the obvious of good winning over evil, and crime doesn’t pay is the message that the bonds of friendship create qualities within individuals enabling them to overcome overwhelming odds. And that life’s real treasure is not a pot of gold, but the realisation of ones own strengths and the value of friendship, family and friends.

Values that parents may wish to encourage include:

• The value and meaning of friendship and loyalty
• That violence has real life consequences
• The value of achievement and self worth
• Endurance through adversity

Values that parents may wish to discourage include:

• That the world is dominated by males, whether they be alien males, or human males
• That bad guys, or villains are always males
• That villains always look bad, evil, or nasty
• That the use of violence and deception to gain goals is acceptable and rewarding

Overall comments

It would appear that Treasure Planet specifically targets young (male) children and teenagers. Younger children will be drawn to the visual effects, the scariness of the alien characters, and especially the film’s teenage hero Jim Hawkins.

There is comedy throughout that will appeal to all ages including humorous bantering and sarcasm (although too sophisticated for young children), some slapstick comedy mainly generated by the marooned robot, and toilet humour such as conversations in flatulence would be especially appealing to younger children.

Teenagers over the age of sixteen, who have been desensitised to horror and violence, may find the Treasure Planet a little mild in terms of thrills.

Seven and eight year olds may find some of the characters and visual effects frightening and disturbing