Treasure Planet
Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, David Hyde Pierce, Emma Thompson, Martin Short
Extras: Video Commentary, Deleted Scenes, Featurettes, Music Video
Rating:
It is hard to imagine but yes, it has been ten years since Disney's "Treasure Planet" flew into theaters, exciting audiences with its inspired script and beautiful animation. Now, Walt Disney Home Entertainment has prepared a Blu-Ray version of the film, ready for you to explore.
At its core, "Treasure Planet" is a retelling of Robert Louis Stevenson's timeless classic pirate story, "Treasure Island." However, the writers and filmmakers have transplanted the film into a fantasy world filled with wondersome creatures and ships that sail the skies and soar from one planet to another, the vastness of space serving as their ocean.
In this world, young troublemaker Jim Hawkins (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) rescues a man who has crash landed in front of his mother's inn. Before the man dies, he hands Jim a map and warns him of a cyborg. Not sure what to do with it, Jim examines the man and realizes it is a treasure map leading to Captain Flint's fabled treasure of a thousand worlds. But before he has time to further explore the map, the inn is being attacked by a band of pirates and with the help of his mother's friend, Doctor Doppler (David Hyde Pierce) Jim ventures out to find the treasure.
What follows is a colorful adventure filled with strange encounters, fearsome adversaries and one magnificent treasure.
The thing that has always fascinated me the most about "Treasure Planet" is how it infused the classic pirate story with completely new elements, making it fresh and exciting yet again. This kind of Steampunk atmosphere suits the film very well and the film's visuals do their best to bring out the glorious and enchanting world of Jim Hawkins. The only criticism I would have is that the art direction mixes traditional cel animation with rendered 3D imagery, creating a look and feel that is jarring occasionally due to the differences in style. Other than that, I think "Treasure Planet" is one of the most overlooked animated movies that Disney has produced over the years.
Presenting "Treasure Planet" in high definition for the first time, the 1080p transfer found on this Blu-Ray release is absolutely wonderful. With incredible detail and rich colors, the film is magnificent to behold, allowing you to lose yourself in the story and the action. Lines are always perfectly defined, giving the image an incredible sharpness without ever feeling artificial.
The audio is presented as DTS 5.1 HD Master Audio track on the disc, also giving the film plenty to work with. With a low bass extension, the track creates deep-bellow rumbles when necessary but remans crystal clear in the high ends all the same.
Celebrating the film's 10th anniversary, Disney has also packed a series of bonus materials onto the disc, starting with a video commentary that allows the filmmakers to reveal how the film was made. Look behind the scenes of the animation department, and witness the creation of the film with additional footage and a glimpse at the process itself.
Also included are deleted scenes and John Reznik's "I'm Still Here" music video.
As an addition, the release also contains the DVD version of the film,complete with bonus materials, as well as an unlock code to give you access to a streamable version of the movie for your mobile devices.
I think "Treasure Planet" benefited tremendously from the high definition upgrade. The level of detail and the beautiful shades and coloring leap off the screen in this transfer, making it a must for all fans of the film.
