Treasure Planet is one of my all time favorite Disney movies. It is grossly underrated and so powerful. Between the amazing soundtrack with early 2000s gems such as the Goo Goo Dolls, and the art style, this movie is already perfect. When the message is added into the mix, it is magnificent. This film is unlike any other in those aspects, but what it talks about through the art and music coupled with the message makes it arguably one of Disney's greatest, in my opinion. It has the power to reach people's specific and immensely personal and individual problems while also communicating the overarching and general struggles of humanity, especially in the "transitional" periods of life (most notably being a teenager).
The movie starts with Jim Hawkins, a rebellious teenager voiced by Joseph Gordon Levitt, who does not know who is or what he wants in life. He eventually meets someone named Billy Bones who gives him a mysterious, metal orb that Jim happens to find out is treasure map which leads to his and Dr. Doppler's hiring a crew for an adventure to where the map leads in a sci-fi adaptation of Treasure Island.
The message of this movie is so complex and powerful that I could write about this film for days, but I want to talk about the reason I love it so much with minimal spoilers because I genuinely want you watch this movie.
Jim does not know who he is which is something that comes with being a teenager. His dad left when he was a child so he does not have that role model and he has been convinced that he will not amount to anything from hearing it over and over, so why even try? When he finds the treasure map that he heard tell of as a child, his faith in himself to make his mother (and himself) proud is renewed. He has finally found something he knew he could do well.
In what I would call the hinging point of the film, Jim was framed to make the crew turn on him for believing he skimped out on part of his job which resulted in the death of a beloved captain. Jim was not responsible, but even he came to question what he knew was true because of so called "evidence" and hearing accusations over and over that only made the other crew members hate him more. He was back where he started. No one believed in him and it seemed he could not do anything right, so he finally stopped holding it back and he was entirely honest about his struggles. Then the scene linked below happens. He is finally told that someone sees more than his mistakes in him, someone sees that he can, will, and already has amounted to something worth being proud of, and it is a man that he himself looked up to.
This is arguably Disney's best because of its portrayal of humanity. No one is all good or bad in this film, people are multifaceted, and the point of the film is to say that people are worth looking into and learning because they are valuable outside of their achievements or perceived lack thereof, something Disney needs more of. If you do not watch anything else in this film, watch this scene. When I am discouraged by grades, have made a mistake, was not accepted into a dream summer program, or doubt my own capability and fortitude, I watch this scene because I know how Jim feels. I know what it is like to feel like I could not do anything right or amount to what I dreamt of, so this scene is speaking to me now through my childhood self who wholeheartedly believed her nineteen year old self would be someone she could be proud of, someone who was everything she could not see herself becoming. Watch this scene, watch Treasure Planet, and be reminded that people believe in you despite any mistake you may have made because you can rattle the stars.
