Treasure Planet was an ambitious project for Disney. The cost was astronomical, but it shows through on screen. The odd mix of traditional hand drawn animation and computer generated imagery is hit or miss but it certainly has a look all its own. Sadly, the movie was the biggest flop in the history of the long standing studio making a meager $32 million back from a budget close to $200 million. This is probably the reason the DVD was released only in single-disc form as opposed to this and a separate 2-disc limited edition like most of their new films.

Treasure Planet retells the classic Robert Louis Stevenson tale of Treasure Island with a futuristic sci-fi twist. Rebellious teenager Jim Hawkins (voiced by Joseph Gordon-Levitt) stumbles upon a map leading to a planet that is loaded with buried treasure. Along with Doctor Delbert Doppler (David Pierce), he sets off on a ship to find the legendary planet, unaware that some of the crewmembers are not on board just for the flight.

The new spin put on this classic is certainly imaginative and the characters are lively, but the entire experience is just dull. It almost seems like the film is just going through the paces without any real effort. Sure the animation is strong (superb even), but all the action just seems contrived and forced. In fact, there is very little here that separates this one from a standard Saturday morning cartoon (only this is 90 minutes).

But, as mentioned before, the animation here is just stunning. The mix of CG and classic hand drawn animation works through most of the film. There are a few moments where it doesn't seem quite right, but you might be surprised to learn how some of the CG was used. The budget was certainly put to good use. Sadly, this is just about the only thing the film has going for it. This is a standard cartoon that will likely please some of the younger kids, but as far as a family film goes, this one completely misses the mark. (** out of *****)

Treasure Planet is presented in 1.66:1 widescreen. Kudos to Disney for including liner notes as to why this is the best way to watch the film. Of course, they also say to use the zoom feature to eliminate the "black bars," but at least they tried something to show people the superiority of the format. This is a direct digital transfer, something the company has been doing for sometime. This is a miraculous transfer thanks to this process that completely eliminates film grain. Some of the brighter reds and blues exhibit some compression problems, but this is only apparent a few times. It's not quite as sharp as say, A Bug's Life, but this is still one of the best looking animated films on the market today. (****)