An incohesive and indigestible blend of Robert Louis Stevenson and Robert Heinlein, besides an incohesive and indigestible blend of hand-drawn animation and CG stuff. The spaceships have masts and sails, like the flying pirate ship at the end of Peter Pan, except that these keep on going beyond the ionosphere, with the crew held to the deck by "artificial gravity." (Okay, but how about some artificial oxygen?) Most of RLS's memorable characters are present in one form or another: Jim Hawkins (a fatherless teenage daredevil with two-tiered, two-toned hair and a jet-powered surfboard), Long John Silver (a soft-hearted surrogate father), Dr. Livesey (prissified in the voice of David Hyde Pierce), Billy Bones (minus the Black Spot), Ben Gunn (a senile robot dubbed by Martin Short: "Was I ever dancing with an android named Lupe?"), in addition to a new Strong Female Character (in place of Capt. Smollett) and a comical shape-shifting mascot by the name of Morph (in place of the parrot): serious demographic oversights on Stevenson's part. To tell a boys' story nowadays would be risky more than just financially. The Disney team of John Musker and Ron Clements, wanting to overlook no one, include plenty of campy touches for the sophisticate, flatulence jokes for the innocent, and rollicking Korngold-esque musical passages for the nostalgist -- and the whole thing exudes the warmth of a cash register. (2002) — Duncan Shepherd
This movie is not currently in theaters.