Brad Bird signed his second live action movie with Tomorrowland, an adventure and family focused movie co-written with Lost genius Damon Lindelof, in which we follow a bright young woman named Casey in her journey to Tomorrowland. This land based upon one of the areas of the Disney park did promise a lot, but ultimately was a disappointment. I was really waiting for it, the trailers I’d seen were all promising lots, but after seeing it, I couldn’t help but feel like they oversold it.
First off, Tomorrowland is quite definitely something that came right out of a Disneyland park. At several times during the movie, I caught myself saying “that would make an amazing attraction” or “If there was a ride like this, I’ll do it in a heartbeat.” Seriously, can you imagine an attraction based on Frank’s house? or on Ursula and Hugo’s shop? Cause I can and it’s glorious! This kind of aesthetic, that an audience can in some way link with something known is great, and it put a smile on my face.
Visually, when it comes to the landscape and the design in general, it’s stunning. I want to live there, I mean, have you seen those pools? However, the CGI involved with human animation (jet packs and all), is not all that stunning. For a studio like Disney, I expected a little better.
But let’s get down to business. For me, the biggest problem of Tomorrowland is in its execution. I don’t doubt for a second that on paper or in their minds it all seemed amazing, but on screen it’s a mess. I never really got to enter the movie. There are too many explanations and flashbacks etc. around the actual plot and once you get to the part where it actually begins to move forward, it’s already the end. It’s frustrating and I believe it could have been balanced in a better way.
On the other hand, the characters balance each other quite well even if they’re a little bit flat. The trio Frank (George Clooney) / Athena (Raffey Cassidy)/ Casey (Britt Robertson) work well because they’re all different. Casey is a brilliant young woman, who uses her brain to solves problems. Even if I personally found this character quite annoying, what she embodies is great and she actually is a role model. Then Athena is more calm, full of hope and she’s a robot, therefore, the complete opposite to Casey. And of course, there’s Frank, the cynical seen-it-all kind of guy, who regains hope when Casey enters his life. My only criticism here would be that there isn’t much more about those characters that what we get to see. I didn’t really care about anyone but Athena, ironically. They embody great ideas, but they feel unfinished.
However, what I loved was Ursula and Hugo, the robots owning the memorabilia shop. I didn’t know that Kathryn Hahn and Keegan Michael Key were part of the cast, so you can imagine my face when they popped on the screen – knowing that I absolutely love Kathryn Hahn. Plus, they were hilarious, it really made me smile.
But despite everything, Tomorrowland is optimistic and carries a great message for the future’s preservation. It particularly hit me during David Nix’s monologue, about why they keep emitting the “bad omen” image that the world is ending. How we know things are going badly around us but somewhat we are stuck with it. What we need is to do something about it by creating, building, designing new stuff and making a better tomorrow together, as anyone can make a difference. I really liked that message, and I think I needed to hear it.
Tomorrowland is an enjoyable movie with a great message but many flaws. But the truth is that I smiled throughout the movie, and I left the theater a somewhat more optimistic person. So if you want to lift up your spirit a little bit, and you’re not too picky like I am, it’s a great watch.
Rating: 3/5
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