Avast me hearties! I spot something new on the horizon! Get ready to find the buried treasure in this next film, the first fully live-action movie from the Walt Disney Studios. For this project, I’m focusing on the story itself, including dialogue, character development, any subplots, how a story presents itself, the speed at which it moves, if it slows down unnecessarily, etc.
Update: In February 2022, I started a video version of the DFP on Tiktok. You can find the video below. Thoughts expressed in the video may be different than what are expressed in the blog post, due to the time difference in posting.
A Brief Summary
When pirates visit the Admiral Benbow Inn, the proprietor’s son, Jim Hawkins, finds himself thrust into a high-seas adventure. Possessing a map that leads to long-lost pirate gold, Jim is joined by Squire Trelawney and Dr. Livesey to seek out the treasure. The ship they sail on is lead by a good man, Captain Smollett, and a crew of interesting characters, including one Long John Silver. Reaching the island, the crew divides as both sides fight for life and the map, and young Jim Hawkins is caught in the middle. Includes a mutiny, lots of bottles of rum and a weird old man named Ben Gunn.
What works
- So this is the first fully live-action film by Disney and unlike previous films, there’s no story-book style opening to this film. Rather, we’re thrust right into the beginning of the movie, no backstory, watching it unfold as the story unfolds for Jim Hawkins.
- Most of what I ended up focusing on within this film are the characters themselves, their motivations, their interactions. There’s good and bad in almost every character (except you, George Merry, you’re just all bad. And a pain in the rear).
- Squire Trelawney
- I love the Squire. He’s like the crazy uncle that you put up with because he screws up in such a good-hearted way that you forgive him. In Treasure Island, he’s a bumbling idiot, bless his heart, who gets far too excited about everything. He’s almost a petulant child at points and creates more problems than anyone else in the film, pirates included.
- The Squire does show a little bit of growth during the course of the film. After Silver’s true character and the plan is revealed, he actually owns up to the fact that he was the dummy that hired him. Good on you, Squire.
- Long John Silver
- The whole reason Long John Silver was hired was that he was a fantastic cook. Let that sink in. He was a ruthless pirate who was a dang gourmet.
- He’s really good at reading people/manipulative
- To be fair, the Squire is an idiot, but Silver was able to convince not only to hire HIM but also to allow Silver to hire AN ENTIRE CREW, because Silver knew how to flatter and, well, lie.
- Silver only shows some form of affection to two individuals (and Capt. Flint, the parrot): Jim and Dr. Livesey. Jim, I imagine, because he’s a young boy, smart, who reminds Silver of himself. Dr. Livesey? Probably because he’s a doctor, a civilian and the only sane man in the entire outfit.
- Jim Hawkins
- Jim, in the beginning, is similar to Squire Trelawney, in that he is excited to go on the trip. There’s no heart-felt motivation behind going, no problem he has to fix, no he’s just a young boy who gets go find buried treasure.
- By the end of the film, he has grown so much, as he comes to understand what it means to trust someone and how even bad people can still have their good qualities.
- George Merry
- While Long John Silver might be the character that I love to hate, George Merry is just a character I hate. He’s impatient and greedy, hot-blooded and has no sense of strategy. As another pirate said, “he’s a good one to have in a fight” but then again, can you really believe what a pirate says?*
- Like with Johnny Appleseed, I decided to see if I could match the Hero Cycle to Treasure Island.
- Joseph Campbell’s Hero Cycle – Treasure Island
- Ordinary World – Jim’s home at the seaside Inn “Admiral Benbow”
- Call to Adventure – the black spot arrives for Billy Bones and the passing of the map from Billy to Jim
- Refusal – there’s not so much a refusal on Jim’s part as there is on the part of Dr. Livesey, but they both end up going
- Meeting with the Mentor – Is Long John Silver a mentor or an anti-mentor (since he’s a villain and all?) But either way, Jim, as a cabin boy, is taken under the wing of Long John Silver.
- Crossing the Threshold – The ship leaves the harbor, taking the crew to ‘Treasure Island’
- Tests, Allies, Enemies – first planting of apples/proving himself a friend to animals everywhere
- Ordeal – Jim goes through a whole heck of a lot, getting knifed, steering a ship aground and managing to find his way back to the fort while half out of his mind.
- Reward (Seizing the Sword) – Finding the real treasure location
- The Road Back – Silver takes over the longboat, bent on taking a portion of the treasure to Jamaica.
- Resurrection – Jim, who hadn’t helped Silver since the mutiny, helps free the longboat from the sandbar, allowing Silver to go free (perhaps). Dr. Livesey and Jim both kind of wish Silver good luck on his journey on the open sea.
- Return with Elixir – This section doesn’t really have any matching sequence in the film.
- Joseph Campbell’s Hero Cycle – Treasure Island
- There’s an interesting moment that occurs when Long John Silver first meets with Jim and Co. after his fellow pirates make him “Captain”. He’s sitting on the ground and asks for someone to help him stand. They refuse and he gets up, mad and claiming revenge. (Now to be fair, Capt. Smollett had told him to sit and Silver said he would need help getting back up again. So do we give him a pass on that? I think so because that’s just rude. Let’s be civil, gents, even when faced with a pirate.) This isn’t the first time that Silver has stood against Smollett since his true loyalties were revealed. The reason I highlight this moment is that it showcases how far he’s fallen in their eyes. Of course, this actually does help later on when Silver teams up with Jim and Co. to defeat the pirates and take the treasure. Appearances, after all.
- I would say this movie moved at a medium speed. It wasn’t slow to the point that I was wondering how long before they reached the island or found the treasure. It also wasn’t too fast that I felt I missed some key story moments. It moved forward, keeping a steady pace and providing plenty of side information and action sequences in between the main story plot points.
What may or may not work
- So this film was the first fully live-action film without music and only the 2nd film in total without songs. I’m not saying that was a bad thing, but Muppet Treasure Island had music AND pirates…need I say more?**
Honorable Mentions
- “Did you know Captain Billy Bones?” “Bones? Billy Bones? What ship did he sail on, matey?” “He was a pirate!” Why yes, Jim, that says so much. *facepalm*
- “You wouldn’t shoot old Ben Gunn. I haven’t spoken to a Christian these past 5 years.”
- Jim’s face when the crewman died in front of him. Just the facial expression, it was like a mix of horror and ‘man, what’s that rotten smell?’
- Silver when his men run away from the fight. “Oh for 10 toes!”
- Hats off to Silver for receiving the black spot AND NOT CARING. Instead, he points out that it was drawn on a page from a bible (pirates carry bibles?) and heaven help the pirate who made it.
Side Questions
- At the beginning of the movie, the door of the under-the-stairs cupboard was open, revealing Capt. Bones’ trunk. If the cupboard hadn’t been open, would Pew still have come with the black spot or would they have just moved on to the next seaside inn?
- Was Silver a cook because he lost his leg OR did he lose his leg because he was a cook? My money’s on the former, because who’s going to hire a pirate with only one leg and no other skills.
- If I really pay attention to the dialogue, will I leave this film speaking fluent Pirate?
What I learned from watching this film
- I know I talked a lot in my Cinderella post about character motivation and I didn’t mean to focus on that for this one BUT THERE WAS SO MUCH TO FOCUS ON!
- Long John Silver was definitely my favorite (with the Squire in 2nd place) because there was this fine line that he walked through most of the movie once he was revealed to be a pirate. Is he bad, is he good, oh yeah, he’s definitely bad..wait, he saved Jim..does that make him okay? He more than any other character that has existed in the films, or maybe that I was focusing on, has had such subtle changes to make sticking him on one side impossible. It was incredible to watch and made him the best character to watch because he was like a chess master, smarter than everyone else and always seeing both sides of the board.
- The Squire was similar but he was never in the villain/good guy category. He was a good guy but up until the mutiny he was far too excited to go treasure-hunting for his own good. The story wouldn’t even have happened if he hadn’t only based his hiring Silver upon Silver’s good cooking.
*I have good respect for pirates. Any disrespect in this post is for those who deserve it (like George Merry) and exempt from those who don’t (anyone not named George Merry).
**Muppet Treasure Island (1996) is a part of this project and I can’t wait to work on it…though that’s a long time coming.
If you’ve seen Treasure Island, what did you think? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Rewind to the beginning of the Disney Film Project
Skip back to the previous film with Cinderella
Fast Forward to the next film with Alice in Wonderland
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