Disney working on toning down 'Treasure Planet' intensity (1 Viewer)

[Michael St. Clair]

Excerpts from an article at Jim Hill Media, news of a test screening in Germany:

There were a few scary passages, though. I particularly remember a scene that was set on the darkened ship where Jim Hawkins fights with this evil alien in zero g. That scene – and a few others – seemed pretty intense to me. Which is why I think that ‘Treasure Planet’ might be a bit too much for youngsters under 5 or 6 to take.
...
After the screening, we were all asked to fill out this very detailed survey that asked questions like “Did you think that the movie was too violent” and “Would you recommend Treasure Planet to parents with small children?’
Parents who had brought smaller children to this screening were personally interviewed by the Disney reps. From what I could hear, the questions – which mostly seemed to be directed at the kids -- were along the lines of ‘Was this movie too scary for you?’ , ‘Which character frightened you the most,’ etc.
...
Out in the lobby, when I asked the woman who was collecting all of our surveys what Disney was going to do with this info, she said that they’d probably use it to fine-tune the picture. Her co-worker said that Disney’s still very concerned about the film’s prologue as well as that zero g fight I mentioned earlier.

Well, maybe if we are lucky the 'intense' version will be available on the SE DVD.

 

[Andy Sheets]

I wonder how intense it is. I hope Disney's using good judgment in this and not just being wimpy since I've always felt that the really good kids movies always had some element of horror in them, especially the old Disney movies

 

[Chad R]

The dragon in "Sleeping Beauty" was pretty intense and it's one of the most beloved Disney classics. The whale in "Pinocchio" was similarly tense. There's nothing wrong with intensity so long as good triumphs over evil in my book. I'm more worried about a movie's message rather than the road it took to get there.

 

[Andy Sheets]

Yeah that dragon scared the crap out of me when I was a kid. So did the Night on Bald Mountain sequence of Fantasia. And the part in Snow White where she stumbles through the dark forest has often been cited as being very intense for kids.

 

[Neil Joseph]

I'm willing to bet it is no worse than Titan AE. It looks very interesting although Finding Nemo holds more interest for me right now.

 

[ThomasC]

none of the disney movies i saw as a kid (dumbo, snow white) really got to me...but last year when i was back at home for thanksgiving, some kids came with their parents, we had snow white lying around, thus it was popped in the vcr (my parents have a very tiny video collection, they don't watch movies very much)...i didn't realize how dark some parts of it were until then. i think i'd be more disturbed watching those movies now...

 

[Michael St. Clair]

I'm willing to bet it is no worse than Titan AE.

I can't see Disney releasing Titan AE as-is if you gave it to them.

After the relative failures of projects like 'The Black Cauldron' and even 'Atlantis', and given their current financial shape, I'd say you can expect Disney to pander to young children (and their parents).

 

[Jeff Kleist]

"Adult" animation will not be popular in this country until they stop pandering to the kidees and promote it properly

Not that I was planning on seeing it anyway

 

[Kirk Tsai]

The first trailer for Treasure Planet didn't look like it was pandering to children at all. In fact, some of the grand background shots appeal to adults more so than children IMHO. And all things said, Atlantis is still the highest grossing PG animated film of all time.

 

[Chris Farmer]

Really? I thought the highest grosssing PG animated was Shrek. Learn somethign new every day...

 

[Michael St. Clair]

And all things said, Atlantis is still the highest grossing PG animated film of all time.

Nope, 'Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi' (Spirited Away) has whipped it.

 

[TheLongshot]

Highest grossing American film, Michael. "Spirited Away" doesn't count.

I'd agree, "Shrek" is the highest grossing PG animated film in the US. The problem with Disney doing PG films, is that they get all worked up about not aiming for the kiddie sector. Atlantis was watered down as well, and look what happened to it. I'm still interested in seeing it, but I'd hate to see Disney muck it up again.

Jason

 

[Michael St. Clair]

Highest grossing American film, Michael. "Spirited Away" doesn't count.

Um, hello, he didn't say american film. And why would foreign films not count?
Both 'Atlantis' and 'Spirited Away' are rated PG.
'Atlantis' grossed 186 million.
'Spirited Away' grossed 241 million and is still generating box office.
You think Disney would rather have a film that grossed 186 million over one that grossed 241 million? They and their shareholders would disagree!
I'll agree Shrek beat them both, though from an artistic standpoint I don't put it in the same category (not lesser, just different).

 

[ThomasC]

i thought atlantis bombed...what was the budget?