AGW Entertainment reporter Lynn B. saw a new animated action/adventure film. Here are her thoughts on....

TREASURE PLANET

Walt Disney Pictures

It was once thought that Robert Louis Stevenson's novel "Treasure Island" was "for boys". Don't you believe it. It's for people with adventure and wonder and a desire to find themselves a place in life, no matter what their gender! It's the same for Disney's beautiful new animated film Treasure Planet. Who wouldn't want to go find "the loot of a thousand worlds"?

15-year-old Jim Hawkins (voiced by "3rd Rock From the Sun"'s Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a lonely, fatherless misfit working at his mother's inn on the planet of Montressor. He can only dream of adventure on far-off worlds. After discovering a high tech treasure map, Jim is off to make his fortune. He joins the crew of an intergalactic expedition as cabin boy on a space galleon bound to find the treasure. Onboard, Jim is befriended by the ship's cook, a crusty cyborg named John Silver who teaches him about sailing the spaceways. The crew battle supernovas, blackholes and space storms on their way to the planet but Jim finds that his father-figure pal Silver is actually a pirate with mutiny in mind. Jim is turned from a boy to a man as he must face down the mutineers and lead the journey to the center of treasure planet.

This movie is a terrific combination of Star Wars, Star Trek and every pirate movie you've ever seen. Jim is very much like Luke Skywalker as he tries to find his destiny and grow from boy to man. He has robot side kicks and even a kind of "Obi-Wan" mentor in John Silver. There is a gorgeous and strong female ship's captain who looks like a combination of a Vulcan and a cat! Of course she falls for a "dog", a very funny astrophysicist called Doctor Doppler who even spouts a version of a classic Star Trek line "darn it, Jim. I'm an astronomer, not a doctor"! There are tons of laughs with morph, a cute little pet of Silver's who can change into replicas of just about anything or anybody. Martin Short is hilarious as the voice of B.E.N., an abandoned, short-circuited robot who is missing most of his memory. The movie has a nice warm and fuzzy ending but that's just fine.

Technically and visually, Treasure Planet is gorgeous and very exciting with a new combination of hand-drawn animation and 3D "virtual sets". The camera moves are just as fast, mobile and exciting as in any live action movie. Jim rides a wonderful solarsurfer that is sort of a combo of a windsail and a skateboard (in this fantasy universe where you don't need a spacesuit to move through outer space). The era of the film is total fantasy since costumes and sets look like those of a pirate period (the 1700's) but are combined with high tech gadgetry. The colors are so brilliant that you can't take your eyes off the screen.

Treasure Planet is a delightful treasure for adults, kids and teens. Take your whole family. There is something adventurous and wonderful there for everyone.

Rated: PG

Official website: www.treasureplanet.com