Treasure Island. It was first shown in a magazine from 1881-1882, before being turned into a novel in 1883. Written by Robert Louis Stevenson, it is still considered to be one of the greatest adventure stories of all time. Defining what many people nowadays think of when they think of pirates, it has had quite the impact on popular culture. This includes several film adaptations released over the years. After reading the book and loving it, I knew I needed to see some of these movies. I decided on the three that were released by Disney, as they are among the most well-known adaptations of the book. So, this month, for a rather unusual Michael on Movies review, I am going to review three different Treasure Island movies. Please enjoy.
Taking place sometime in the mid-1700s in England, a young boy named Jim Hawkins comes into possession of a treasure map. It reveals the location of the gold stolen by the deceased pirate Captain Flint on a deserted island that is now called Treasure Island. A crew gets banded together for the trip, including the bold Dr. Livesey, the foolish Squire Trelawney, the strict Captain Smollett, and the tough but friendly Long John Silver. Things seem to be going well for our heroes on this journey, until problems arise in the form of Captain Flint’s former crew, back to steal the gold for themselves. Jim and his friends must act against the pirates. How will this adventure turn out?
To start off, we have the 1950 movie Treasure Island. Starring Bobby Driscoll, Robert Newton, and Basil Sydney, and directed by Byron Haskin, this was a great way to start my Treasure Island marathon. The actors all become their characters flawlessly, feeling just like the people I enjoyed reading about in the book. This is helped by just how accurate the movie is to the book, only having some differences but being pretty much the same story. This film is also notable for creating pirate talk, like how the book defined pirate elements. All of this is well-contained with some good action, as the later parts of the movie involve a lot of fighting between the good crew and the bad pirates. Having the designation of the first ever fully live-action Disney movie, Treasure Island is a must watch for any fans of the book.
For the second round, there is the 1996 movie Muppet Treasure Island. Starring Kevin Bishop, Tim Curry, and Dave Goelz, and directed by Brian Henson, I liked this movie even more than the 1950 one. After there was a previous book adaptation done by The Muppets in The Muppet Christmas Carol, they managed to strike just right yet again. This mixes in traditional Muppet songs and comedy with the classic adventure of the original story. They have a few human characters, but most of the book characters are played by Muppets, blending the best of both franchises together. This one does make some differences to the source material, which are interesting and make this movie really its own thing. A good example is making Jim an orphan whose father was an adventurer, giving him a good arc where he tries to live up to the man his father was. I also like how dark they made this movie, with it being for kids; no reason to sugarcoat everything. The real highlight of this movie is Tim Curry’s performance as Long John Silver. He is downright amazing and was really a perfect casting choice, being both intimidating and likable. All in all, Muppet Treasure Island is a surprisingly fun and effective take on the classic story.
To wrap it all up, I bring you the 2002 movie Treasure Planet. Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Brian Murray, and David Hyde Pierce, and directed by John Musker and Ron Clements, the best of the bunch is this one. This takes a completely new direction with the story, by having it take place in the future and making it a space adventure to get to a planet with the treasure. They really bring out the most potential in this version. With it being the only one of the three to be animated, they show off the pretty visuals with drawings more effective than any real image ever could be. While Jim was more interesting than the book in the previous movie, he is at his best here. Having to deal with the trauma of being abandoned by his father at a young age, it drives him to delinquency. The adventure is his chance to improve as a person and grow into an impressive adult. This also relates to him and Long John Silver, who was always close to him, but here takes on a father figure role and fills that gap as well as trying to inspire him. The pirate leader was always complex, but they really bring out the complexity here and, in my opinion, improve on his character from the book. I also like how the movie combines the 1700s time period of the book with the futuristic style. They show this off best with the ship our characters use. It looks like a 1700s ship, but it travels through space like a spaceship. I feel this has the most satisfying ending of any version of the story, which also helps you enjoy it more. My only real issue with the story is the character B.E.N., voiced by Martin Short, who is a clever update on the Ben Gunn character from the source material, being a robot, but he is also very annoying, always screaming. Besides that, this is one of the most underrated Disney movies ever made. Overall, Treasure Planet changes things up enough to be the ultimate Treasure Island movie.
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