"Do I have to explain everything? Can't you just be amazed and move on?"
- Frank Walker (George Clooney), Tomorrowland
After finishing the Academy Award-winning Ratatouille, writer/director Brad Bird wanted to move onto more dramatic fare and optioned the book “1906” about the famous San Francisco earthquake. It was quite a large production for Warner Bros., beginning preparations for soundstages in advance. But eventually, Warner Bros. got cold feet because Bird had not yet proven himself a capable live-action filmmaker. This would change when Bird got a text message from J.J. Abrams that was simply, “Mission?” When his work on Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol was finished, Bird returned to Warner Bros. to revive 1906. Warner Bros. would still not let the film move forward, saying that although Ghost Protocol was a success, Bird had simply directed the fourth installment of an already successful franchise starring the world’s biggest movie star, Tom Cruise.
This frustrated Bird as his Academy Award-winning Pixar films had already proven that he was a phenomenal director and Mission: Impossible was a perfect launching pad for his live-action career. Even fellow Pixar alumni, Andrew Stanton had begun working in live-action, made the infamous John Carter and was relegated back to Finding Dory. Bird was talking to Damon Lindelof, one of J.J. Abrams’ creative partners, about how the future looked bleak. They soon dawned on an idea tying back into Bird's Disney roots and Lindelof and Abrams' famed knack for mysterious stories.
Casey Newton (Britt Robertson) is an ambitious high school girl who dreams of space exploration. Her father (Tim McGraw) is about to be put out of work by NASA, but she tries her best to delay the inevitable by illegally damaging the de-construction site and is soon arrested. While retrieving her returned items, she comes across a seemingly magical pin that transports her into a world of the future, "Tomorrowland". Casey is blown away by what she sees and wants to know more about it, not realizing she has stumbled into the middle of fighting factions of evil robots sent by the authoritarian David Nix (Hugh Laurie) and the pessimistic inventor Frank Walker (George Clooney) who begins to believe Casey might have what it takes to save both Earth and Tomorrowland.
Via Rotten Tomatoes, The Iron Giant and The Incredibles are tied at 97%, with Ratatouille only a point behind. Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, Bird's first step into live-action territory, has an impressive 93%. Tomorrowland is situated at 50%. Why such a perceived dramatic drop in quality from a director that has clearly proven himself in the past? Unfortunately, to be honest, you can’t really put your finger on what’s wrong with this movie other than leaving you with the feeling of “What just happened?” The movie Tomorrowland starts out as is not at all the movie it is by the end (especially since the framing device doesn't exactly match). Even the villain Nix's motivaitons are sketchy at best; at first, one might be lead to believe that he has stolen ideas from the geniuses of the world to create this utopia all for himself, but no, that's not it at all. From what I can gather after two screenings, the movie is trying to juggle two messages symbolized by a story Casey tells her dad (that she says he told her years ago): two wolves - darkness and despair and hope and light - are fighting and the wolf that wins is the one that you feed. HUH?! The movie so wants to celebrate optimism in the future but the movie postulates that Earth is doomed because Nix is unwilling to save the population that can't save itself. "You've got simultaneous epidemics of obesity and starvation, explain that one." Yeah, kids! Try and explain the world's situation in this movie you thought was all gonna be flying cars and jetpacks! And then the movie ends with Casey telling a new generation of robot recruits, "We're looking for dreamers." It's such a mess of messages that we can't just enjoy the eye candy in front of us without being judged for doing so.
I’m also disappointed that nearly all but one reference to Walt Disney was included. Without getting too maudlin, to me Walt Disney is the greatest American storyteller of the 20th century. One of my friends likes to think of Elvis Presley as the king of American pop culture. If that stands to reason, I like to think of Uncle Walt as the president. He was a man beyond his time; not just making classic animated movies, not just building amazing theme parks but embodying a spirit of adventure and inspiration that few if any have rivaled. Tom Hanks did an above decent job honoring Walt in Saving Mr. Banks, but that movie has its own set of problems. Damon Lindelof (a popular lightning rod for angry fans for raising questions and refusing to answer them in his work) has said that "...it felt like we were inside a Disney movie and every time we saw Disney get mentioned in it, it was a wink to the audience. Like a meta self-aware thing that took you out." How about when you're making a DISNEY movie that's inspired by WALT DISNEY, be proud of it? Or at least don't involve him in misleading advertising? Oh, and maybe don't hire funny folks like Keegan Michael-Key and Kathryn Hahn and make them essentially useless characters.
Unlike past Disney upsets like Mars Needs Moms, John Carter and The Lone Ranger, Tomorrowland stings just a bit more because of its direct ties to Uncle Walt and its seemingly ashamedness of it. Even with all of that said, I can't say I hate this movie. Honest! It's just totally misguided and clearly lots of cuts were made to the movie. Even Pixar animators helped out in a sequence that got cut! It's just so sad. Bird has said that he is currently in the writing of The Incredibles 2, a sequel that Pixar fans have long awaited. I certainly wish him no ill will and hope that he can bounce back with something amazing. And maybe stay away from the Mystery Box? I'll still pick this movie up on Blu-Ray if just to see the presumably numerous deleted scenes and hopefully a commentary by Bird.
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