Ron Clements and John Musker wanted to create Treasure Planet starting in 1985. They pitched the idea to Disney but Disney wanted them to produce The Great Mouse Detective, The Little Mermaid, and Aladdin first. After Aladdin, Ron and John again pitched the idea but Disney wanted them to produce Hercules. They agreed on the condition that they could make Treasure Planet afterwards. Unfortunately, this dream project of theirs was not well-received by audiences and has slipped through the animation cracks over time.
Premiered on: November 17, 2002 at the Cinerama Dome, Hollywood
Directed by:
Ron Clements
John Musker
Produced by:
Rob Clements
John Musker
Roy Conli
Based on: Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
Sequels: none
Cast:
Joseph Gordon-Levitt – Jim Hawkins
Austin Majors – young Jim Hawkins
David Hyde Pierce – Delbert Doppler
Emma Thompson – Captain Amelia
Martin Short – B.E.N.
Brian Murray – John Silver
Roscoe Lee Browne – Mr. Arrow
Laurie Metcalf – Sarah Hawkins
Dane Davis – Morph
Michael Wincott – Scroop
Patrick McGoohan – Billy Bones
Tony Jay – Narrator
Corey Burton – Onus
Supervising Animators:
Jared Beckstrand
Nancy Beiman
Ken Duncan
Adam Dykstra
Brian Ferguson
T. Daniel Hofstedt
Glen Keane
Sergio Pablos
John Pomeroy
John Ripa
Michael Show
Kevin M. Smith
Oskar Urretabizkaia
Ellen Woodbury
Music by: James Newton Howard
Songs:
“I’m Still Here”
“Always Know Where You Are”
Academy Awards: Best Animated Film (nomination)
The Story:
Treasure Planet begins with a starry night sky. The title card appears as a narrator begins the story. On the clearest nights great merchant ships sail through space. They carry their treasure without realizing that they are being pursued by pirates. The most feared pirate of all is Captain Nathaniel Flint. His pirate ship catches up to the merchant ship and attacks it.
A boy’s head suddenly appears alongside the two ships. The battle is actually part of a storybook that Jim Hawkins is reading. His mom, Sarah Hawkins, comes into his room and says that she thought he was asleep a long time ago. He protests that he was just getting to the best part and she gives in and crawls into the bed with him. They finish the story together.
Back at the battle, Flint’s crew steals the treasure and then his ship vanishes without a trace. The narrator explains that Flint’s secret trove was never found and was rumoured to still be hidden in the furthest reaches of the galaxy on his own Treasure Planet.
Jim asks his mom how Captain Flint did it but she does not know. They have a tickle fight before his mom puts Jim back to bed and tells him that Treasure Planet is more of a legend. Jim insists that it is real.
In the dark, Jim is still reading under the covers.
In the next scene, he is a teenager and is soaring through the sky on sailboard. A caption says that it is 12 years later. He rides through a mine and police robots pull him over.
At the Benbow Inn, Sarah is overwhelmed with waiting on guests in the restaurant. She gives Dr. Delbert Doppler his meal and a little alien girl awkward is watching him eat. He tells the girl to go away but then she sticks out her long tongue and grabs some of his food. Sarah thinks that kids are adorable at that age, but Delbert doesn’t agree. He then asks how Jim is doing and Sarah responds that he is doing much better. There were a few rough patches that year but she thinks he has turned a corner. Then the police robots come through the door with Jim in tow and Delbert comments that it was the wrong turn.
The police robots say that Jim was operating a motor vehicle in a restricted area. One of the robots lists which law it is but he cannot remember the paragraph number. Jim does. The robots then say that he has now violated his probation and Delbert interjects. He introduces himself as a famous astronomer but the robots haven’t heard of him. They ask if he is the boy’s father and both Delbert and Sarah quickly say “no.” Sarah even says “ew.” The robots tell Delbert to back away. Sarah assures him that she has it from here. The robots explain that Jim’s vehicle has been impounded and the next offense will send him to juvenile hall. Jim is released and Sarah says that it won’t happen again. The robot cops leave.
The entire restaurant is watching what has happened but then they all quickly turn back to eating. Sarah says that she has had it but Jim just starts bussing tables. He insists that it wasn’t a big deal as there was no one around; the cops just won’t get off his back. Sarah just stares at him and then comments that she doesn’t want him to throw away his entire future. Jim doesn’t think that he has a future.
In the evening, Jim is sitting on top of the roof of the Benbow Inn. He overhears Delbert comment that he doesn’t know how Sarah manages it all. She says that she is actually at the end of her rope. She says that Jim hasn’t recovered since his father left. Sarah continues to say that Jim is so smart; he built his first solar surfer when he was eight, but he is failing school and is always in trouble.
A ship crashes near the inn. Jim races towards it to see if the pilot is alright. A pirate, Billy Bones, stubbles out of the ship and is holding a treasure chest. The pirate says that “he” is after his chest! But “he” will have to pry it from his cold, dead fingers. Billy Bones is choking and coughing and he collapses. Jim helps him up to the inn while rain is starting to fall. Jim sarcastically comments that his mom is going to love this.
Inside, Sarah is changing the view of the outside to a sunny, flowery field. She thanks Delbert for listening and he assures her that everything is going to be okay. She is looking at a little locket with holograms of Jim as a child. She says that she keeps dreaming of opening the door and Jim being there the way he was, with a new pet and begging to let him keep it.
Delbert opens the front door and there is Jim holding up Billy Bones. Sarah yells at him but Jim protests that the pirate is badly hurt. Billy asks for his chest and Jim gives it to him. Billy Bones opens the chest up and warns that the cyborg is coming soon and to beware. He then dies.
Another ship lands near the inn and more pirates approach. Jim peers out the window and tells his mother and Delbert that they need to leave quickly. They run upstairs.
The pirates come into the inn and destroy everything, looking for what was in Billy’s chest. Jim, Sarah, and Delbert jump out of a window and into a cart below. The inn is set on fire and they ride away as fast as they can. Jim unwraps the orb that he took out of Billy’s treasure chest.
At Delbert’s observatory, they are talking about what happened at the inn. Delbert is curious about the odd markings on the orb which he has never encountered before. Jim plays with it and unlocks the orb as Delbert says that it will take him years to figure out how to open it. A map comes out of the orb and Delbert names all of the planets that he sees and then they come to Treasure Planet. Jim is very excited about it and thinks that all that treasure is only a boat ride away. He thinks that it is the answer to all of their problems. Jim tries to convince his mother but she does not want him to go. Sarah tries to get Delbert on her side and Delbert thinks that it would be crazy for Jim to cross the galaxy on his own, so he will go with Jim. Delbert quickly packs and is very excited about the adventure. Sarah declares that they are both grounded. Jim explains that he knows that he keeps letting her down but this is his chance to make it right. Delbert pulls Sarah aside and says that a few months of character building in space might be the right thing for Jim. Sarah asks if he is saying this because it is the right thing or because he really wants to go. She agrees but says that she really doesn’t want to lose Jim. Jim says that she won’t and he wants to make her proud. Delbert wants to start making preparations at once and says that soon they will be off to the space port. He points at the sky.
The scene zooms in on the half-moon space port in the sky. It is very busy and when Jim arrives, he is absolutely in awe. Delbert wants Jim to wait for him and he follows in a large space suit. He is excited at this great opportunity for them to get to know one another better and Jim rolls his eyes. He thinks that they should just go find the ship. They climb about the RLS Legacy and bump into an alien who can only speak flatula. Delbert is able to speak back and Jim thinks it is cool.
Delbert finds Mr. Arrow and thinks that he is the captain. Arrow though points at Captain Amelia who is scurrying down from the riggings. She is pleased with Mr. Arrow that everything is spot on. She then introduces herself to Delbert, making him quite flustered with her snappy way of speaking. Everyone else around is introduced and Delbert starts to say that Jim was the boy who found the treasure map. Captain Amelia quickly tells him to keep quiet and wants a word in her stateroom.
Captain Amelia locks the door to her stateroom. She tells Delbert that it was imbecilic for babbling about a treasure map in front of that crew. Delbert is insulted. Captain Amelia then asks to see the map and Jim tosses it to her. She is fascinated by it and locks it away. Amelia then tells Jim that he will address her by Captain or Ma’am. She then tells Jim, Delbert, and Arrow that they are going to keep the map under lock and key. Amelia comments that she does not care much for that crew and then tells Mr. Arrow to escort them to the galley were Jim will be working for the cook, Mr. Silver. Jim is not excited about this.
As they walk down to the galley, Delbert and Jim talk about how annoyed they are with the captain and Mr. Arrow tells them that he will not tolerate any cross word about Captain Amelia. Mr. Silver is whistling in the galley and Mr. Arrow brings Delbert and Jim in. Mr. Silver comments that if he knew guests were coming, he would have tucked in his shirt. Jim is nervous to see that he is a cyborg. Arrow introduces Delbert who introduces Jim. Jim won’t shake the cyborg’s robot hand and Mr. Silver says not to be too put off by the arm and uses it to quickly prepare some stew for them. Delbert loves the meal until an eyeball stares up at him. Mr. Silver says that it is an old family recipe and that is part of the old family. He insists he is just joking and eats the eyeball. Jim’s spoon turns into Morph who eats the stew. Silver says that he rescued the little shapeshifter and they have been together ever since. A bell rings and Mr. Arrow says that they are about to get underway. He invites Delbert to observe the launch. He leaves Jim under Silver’s charge and they both protest about it.
After Arrow and Delbert leave, Jim tries to get some information out of Silver. He asks if he has ever been to his home planet but Silber says he hasn’t. Jim explains that he met an old guy named Billy Bones who was looking for his cyborg buddy. Silver again says that this doesn’t ring any bells and it must be a different cyborg. They then hear a whistle and Silver tells Jim that he can go up and watch the launch. After Jim leaves, Silver tells Morph that they must keep an eye on him.
On the top deck, Captain Amelia gives the all clear. Mr. Arrow calls for all hands to the stations. The crew is very busy getting ready to sail off. They take off above the space port and everyone floats in the air until the artificial gravity is turned on. Captain Amelia tells Delbert to brace himself but he doesn’t listen and goes flying around the deck.
Jim climbs up the riggings as they sail into space. He sees many space creatures around and is in complete awe. Delbert tries to take a photo of a space whale but is blasted with the spout, despite Captain Amelia trying to warn him.
Silver comes up on deck and greets the captain. He compliments her but Amelia doesn’t appreciate it. She points out his cabin boy aimlessly flittering about and Silver is a little annoyed about it. He calls Jim over and says that he has two new friends to meet and tosses him a mop and a bucket. Silver laughs.
Jim is mopping the deck and is being pushed around by the crew. He observes some of the crew chatting but stops when they notice him staring. They call him a weirdo and Scroop tells Jim to learn to mind his own business. Jim questions if they have something to hide and Scroop responses by lifting Jim up and shoving him against a mast. Jim still insults him and everyone starts yelling for a fight. Mr. Arrow appears and yells that there is no brawling on the ship. Any further offenders will be confined to the brig for the remainder of the voyage. Arrow looks directly at Scroop when he asks if he is clear. Arrow then tells everyone to disperse.
Silver comes and yells at Jim for not doing his job but Jim argues that he was until he was attacked. Silver tells Morph to keep an eye on Jim and to let him know if there are any more distractions.
Silver goes down to the crew quarters and yells at everyone for almost blowing the mutiny before it is time. Scroop says that the boy was sniffing about but Silver insists that they keep to the plan and he will keep the boy so busy that he will not have time to think.
It is dark and Jim is still mopping as Morph is helping, shaped as a mop. Silver comes up to toss out some leftover food and Jim awkward thanks him for saving him from Scroop. Silver asks Jim if his father ever taught him to pick his fights more carefully but Jim just looks sad and doesn’t answer. Silver then asks if his father was not the teaching sort and Jim responses that he was more of the taking off and never coming back sort. Jim then tries to make it seem like it was no big deal and Silver says that he will teach him some new skills that will keep him out of trouble.
The song “I’m Still Here” plays as Silver gets Jim to do different chores such as scrape off barnacles and peel potatoes. Jim thinks of his memories as a child playing with his mom. Silver also tries to teach him how to tie knots in ropes but Jim doesn’t want to learn. He then is made to scrub the deck. He remembers wanting to play with his father but his father ignores him. Jim does the dishes. He then remembers the day his father left as he chased his father but couldn’t catch up in time. As the RLS Legacy sails, Silver teaches Jim how to fly a smaller ship. They take off and have a lot of fun soaring.
Jim and Silver arrive back at the Legacy after sailing in the longboat and they tease each other about who is better at it. Jim then tells Silver how no one back home was singing his praises when he left but he is going to change all that. Silver asks how and Jim just says that he has plans to make people see him differently. Silver warns that sometimes plans go astray. He fiddles with his cyborg leg and Jim asks how it happened anyway. Silver says that he had to give up a few things to chase a dream. Jim asks if it was worth it and Silver just says he is hoping it is.
Suddenly the ship lurches and they climb up to the top deck. Delbert warns that it is a supernova. Captain Amelia and Mr. Arrow tell all hands to fasten their lifelines. The ship soars through the supernova. The secure all sails. Silver falls in the process but Jim saves him. The supernova evolves into a black hole and the ship gets sucked towards it. Captain Amelia thinks that the star waves are erratic but Delbert knows exactly when the next when will hit so Amelia says that they will ride that wave out of there. Mr. Arrow reports to her that the sails are all secure and she commands to release them immediately. Arrow is confused but obeys. Captain Amelia gives Jim the task of making sure all the lifelines are secure. He does as the sail is released. Arrow is thrown off the ship but he is saved by his lifeline. As he is climbing back up, Scroop suddenly appears and snips the rope. This causes Arrow to fall back down into the black hole. The last wave comes and Captain Amelia is able to steer them out of the black hole and they make it away safely.
Everyone cheers and Delbert praises Captain Amelia and she says that his astronomical advice was most helpful. She then congratulates Silver for his cabin boy doing a good job with the lifelines. She calls out to Mr. Arrow to see if all hands on deck are accounted for. Scroop comes up to Captain Amelia and gives her Arrow’s hat. He says that Arrow was lost because his lifeline was not secure. Everyone looks over at Jim and he claims that he checked them all. Jim runs over to the lifelines and sees that Arrow’s is missing. Captain Amelia just glares at him. Silver looks at Scroop and knows what the alien did. Captain Amelia gives a few words about how fine a spacer Arrow was. She then tells everyone to resume their posts and carry on.
At night, Jim is looking very glum as he sits up in the riggings. Silver comes over and tries to convince him that it wasn’t his fault. He says that half the crew would be gone if it wasn’t for Jim. Jim just yells that he screwed up and that he thought he could do something right for once but he just can’t. Silver tells Jim that he has the makings for greatness in him and can’t give up. He gives Jim a big hug. Silver tells him that he must be getting back to his watch and Jim should get some shut eye. Jim heads down to the sleeping quarters, but not before smiling back at Silver.
Silver says to Morph that he is getting in too deep and the next thing he knows, they will be saying he’s gone soft. Scroop is up above and has heard everything.
The crew is sleeping. Jim is awoken by flatula. He puts on a boot and tries to grab the other but it hops away. Jim knows that it is Morph and says that it is too early for this. Morph runs away with the other boot and Jim chases him up onto the top deck. They then go down into the galley and Jim finds Morph in a barrel of fruit. Jim climbs into the barrel.
Jim is still in the barrel when he overhears the crew talking about the mutiny. He now knows that Silver is the leader and that Scroop killed Arrow. Scroop thinks that Silver has a soft spot for Jim but Silver denies this. He insists that he only wants the treasure and says he cozied up to the boy to keep Jim off their scent. Then they hear someone yell “land, ho!”
The crew all excitedly run up to the top deck and see Treasure Planet. Silver is looking for his spyglass but it is not in his pocket.
The spyglass is downstairs in the galley and Jim gets out of the barrel to head up to the deck. He runs into Silver on the stairs and Silver is very surprised to see the boy. He backs Jim down the stairs and asks if he is playing games. Jim answers yes, that they are playing games. Jim grabs a knife and stabs Silver’s cyborg leg and runs out. Silver can’t follow but finds Jim through his cyborg eye. Jim runs into the captain’s quarters.
Silver whistles and tells the crew to start the mutiny! The crew cheers and they all grab weapons. The Jolly Roger flag is hoisted.
Captain Amelia says that she will see all of the pirates on her ship hanged. She hands Delbert a gun and asks if he can use it. Delbert shoots the wall and has no idea how to use it. Amelia grabs the orb from the locked box as the pirates are trying to come into the room. She gives the orb to Jim and tells the boy to defend it with his life.
Silver blasts through the door but Amelia, Delbert, and Jim have disappeared through the floor. They are racing throughout the ship and the pirates follow. They hop onto a longboat but Morph grabs the orb and flies away. The pirates reach them and start shooting at them as Amelia fires back. Delbert accidently shoots part of the roof down onto the pirates and the pirates fall off the ship. Silver reaches them and closes up the escape hatch. Jim is still trying to get Morph and Silver sees this. He also starts to call for Morph and Morph doesn’t know who to go to. So he lands in a coil of rope. Jim reaches the rope first and grabs the orb. Silver is about to shoot Jim but can’t bring himself to do it.
Captain Amelia and Delbert have reopened the escape hatch and the longboat falls down. They take off and one of the pirates is about to shoot a cannon at them. Silver tries to stop him because Jim has the map but it is too late and the cannon is fired. Captain Amelia is hurt in the blast and the longboat goes crashing down to the planet’s surface.
Captain Amelia is badly hurt but she tries to brush it off. She asks Jim for the map and he hands her the orb. The orb floats up and turns out to be Morph so the real map is back on the ship. Jim is very angry with Morph. Amelia tells them to keep quiet because they have company as another longboat flies by overhead. Amelia says that they need a more defensible position and she gives Jim a gun to go scout ahead.
Jim leaves with Morph and a spyglass watches them from the bushes. A robot suddenly appears and is very excited that a carbon-based lifeform has finally come to save him at last. He gives Jima big hug. The robot explains that he has been marooned for so long and gone a little buts. He introduces himself as B.E.N. and explains that it stands for Bio Electronic Navigator. Jim tells B.E.N. that they are in a hurry and mentions that pirates are after them. B.E.N. declares that he does not like pirates and mentions that Captain Flint had quite the temper. Jim asks if he knows about the treasure then. B.E.N. says that it is all a little fuzzy but he does remember the treasure and that there was a door that kept opening and closing. He starts to say that Captain Flint wanted to make sure…. But then B.E.N. starts to bug out. Jim slaps the robot to calm him down but B.E.N. still can’t remember anything. He explains that his memory is not what it used to be because he lost his mind. He asks Jim if he has found a primary memory circuit and points to the back of his head where it is missing from. Jim says that he is going to move on because he really needs to find a place to hide.
B.E.N. gives a Jim a sad goodbye, making him feel badly for leaving him behind. Jim says that B.E.N. can come along if he stops talking. But B.E.N. is way too excited and talks very loudly about how excited he is. He jumps into Jim’s arms and so Jim makes a new rule that B.E.N. needs to also stop touching him. B.E.N. asks if they can make a quick pit stop at his place and shows Jim his hideout. Jim thinks that B.E.N. just solved his problem.
Delbert carries Amelia into the hideout as Jim and Morph follow. B.E.N. welcomes him to his home and comments that he likes the old fashion romance between Delbert and Amelia. He offers motor oil drinks for the happy couple but Delbert says no thanks and tells B.E.N. that they are not a couple. Delbert and Amelia smile at each other. Delbert then takes a look at the markings around the hideout and comments that they are identical to the ones on the map Amelia tells Jim to stop anyone who approaches and Delbert tells her to stop giving orders and to rest.
B.E.N. sees the other pirates outside and thinks that they are buddies of Jim. He tells at the pirates to let them know the hidden location. The pirates start shooting at him and Jim pulls B.E.N. back into the hideout. He starts firing back at the pirates. Silver yells at the pirates to hold fire and he calls out to Jim while waving a white flag. He says that he wants a short word and promises that there are no tricks. Jim realizes that Silver still thinks that they have the map.
Jim and Silver meet outside. Morph is happy to see Silver. Silver tries to explain that he did not mean what he said about Jim back in the galley. He thinks that the pirates would have gutted them both if knew that he had a soft spot for Jim. Silver tries to convince Jim that if they play their cards right, they will both walk away from the planet rich as kings. He proposes that in exchange for the map, an even portion of the treasure will be Jim’s He sticks his cyborg hand out to shake. Jim just yells at Silver and says that the pirate will not be able to find the treasure without his map. Silver says that Jim still doesn’t know how to pick his fights and he threatens Jim. He calls Morph to follow him but Morph is too scared and hides behind Jim. They go their separate ways and Silver looks back at the boy.
At nighttime, Captain Amelia is getting worse. Delbert starts to freak out but B.E.N. says not to worry because Jim will figure everything out. Jim looks out the window and up at the Legacy. He says that without the map, they are dead. Jim looks at the nearby pirate camp and says that if they try to leave, they are dead. He says that if they stay there…and Morph finishes with “we are dead!” B.E.N. comments that Jim could use some alone time so he is just going to slip out the backdoor. Jim looks through the hidden hole in the floor and asks what is down there. B.E.N. says that it is miles and miles of machinery that runs through the planet core but he doesn’t know anything else. Jim, B.E.N., and Morph leave through the backdoor even though Delbert protests that the Captain said to stay together.
Jim, B.E.N., and Morph come out through a trapdoor by the pirate camp. Jim explains his plan that they are going to sneak back to the Legacy, disable the laser cannons, and bring back the map. B.E.N. asks how they are going to get there and Jim points at a longboat near the camp.
They arrive at the Legacy and sneak aboard. B.E.N. is very loud about it. Jim tells the robot to stay there while he gets the map but B.E.N. declares that he is going to go disable the cannons. He takes off singing “Yo Ho (A Pirate’s Life For Me)”
B.E.N. wonders what the big deal is about disabling the cannons because all he needs to do is find one little wire. He panics when he finds hundreds of wires!
Jim and Morph find the orb in a coil of rope but then they head an alarm go off.
B.E.N. calls himself “bad” and tries to fix the alarm by putting a wire back where it came from.
Jim and Morph run to find B.E.N. before he gets them all killed but they run in Scroop. The pirate chases them. Jim is about to blast Scroop with his gun but then the lights go out.
B.E.N. is trying to calm himself down in the dark.
The lights come back on and Scroop is gone. Jim is looking around for him and the pirate is hiding above him. Morph warns Jim in time and the boy fights the pirate.
B.E.N turns off the artificial gravity.
Jim and Scroop float up and Jim is able to grab onto the pirate flag before floating away. Scroop climbs up the mast and is about to snip the rope attached to the flag but Jim is able to grab onto the mast. They fight again and soon Scroop is the one floating up and away.
B.E.N. plugs the wire back in and the gravity comes back on. B.E.N. finds Jim and says that the laser cannons have been disabled. He is covered in broken wires with sparks sizzling.
Back at B.E.N.’s hideout, Jim calls out for Delbert to say he has the map. Silver is hiding in the dark and grabs the orb. The pirates have Delbert and Amelia tied up and Jim tries to run but the pirates grab him as well. They also grab B.E.N.. Silver can’t open the map and commands Jim to. He pulls out a gun on the boy. Jim opens it but quickly closes it. He says that if Silver wants the map, he is taking Jim as well. Silver says to take them all.
They fly across the planet on a longboat, following the green light of the map. B.E.N. is freaking out and Jim assures the robot that it isn’t over yet. The pirates think that they are getting close to the treasure, but then are very angry when the green light just stops in the middle of nowhere. The map closes and Jim can’t open it again. The pirates push Jim down and on the ground he finds a hole with markings like the orb. He puts the orb inside and lights appear to make a large door. A hologram globe of the galaxy appears in front of Jim. Through the door, they see the Lagoon Nebula but Silver comments that it is halfway across the galaxy. Jim realizes that it is the big door that B.E.N. meant. Jim pushes on the different planets on the globe and those planets appear through the door. He figures out that is how Flint did it; he used the portal to roam the universe and disappear. He also figures out that the treasure must be buried in the centre of the planet and he opens the right door on the globe and steps through the door.
Silver and the other pirates follow and set off a silent alarm they don’t notice. They are very excited to see the loot of a thousand worlds. B.E.N. comments that this is all very familiar but he can’t remember exactly why. Jim sees an old ship and tells B.E.N. that they are getting out of there and are not leaving empty-handed. They climb aboard the old ship and see Captain Flint’s skeleton. In the skeleton’s hand is the memory chip that B.E.N. is missing. Jim puts it back and B.E.N. is very happy that his memories are coming back! All his memories right up until Flint pulled out the chip so B.E.N. wouldn’t tell anyone about the booby trap.
Explosions start going off around the treasure trove and B.E.N. explains that Flint wanted to make sure that no one ever stole his treasure so the entire planet is rigged to blow. Jim tells B.E.N. to get back to Delbert and Amelia and to leave without him if he is not back in five minutes. Jim is trying to hotwire the old ship as the treasure is all falling into a dark abyss below. The pirates start panicking and leave Silver behind. Silver spies Jim trying to get the ship started.
Delbert is telling Amelia that he has always dreamed of an adventure like that. He wished that he could have been more helpful and Amelia assure him that he has been. Delbert says that he feels so useless as he accidently unties his ropes. He realizes this and pretends to still be tied up when he insults the pirate guarding him. The pirate comes over to punch him and Delbert pulls his gun on him.
Jim is able to get the old ship running as Silver climbs aboard. Jim swings a sword at Silver and tells the old pirate to get back. Silver says that he did like Jim but he has come too far to let Jim stand between him and the treasure. The ship gets blasted and Jim falls out. Silver is able to save the ship with treasure on it but Morph points out Jim struggling to not fall down into the abyss. Silver tries to reach the boy while still holding onto the ship and treasure. He can’t reach Jim and sighs. He lets go on the ship to rescue Jim. They watch the ship blow up with the rest of the treasure.
Jim and Silver make it out of the trove just in time. Delbert, Amelia, and B.E.N. arrive on the Legacy to save them. B.E.N. says to hurry to get aboard before the planet blows up. Amelia is directing Delbert on how to steer the ship but he is terrible about that. The tired up pirates comment that they would be better off on the exploding planet. Jim and Silver climb aboard. They take off but their main sail is taken out. B.E.N. says that their thrusters are only at 30% and Delbert knows they won’t clear the explosion in time.
Jim gets the idea to go through the portal. He tells Delbert to turn the ship around. He is going to go ahead and open up a different portal so they are not still on the exploding planet. Silver yells to listen to the boy and he and Jim create a makeshift solar surfer. Jim tells Silver that no matter what happens, they must keep the ship heading straight to the portal.
Jim flies ahead, dodging pieces of the exploding planet. Jim is able to change the portal to the spaceport in time and they go shooting through. Everyone cheers! Captain Amelia says that she is going to recommend Jim to the Interstellar Academy. Delbert is excited for Jim’s mother to hear about his but they will downplay the life threatening parts. B.E.N. gives Jim a big hug and Jim hugs him back.
Jim finds Silver and Morph trying to sneak away on a longboat. Jim sneaks up and comments that Silver never quits. Silver says that he was just making sure that the last longboat was secure. Jim teases him by tying up the rope tight. Silver says that if Jim doesn’t mind, they would like to avoid prison for Morph because he is a free spirit. Jim smiles and opens the escape hatch for them and unties the longboat. Silver invites Jim to join them. Jim says that when he first got on the boat, he would have taken him up on the offer. But he met an old cyborg who taught him that he could chart his own course and that is what he is going to do. They hug goodbye and tear up. Morph is very sad about saying goodbye. Silver tells Morph that he has a job for the shapeshifter. He wants Morph to keep an eye on Jim. Morph is very excited to do so. Silver leaves and then tosses Jim some treasure. He says that it is for his mother to rebuild that inn. He sails off.
At the spaceport, Sarah is looking for Jim in the crowds. They find each other and hug.
The Benbow Inn holds a grand reopening. B.E.N. is a chef and server. Captain Amelia and Delbert have four children. The robot cops escort Jim home and he is in his academy uniform. The inn holds a dance and everyone celebrates. Jim looks out the window at the sky and the clouds look like Silver looking down on him.
The end credits play to “Always Know Where You Are.”
Trivia:
- The working title of Treasure Planet was Treasure Island in Space.
- Jim’s home planet is called Montressor.
- The RLS in the RLS Legacy stands for Robert Louis Stevenson, a homage to the creator of Treasure Island.
- John Silver’s cyborg limbs and eye were animated using CGI but the rest of him was hand drawn.
- The animators made a 70/30 Law for the film where 70% of the film would have a traditional look and 30% would have a Sci-Fi look.
- Jim owned a Stitch doll when he was a kid. The doll is sitting on the shelf behind him while he is reading in bed.
- The lines between Jim and Silver when they are trying to coax Morph were ad-libbed.
- The aliens who Jim and Delbert ask directions to the RLS Legacy from are caricatures of Ron Clements and John Musker.
- Once Ron and John got the green light to create the film, it took over four years to produce.
- Treasure Planet was a box office bomb. It had a budget of $140 million but only grossed about $110 million.
Representation in the Disney Parks:
There is currently no representation of Treasure Planet in the Disney Parks, though I did meet B.E.N. in Tomorrowland in Disneyland once upon a time when the movie first came out.
Check out the other films of Disney’s Post-Renaissance Era:
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