Latest / Systematic Geekology / Treasure Planet: The Unsung Heroes Behind Jim Hawkins
Transcript
- 1:14Who inspired Jim Hawkins to explore Treasure Planet?
- 1:17We're going to be asking this question a lot more in today's episode.
- 1:19This is Make Geekology.
- 1:20We are the Priesthood Geeks.
- 1:21I'm your host, Christian Ashley.
- 1:22If you.
- 1:23I don't know where they're going in sequence, but if you listen to the episode that Kevin and I did on Mom Pocket, this is the same day, so things have not improved.
- 1:31But you know what?
- 1:32I'm here with two wonderful fellows, one of which worked especially hard to get here because we don't pay him.
- 1:38And the other job that pays him doesn't really like him that much, but they love him.
- 1:42I'm just messing with him.
- 1:43How's it going, tj?
- 1:44Wonderful.
- 1:44They hate me.
- 1:45Just so we're clear.
- 1:47They can't stand me.
- 1:49Perfect.
- 1:50And we're also joined today by my eternal abuse victim.
- 1:53How's it going, John Eardley?
- 1:55It is going somewhere.
- 1:58I'm not entirely sure where.
- 1:59I think it's rock bottom.
- 2:00Like I think I got on the wrong bus like in that spongebob episode.
- 2:03And it's going straight down.
- 2:06Yeah, yeah.
- 2:07There's only one place to go from there.
- 2:09Yeah, rock.
- 2:10I see actually here it's going to be a rough day.
- 2:15But you know what?
- 2:16We're here, we're going to talk about a film we all love.
- 2:19So hopefully that'll cheer us up a little bit more.
- 2:21I know TJ is way more peppy than he would.
- 2:24You would assume him to be, but I think it's because we're discussing the film we're discussing right here and now.
- 2:29So I'm going to give him this option real quick.
- 2:31Tj, what is Treasure Planet?
- 2:34Treasure Planet is if you ask a certain group of people, I would call them most people, at least most people with this opinion are people that I would consider to be people.
- 2:48If you're following what I'm meaning here.
- 2:51It is the best adaptation of the classic novel Treasure Island.
- 2:55It is set in space in like this cool science fiction fantasy just world that they created for this movie.
- 3:05And it's just like a super fun sci fi twist.
- 3:08On Treasure island, they change a few things.
- 3:10It's not like a one to one, but it is truly phenomenal.
- 3:14And if you don't know what Treasure island is, that's your fault.
- 3:19One of the classics for a reason.
- 3:22So, gentlemen, what is our history with the movie in question?
- 3:27I love Treasure Planet.
- 3:28It was screened, I would say screened in our daycare quite a bit when I was younger, probably because of me.
- 3:37But I can't say for sure, but I just loved it right off the jump.
- 3:42I've always been interested in space pirates have always been super cool.
- 3:46Combining both of them, you know, it got me hooked.
- 3:50And then when Disney plus came out, Treasure Planet's the only reason that I paid for it.
- 3:56I watched Treasure Planet, I think, every day for, like, two weeks, and then I watched it, like, a couple times a week for a long time, and now I watch it at least once a month still.
- 4:08I love Treasure Planet.
- 4:10I think it's one of the best movies ever made, in my opinion.
- 4:13It has its issues, it has its flaws.
- 4:16I don't care.
- 4:17Yeah, flaws don't make a film that's great bad.
- 4:20It's just.
- 4:21You notice it.
- 4:22It's fine.
- 4:22It doesn't mean it's not a tin.
- 4:23Yeah, go ahead.
- 4:24John deserves it.
- 4:25Honestly, I saw it in theaters more than once.
- 4:29That and Atlantis were, like, my two favorite of the Disney animated movies to come out during that era.
- 4:35And it got a lot of play time.
- 4:37It's just a gorgeous, stunning, animated.
- 4:41Almost like the way that they do the ships and was just such a cinematic masterpiece for.
- 4:49For it's timeless and it.
- 4:51And I didn't even know it was a, you know, an adaptation of Treasure island, you know, until much later in life when I had, you know, a lot of book reading and stuff under my belt, and I was
- 5:05like, oh, I didn't even know that.
- 5:07I feel like that's something I should have known when I was a kid.
- 5:09But, you know, I was just like, oh, you know, new Disney film, and it's really cool with, like, pirates and.
- 5:15Stuff in space, but it.
- 5:17Yeah, it's a beautiful film.
- 5:20I love it.
- 5:21Love the characters, love the animation, love the.
- 5:24The action and the twists.
- 5:26Yeah, it is just unbelievably stunning most of the time.
- 5:30Yeah, I probably said it on the last time we did this, but I watched this film in the theaters as well when it came out.
- 5:37You know, family's always been big Disney people, and I fell in love with it instantly.
- 5:42Now I had the fortune, one can say the providence.
- 5:46I would actually say to have read Treasure island first but also have seen Muppet Treasure Island.
- 5:52You know, we can have an ultimate showdown of ultimate destiny, but later on, whether, you know, which film is better.
- 5:57Second.
- 5:57That's the second best.
- 5:58Rest in Peace, Tim Curry.
- 6:00Phenomenal performance.
- 6:02But that.
- 6:03That is the second.
- 6:04The last time.
- 6:05The last time I watched Treasure Planet, I did immediately watch Muppets Treasure island right after.
- 6:11So, yeah, it's there.
- 6:14Yeah.
- 6:14It's just one of those films that I think has aged extremely well, as far as, you know, the story being told, the characters involved.
- 6:22Once again, as TJ said, there are some flaws in the film.
- 6:24It doesn't make it bad.
- 6:25It just means that there's no such thing as a perfect form of media out there because they're created by imperfect people.
- 6:30So as part of this Is Part of Our Faces Behind Us series, I neglected to mention that earlier because once again, sick.
- 6:37So, gentlemen, would you help me describe who is Jim Hawkins and why does he matter?
- 6:42James Pleiades Hawkins, you mean.
- 6:44Oh, James Pleiades Hawkins.
- 6:45How could I say anything differently?
- 6:47Right, Right.
- 6:48Well, he is our protagonist.
- 6:51He matters because he's the main character.
- 6:52That's all you really need to know.
- 6:55But he is the bastard son of Leland Hawkins and he just kind of gets swept up in his own adventure.
- 7:06He's like a little miscreant.
- 7:07He is just a little ne' er do well.
- 7:11And in his formative years, was influenced by pirate stories, which also super underrated.
- 7:19Part of the book is like the.
- 7:20The Hollow movie is like the Hollow book, like in the intro.
- 7:24That's so cool.
- 7:25Like, I want that to exist.
- 7:27That's awesome.
- 7:28Like being able to breathe in space.
- 7:29That's whatever.
- 7:31Take it or leave it.
- 7:32Yeah, but like, you know, holographic book.
- 7:34Come on, John.
- 7:36I was gonna say he's kind of like your plucky, angsty teenager character who you're almost automatically endeared to because you're like, oh, look at that little rebel.
- 7:48Ain't he cute?
- 7:49And.
- 7:50But he's gonna get swept off into a big adventure after, you know, the.
- 7:53After he gets in trouble with the law.
- 7:55Yeah.
- 7:55You know, everybody establishes that he's kind of like the underdog character.
- 7:59Yeah.
- 7:59And that he's edgy.
- 8:01But you've got, you know, the interesting plot that happens once.
- 8:05Once the pirate.
- 8:06The real pirates get involved.
- 8:08Yeah.
- 8:08He is textbook early 2000s angsty teenager.
- 8:13Yeah.
- 8:14I mean, if you know, to put another film that's, you know, made around the same time.
- 8:20Well, about two years before I remember correctly, you know, you're Titan ae.
- 8:23You got your Kale Tucker kind of character.
- 8:26There's some similarities between them.
- 8:27Also a really good movie, I'd agree.
- 8:30Rough and tumble they've had, you know, not necessarily the darkest past ever.
- 8:34Well, Kale's a little more Earth Dies, but that's.
- 8:36We're not trying to compare that and Treasure Planet, even though I just did that, so that's on me.
- 8:41Once again, sick.
- 8:43But Jim is someone who the world doesn't seem like it's going to work out for him.
- 8:47Like, single mother has a desire to go to the stars.
- 8:52He's got some people he's friendly with, but like, all he can see is probably he's going to stick to where he's at.
- 8:57And then the events of the movie happen.
- 8:59So which, speaking of, like, without Jim, how does our story progress?
- 9:03Or could our story progress?
- 9:05I mean, it could.
- 9:08It would be a very different type of adventure or things because the dude kind of shows up at the kind of space motel to.
- 9:18And shares his message with, I guess, the first living being he encounters.
- 9:23But because, you know, Dr.
- 9:26Doppler was there and Jim's mom was there and there was a lot of other people, you know, who there.
- 9:31I mean, who.
- 9:33It's hard to say what would have happened with it, but it could have been, you know, who knows?
- 9:38Dr.
- 9:38Doppler might have done something.
- 9:40Yeah.
- 9:41If he was the one who discovered him.
- 9:42Yeah.
- 9:43I think Doppler had the potential to figure out how the map works.
- 9:49But realistically, what I think would have happened without Jim in the story, let's say Jim goes with Leland and leaves Sarah to run the space tavern, as it were.
- 10:01In that scenario, I think Sarah just dies in that scene.
- 10:05Like Long John Silver chases Billy Bones into the tavern.
- 10:10They burn it down, they get the map, and then the movie would just be about Long John Silver trying to find Treasure Planet, which I think would still be a good movie.
- 10:18Any movie made in deep canvas like Treasure Planet would be a good movie at the very least to look at.
- 10:25Yeah, this is definitely one of those things.
- 10:27Like our protagonist here, if Jim does not exist, we're not going to have the same movie, obviously.
- 10:32And more than likely I agree with tj they're probably not going to make it.
- 10:37You know, let's assume they are.
- 10:38The soon.
- 10:39It's a really happy Disney film and, you know, Jim's just not there.
- 10:41And they still do it.
- 10:42Okay.
- 10:42Where they get the ship ready and everything and they're taken over by, you know, John Silver because he has no Jim to help humanize him.
- 10:51He's still going to be himself.
- 10:52So probably our main cast is dead, maybe even John too, depending on what he does on Treasure Planet proper.
- 11:01When we learn about the trap and everything, it's probably one of those films that ends on a bit of a downer.
- 11:05Like the pursuit of Greed kills everyone.
- 11:08The end.
- 11:08Yeah, I thought you're talking about me for a second.
- 11:10Yeah.
- 11:11John Earnly our job.
- 11:13Well, yeah, as much as I love killing John, this is.
- 11:15This is not the scenario.
- 11:17So in this case, one of the things we always ask here on the faces behind us is, would you rather be the mentor or the influencer when it comes to this film?
- 11:25I don't know.
- 11:25I feel like we should ask later.
- 11:27Oh, yeah, yeah.
- 11:28I feel like it'll skip.
- 11:29For people who haven't watched it, I think it'll make a lot more sense because for one, if.
- 11:34So, if someone's never seen Treasure Planet right now, they know that Long John Silver is super evil and maybe got humanized.
- 11:41That's all they know.
- 13:30Okay, yeah, you know what?
- 13:31You caught me in a sick time.
- 13:33I don't care.
- 11:45So let's actually get into the.
- 13:35The mentors, teachers, friends, family, all the big shebang there.
- 13:39And of course, as mentioned earlier, we have Jim's parents, Sarah and Leland Hawkins.
- 13:43What can we say about them?
- 13:46Not much about Leland.
- 13:48I'll do Leland if you want to do Sarah.
- 13:50Sad backstory, but more significant than most people think.
- 13:55So we don't get much of Leland.
- 13:57We pretty much just get Jim chasing him out of his life.
- 14:02Like Leland gets on the ship and sails away.
- 14:06But the implication is that Jim's love of space and, you know, ship faring ness is because of Leland.
- 14:15He gets that from his dad because Sara shows no inclination towards it at all.
- 14:20So he's more like his dad than he would probably like to be.
- 14:24It's not necessarily something he wrestles with at all, even a little bit, but it's there like that, that's present in.
- 14:30The background,.
- 14:32Which after you watch Treasure planet for the 300th time, you're kind of like, oh, man, that's awful.
- 14:37He's.
- 14:39He could end up like Leland, but by the end of the movie, we know he won't.
- 14:45So that's.
- 14:45That's really all we get, is see a Jim.
- 14:49Bye, Sarah.
- 14:50I'm off to space forever.
- 14:52Off to get space cigarettes and milk.
- 14:54Yeah, crazy.
- 15:00Hi, John.
- 15:01I was gonna say you don't get a whole lot of, like the story between the two, but I guess something didn't work out between the mom and the dad.
- 15:08And through.
- 15:09Even in the short little backstory you have before the story pops off, you kind of get the idea that she's kind of a hands off mom and she's kind of like trying to watch the business and run the
- 15:19business and Jim's kind of there.
- 15:21Yeah.
- 15:22From the supplementary material that's been released for this film, I believe one of the directors explained that Leland was one of those people who was fine being with his woman, but as soon as it came to actually being
- 15:34a family man, couldn't live that life.
- 15:36So he split as soon as he could.
- 15:39And, of course, leaving abandonment issues in both, you know, Sarah and Jim.
- 15:44Sarah herself is a very strong woman in the fact that, you know, once again, single mother doing what's best for her son, like, trying to watch out for him at that.
- 15:51At the same time, Jim is being a little rebellious and she doesn't know what to do with him.
- 15:55And this presents, like, the perfect opportunity for Jim to get a little more structure in his life after finding the map.
- 16:02That way he can be on a cruise somewhere.
- 16:04It's like, okay, you want to go out in the space where you're going to go out with people that are going to take care of you?
- 16:08At least as far as she knows.
- 16:10Doesn't know about the pirates, but, you know, she.
- 16:12She does what she can with very limited funds, very limited information.
- 16:16So I'd rather like her.
- 16:18Yeah, she doesn't get enough credit.
- 16:20Single mother, business owner, operator.
- 16:23Like, there's not.
- 16:24There's no other staff in that tavern.
- 16:26Nope.
- 16:26That place is jumping every time we see it.
- 16:29There's people there.
- 16:30All right, so moving on to our next pick, we have, of course, Dr.
- 16:33Delbert Doppler.
- 16:35What can you say about our good man here?
- 16:37He's like the best kind of doctor, the one who doesn't take himself too seriously.
- 16:40And he's not even a real doctor.
- 16:42Even says that.
- 16:43He's like, I'm not a real doctor.
- 16:45I just have a doctorate.
- 16:46I can't help people.
- 16:47I just stand there and useless.
- 16:49He's great.
- 16:49I love him.
- 16:50He's so funny.
- 16:52Delbert as he's.
- 16:54He's kind of like a straight man, but not really like, he's a straight man, but really funny one, you know,.
- 16:59In comparison, he's the butt of the.
- 17:01Joke often, and he does that role so well.
- 17:06He also has a great change, but his influence on Jim, I wouldn't say, is so strong.
- 17:12I think Delbert has relatively little influence on Jim compared to a couple of the other people on this list.
- 17:19But it's there.
- 17:20He's.
- 17:21He's more of an instigator as far as, like, getting the plot along rather than like, he has a.
- 17:25Not a fatherly relationship with Jim, but, like, maybe an older brother or mentor kind of situation, but less mentor.
- 17:32Probably won't work because he's not, like, actively trying to Teach him anything.
- 17:36But at that same time, he cares about him like his mother.
- 17:39He enjoys spending time with Jim's mother and the fact that, you know, she's take care of him, give him a place to stay.
- 17:45So he's going to look out for Jim at that while they're out on this, you know, trip together, exploring the galaxy.
- 17:50But yeah, I would agree with TJ at the end of the day, he's not really like a main mentor here, but he is one of our main characters in the film.
- 17:58Yeah.
- 17:59Difference.
- 17:59Certainly.
- 18:00Also just super funny guy.
- 18:02Yeah.
- 18:03That of course, brings us to Captain Amelia.
- 18:05What can we say about our girl?
- 18:06She's a great captain.
- 18:07She's got her crew together.
- 18:10She's sharp witted, sharp tongued.
- 18:12Like she can insult you faster than you could come up with a response.
- 18:16Like, she's great and she's like, I don't know, she's almost like, you know, someone to snap the whip at you and, you know, put you in line, put you in your place.
- 18:24But at the same time, she respects her crew and she's highlights their strengths.
- 18:28Yeah, she's a great, great addition to the movie.
- 18:33One of the many changes that they make from the book is, you know, about the female captain and I think it works really well.
- 18:41She's the only woman on the ship and she just handles it every time.
- 18:46Also, really sweet story between her and Delbert and they, they have a weird little litter of space cat dogs.
- 18:56Don't worry about the biochemical barriers that have to be broken in order for that to happen.
- 19:00You know, it is what it is.
- 19:01It is what it is.
- 19:02It's okay.
- 19:03It's anthropomorphic anyway.
- 19:05Yeah, yeah.
- 19:06It's not weird, it's just strange.
- 19:08Genealogically speaking.
- 19:11I would have thought that's not gonna work, but they make it work and they're fun.
- 19:16She helps Jim a lot, kind of focusing on what he can do, but not nearly as much as the next person that we're gonna talk about.
- 19:26Yeah, yeah.
- 19:27Catherine is a really great character in this film.
- 19:29She is the prim and proper distinguished officer who's gonna make sure that things are run correctly.
- 19:34Like she's British without being British because British people don't exist in space as far as we're aware of.
- 19:40We don't know the backstory of where humans fit in and all this mess.
- 19:42We don't need to worry about that for right now.
- 19:45But what she does provide for Jim is, as you said, like, she provides structure and refinement and like learning.
- 19:52Okay.
- 19:53You have a strict regimen you're supposed to be following here.
- 19:56Like, yeah, sure, you found this magical plot trinket, but, you know, you're not a member of this crew.
- 20:00You need to earn my respect.
- 20:02You need to figure things out here.
- 20:04And part of that is following my orders and.
- 20:07Which also leads into our next character there.
- 20:08As far as where Jim has to go in order to help with that.
- 20:12So we get to, of course, our boy, John Silver.
- 20:17Long John Silver.
- 20:18Long John Silver.
- 20:20Not related to the restaurant.
- 20:22Also not that tall.
- 20:23His food's a little fresher.
- 20:25Yeah.
- 20:25Oh, certainly.
- 20:26Absolutely.
- 20:27You know what?
- 20:28We're going to spend the back half of this episode talking about why Long John Silver shouldn't exist in spite of their reputation or their correlation with A and W, which I think is a great restaurant, a great brand.
- 20:40Fast food.
- 20:41Fish is disgusting.
- 20:42Thoughts?
- 20:43Thoughts?
- 20:44Concerns?
- 20:44I mean, it's.
- 20:46It's prepared for that moment.
- 20:47It's like, you know, that was it Fazoli, like fast food.
- 20:50Italian, like, it's fine, but, like, it's not going to be.
- 20:52It's great.
- 20:53It's not fine.
- 20:54Argue with a wall.
- 20:55Sorry if I have any, like, huge Long John Silver's fans out there.
- 20:59That's gross.
- 21:00It's kind of like, well, I guess I need food and there's nowhere else to go.
- 21:04Sure.
- 21:04But, like, it's never going to be my first choice.
- 21:06I.
- 21:07I would rather drink out of a puddle.
- 21:11Yeah.
- 21:12Fish, seafood, all that stuff.
- 21:13It needs to be prepared properly, like transporting over a long distance.
- 21:16The further you get from the coast or a lake, the more likely you have lower quality stuff.
- 21:21That's why you should live in North South Carolina and go to fish camps and support local businesses.
- 21:25Yep, exactly.
- 21:26Which is exactly what Jim Hawkins would say if he were here right now.
- 21:29He would say, I need to bring it back this far inland.
- 21:32I only eat catfish and bass because that's what we catch.
- 21:38But anyway, John Silver on John Silver is the.
- 21:42The true father figure.
- 21:44The real driving force behind the movie.
- 21:47His pursuit of Billy Bones is what leads him to the tavern, which, you know, leads to Jim getting the map, realizing he can unlock the map and find Treasure Planet and the.
- 22:00The bond that they create.
- 22:02It feels like more than fatherly.
- 22:04Set.
- 22:05Yeah, it really is just.
- 22:07I know what you mean.
- 22:08Like soul bonded.
- 22:10Like, they really are perfect for each other.
- 22:14And the way that John just kind of takes Jim James, as it were, from angsty teenager, aimless, just angry at the world, to confident, you know, like, this is what I'm doing.
- 22:34This is what my destiny is.
- 22:36I know what I'm about.
- 22:38It is so incredible to see.
- 22:40And honestly, most of it happens in a montage.
- 22:44Like it, you know, pretty much the entire movie is them bonding one way or another or coming to terms, coming to blows.
- 22:53But that montage is so good.
- 22:56And if you're still listening to this and you haven't watched it, sorry, this really isn't a good way to introduce it.
- 23:02But the song that plays in the montage, I'm still here, it was written by and performed by Trent Reznor, which if that name is not familiar, it's the lead singer of the Google Dolls.
- 23:16So we're like peak 2000s right here.
- 23:20And it really is incredible.
- 23:22And it adds so much emotional weight to both characters and the movie itself that it's kind of impossible to not give it its dupes.
- 23:35I think it's one of the best Bonds I've ever seen in a film.
- 23:39And of course, Jim influences John Silver a lot.
- 23:44A ton.
- 23:44An absolute ton.
- 23:46Because John Silver is a vicious, bloodthirsty pirate and by the end of the movie, he's saving this like 16 year old kid instead of filling his pockets with gold and escaping after finding Treasure Planet.
- 23:59It's so good, John.
- 24:00I think him being a cyborg was not only like cool factor, but like so intimidating.
- 24:08Especially when his eye turns red and he starts doing, you know, getting.
- 24:11Using his mechanical devices to ramp up kind of the scary factor.
- 24:17Yeah.
- 24:18Really kind of terrified me as a kid.
- 24:19He was kind of a really cool villain.
- 24:21Yeah.
- 24:22And inspired choice.
- 24:24Real legitimately inspired.
- 24:26Because John Silver in the book has a peg leg.
- 24:30Does he even have a hook?
- 24:31He doesn't even have a hook, does he?
- 24:33Pretty sure he has both hands, I think.
- 24:35Yeah, I think he has both hands.
- 24:36It's been a while since I've read it.
- 24:37I'm pretty sure he has both hands in the book.
- 24:39And the movie's like, peg leg, boring cyborg.
- 24:44Awesome.
- 24:44Let's also replace one of his arms.
- 24:47I think he was missing an eye though, in Treasure Island.
- 24:50In Treasure Planet, they can replace the eye with something cooler.
- 24:53Yeah, he has both hands in the vulk.
- 24:56Yeah, I thought so.
- 24:57That's a truly inspired choice there.
- 25:00And it works so well in his favor.
- 25:03Incredible design too, for his prosthetics.
- 25:06I mean, like, it's not super popular, but Treasure Planet did define kind of a sub genre.
- 25:12Sub style.
- 25:13Cyberpunk, kind of ish.
- 26:06Solar punk.
- 26:07Not a lot of examples out there, but Citizen Sleeper is a good one.
- 26:11His design and what they choose to do with him is like a perfect example of using your genre and your animated medium as well as you can.
- 26:18Like, if you're going to make this sci fi fantasy to an extent based off of a novel that could have happened in the real world, okay, yeah, sure.
- 26:26Do these things make them a side world?
- 26:28Make these somebody's pirates, aliens or the Captain aliens, stuff like that.
- 26:32That's one of the enjoyable parts of it is, like, it feels like a living, breathing world.
- 26:37I remember, I don't think the box office went that well for this film, which is a huge tragedy.
- 26:42It deserved way better because it was a very bold direction to take it.
- 26:46And John Silver is a huge part of that.
- 26:47We have this old crotchety pirate who feels like you can tell, like, from the beginning, like it's.
- 26:54There's very little doubt from the beginning.
- 26:55This guy's probably not in the up and up.
- 26:57But at that same time, what humanizes him to us, the viewer is, oh, look at how he's taking care of Jim.
- 27:04He doesn't have to do these things.
- 27:05Like, sure, you could argue it's making his life a little easier.
- 27:08You like to make sure that he's getting work done, but at the same time, like, he's showing him how to do things correctly, like navigating and the like and showing him the wonders of the universe together.
- 27:17It's almost like he sees a little of himself in Jim and wanting him to, like, take a path like he did, become a pirate.
- 27:25But at the same time also, oh, I know what this has cost me.
- 27:28And then maybe I don't want you to become me.
- 27:30Maybe I want you to be better than me.
- 27:32And it's a huge part of the film of, like you said later, excuse me, earlier on, where he gives up his opportunity.
- 27:39The thing he's wanted his entire life is Flint's treasure on Treasure Planet.
- 27:44And he gives it all up because it would cost him Jim.
- 27:47And even though he's probably going to be in prison later on, he's okay with that because he's become a better person.
- 27:52And now he's allowed Jim to become better than he ever could have been had he not experienced what he did under Silver's mentorship.
- 27:59It's so good.
- 28:00It's unbelievable.
- 28:01All right, do we have any honorable mentions?
- 28:04Kelly Slater.
- 28:05Yeah, Kelly Slater.
- 28:06Kelly Slater, the professional surfer.
- 28:09Not in the movie, of course, but, you know, they had to get those references from somewhere.
- 28:13It was probably Kelly Slater.
- 28:14Especially at the time.
- 28:15It's 2001, when this is in production.
- 28:17Oh, yeah.
- 28:1899.
- 28:192000.
- 28:192001.
- 28:20That's right.
- 28:20Kelly Slater's Pro surfer was actually a game.
- 28:23Yeah, a good game.
- 28:24A great game.
- 28:25Game's a lot of fun.
- 28:27What did they call the surfing in this film?
- 28:30What's the actual technical term?
- 28:32Solar surfing.
- 28:33Solar.
- 28:34Solar surfing.
- 28:35I think that's right.
- 28:36I think it's solar surfing.
- 28:37I'm not sure if they refer to it by name at all, actually.
- 28:40Might be supplementary material.
- 28:42But to speak on the profit, there wasn't any.
- 28:47It cost $192 million for Disney to make this movie.
- 28:51Most expensive movie of all time, I think, at the time.
- 28:54Animated, at the very least.
- 28:57And I.
- 28:57I want to say box office numbers closed at, like 108 million or, like 92 million or something.
- 29:06Which on any other movie would be.
- 29:07Respectable, but on a movie that costs 200 million to make.
- 29:11Yeah.
- 29:12No, but we're not here to talk about that.
- 29:14We have a different episode where I did talk about that a lot.
- 29:17Go listen to that.
- 29:18Yes, John.
- 29:19Honorable mentions for mentors.
- 29:22Mentors.
- 29:24Arrow.
- 29:25In the movie itself, yes.
- 29:28I mean, the only other like, notable characters would have been the robot dude who is kind of out of his mind.
- 29:36A little lost his mind transforming gelatinous mass that floated around.
- 29:42And the character who died.
- 29:44I forget his name.
- 29:45The big rock dude.
- 29:46Arrow.
- 29:47Yeah.
- 29:47Yeah.
- 29:48Solid picks there.
- 29:49Ben is one of those characters.
- 29:50This is my hot take.
- 29:51I don't much care for Ben.
- 29:52I think they really wanted Robin Williams again and the way they animated him, but they got Martin Short instead.
- 29:58I'm not saying Martin Short is somehow, like, this terrible person or anything, but, like, he's obviously not Robin Williams.
- 30:03And I can tell that's who they wanted more.
- 30:06Yeah, more if they definitely wanted to catch on and be like, here's our cute little mascot and you're going to buy toys of them.
- 30:11And film bombed.
- 30:13If that.
- 30:14If it came out today, Insane Morph would get.
- 30:18Morph would be perfect for, like, today's kids or like, maybe like a few years ago's kids.
- 30:23Like slime.
- 30:24I don't know.
- 30:24Morph.
- 30:25Slime.
- 30:25Yeah.
- 30:26Come on.
- 30:26I'd buy more.
- 30:27As mentioned, Mr.
- 30:28Arrow kind of love him.
- 30:31A man who's once again very prim and proper, but also very understanding and, like, hey, I don't really like the likes of the looks of these people, but at the same time, I've got a job to do, so
- 30:41I'm going to make them have a job to do.
- 30:42And his death via scroop, cutting off the Rope into the black hole.
- 30:47One of the most metal deaths in the history of film, in my opinion.
- 30:52Oh, yeah.
- 30:53It's.
- 30:53It's so sick.
- 30:54We were.
- 30:55I was actually talking right before I got on this call.
- 31:00We were talking about Clayton from Tarzan.
- 31:02Same era.
- 31:03I don't know, these, like, couple of years.
- 31:04Like, Atlantis, too.
- 31:06Disney just got really into killing.
- 31:08The killing people just crush their bad guys.
- 31:12That's great.
- 31:12Like, Rourke explodes.
- 31:14Well, y' all remember that?
- 31:15Roark explodes.
- 31:17Yeah.
- 31:18Clayton got hanged.
- 31:19Clayton got hanged by vines.
- 31:21They're not a bad guy, but I know what you mean.
- 31:23Yeah.
- 31:23They went to up and up with death.
- 31:26Like, what can we get away with?
- 31:28It was.
- 31:29It was nuts.
- 31:30We didn't show up bloody.
- 31:31We didn't show him, you know, brutally stabbed or anything.
- 31:33Nope.
- 31:34Which could have him die in a black hole.
- 31:36Yeah.
- 31:36And I don't.
- 31:37It's been a long time since I read Tarzan, but I'm pretty sure Edgar Rice Burroughs says in the book that they, like, the jungle, took care of that body.
- 31:47Clayton got hanged and eaten.
- 31:49The.
- 31:49The movie and the book are two very different beasts.
- 31:51No pun intended.
- 31:53Yeah.
- 31:53Good books, though.
- 31:54Anyway.
- 31:55Definitely Arrow.
- 31:57Also one of the very few.
- 31:59Maybe the only time, aside from, like, Tim Curry's performance, where I.
- 32:04I really think I like Treasure Muppets.
- 32:07Treasure Island's version just a little bit more.
- 32:09It's so much funnier to send, like, Sam Eagle off to test the lifeboats.
- 32:15And then he actually is just.
- 32:17He's not dead.
- 32:17He's testing the lifeboats for.
- 32:20Yes.
- 32:20Until the climax of the movie.
- 32:22It's so funny.
- 32:23It's so good.
- 32:25We can't kill anyone.
- 32:26It's a kid's movie.
- 32:26Except for Dead Tom, but he was already dead.
- 32:28Yeah, it was already dead.
- 32:29I think he was dead when we started.
- 32:31I think that's why they called him Dead Tom.
- 32:33Yeah.
- 32:33All right, so we can go back to the question now, having listed all of our mentors and our influencer here, like, which one would we rather be in this film?
- 32:43Minty.
- 32:44Definitely.
- 32:46Definitely.
- 32:46In a.
- 32:47In a world where you can solar surf, I think I would hate to be old.
- 32:52I would.
- 32:53And I'm not saying if it will.
- 32:55I love you.
- 32:56You're a great surfer.
- 32:58I'm not you, though.
- 32:59I need to be young.
- 33:00I need to, like, learn how to solar surf there.
- 33:03Also, his journey is.
- 33:05Is the journey.
- 33:06You know, he gets to learn from all these different classic heroes.
- 33:08Journey.
- 33:08It is the classic hero's journey.
- 33:11And it's a great time.
- 33:13He has a good time there's.
- 33:15You know, relatively little tragedy for Jim John.
- 33:20I kind of like being in Doppler's position.
- 33:22He ended up pretty okay, too.
- 33:25Oh, yeah.
- 33:27Okay.
- 33:28Cannot disagree the wisdom behind everyone here.
- 33:31Normally I picked the mentor side of things because I love teaching, but I have to be able to TJ on this side of things.
- 33:37Growing up in this world where you can actually fly through space, as it were, you know, on a ship or, you know, solar surfer or what have you, like, sign me up, you know, I mean, I get to
- 33:47explore new worlds and new civilizations and all that jazz reminds me of.
- 33:52Yeah, we didn't actually talk about we were geeking out on, did we?
- 33:55We skipped over that and I reminded of that because mine was going to be strange new worlds.
- 34:02So, real quickly, does everyone want to show what they're geeking out on besides work?
- 34:06Oh, besides work.
- 34:07Yeah.
- 34:08Tekken 8, actually.
- 34:11Oh, man, I'm so tired.
- 34:12I love East.
- 34:13We've been watching Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood.
- 34:16Excellent.
- 34:17So good.
- 34:18Very good.
- 34:19Okay, now that we got that out of the way, because I'm the best host in this thing we call systematic ecology, What can we learn from these mentors when it comes to how we mentor others in our own
- 34:35lives with.
- 34:37The cyborg in mind, you know, wanting someone to come out better than you, teaching them kind of the best of your skills and how to navigate life, you know, so to speak, and desiring something better for them than
- 34:50how you turned out, I think is a pretty noble aspect of, you know, a kind of, you know, a dark character where they're just like, you don't want to end up like me, kind of noble cause.
- 35:03Yeah, I.
- 35:04I actually try to be Emilia as much as possible.
- 35:10We're in a tight ship, type.
- 35:12Type shift, I should say.
- 35:14Yeah.
- 35:14How were quick winded?
- 35:16Very.
- 35:17I try to be, you know, for the first, like, 10 hours of the day.
- 35:21I usually do a pretty good job, but I really do.
- 35:25I try to emulate her as much as possible because, you know, witty, fun, keep the spirit up, but at the same time, no nonsense.
- 35:37We're here to do our job.
- 35:38You get a jab in here and there, but my job is to make sure you're doing your job right.
- 35:43Also knows how to fight.
- 35:44Yeah, I know how to fight, but they also know that I've got their back and that without that, then it's really pointless.
- 35:51Yeah, I'll say.
- 35:52I don't thrive under leadership like hers because that strict stuff isn't for me.
- 35:57But at the end of the day, it doesn't mean it's wrong.
- 35:59It just means that's not where I'm fit to be.
- 36:02Because there is something to be said, especially for Jim.
- 36:05He needed that structure in the film, and she kind of recognized that.
- 36:08She knew he was going to rebel against it, but at that same time, teach him there's a reason we do things this way.
- 36:13And eventually he learned what that was, gained a respect for her.
- 36:17And that's something that we need to do as mentors to those underneath us to sort of discipline, say, look, there are times when you can hate me, just at least respect me.
- 36:26Yeah, yeah, that's all.
- 36:28That's all I want.
- 36:28Really?
- 36:29Yeah.
- 36:30All right, so what parts of Jim's journey should we emulate or excise from our own lives?
- 36:35I think the part where you go through a bunch of stuff and then you get a really cool jacket, I think we should all try to emulate that at least.
- 36:44It's like a not lame looking version of the doctorate coat.
- 36:48Like the doctorate graduate gown.
- 36:50You know, if that was like, of three feet shorter, that'd be awesome.
- 36:56I might get a doctorate.
- 36:59It's just too gowny, you know.
- 37:01But seriously, it's.
- 37:03It is the perfect hero's journey.
- 37:04Yeah.
- 37:05Asking to excise any part of it is asking to not be a part of the human condition, John.
- 37:14I mean, just having kind of the naivety of life.
- 37:18And then you basically learn how to exist by accidentally taking advice from one of the worst people imaginable.
- 37:25But you kind of, oh, what is it?
- 37:28Culture shock?
- 37:28Your.
- 37:29Your way into realizing, hey, the world's a bigger place than this little, you know, my little hometown?
- 37:35It's, in fact, very dangerous.
- 37:37Also very cool.
- 37:38Beautiful in some aspects.
- 37:41But, you know, there's a reason that there's a lot of structure and I should try to emulate, you know, kind of the best parts and the necessary things and also know how to fight.
- 37:51That's a great thing we can learn from Jim's story is like, when to rebel against authority, when not to.
- 37:56You know, when things are being done poorly or the wrong person is in charge.
- 38:00Yeah.
- 38:00Rebel away.
- 38:00But like, you're doing things for the sake of rebellion.
- 38:03Like.
- 38:04No, like you're just doing that to be a little angsty teen.
- 38:07And that's okay.
- 38:08That's part of his journey.
- 38:08That's part of his growth.
- 38:09It's like he has to start off on a poor footing so that when he gets to where he does at the end of the film and go, okay, yeah, you've earned that journey and yeah, as we said, this
- 38:17is a typical hero's journey.
- 38:19And some people would say cliche, like, well, there's a reason it is what it is.
- 38:23Like, there's a reason it works.
- 38:24There's a reason I watched Luke Skywalker become the guy who blew up the Death Star.
- 38:28Like, it's so great to see that classic hero's journey is like, we see someone who starts from nothing and ends up way beyond where they thought they'd ever be, even in their wildest imagination.
- 38:37This is great.
- 38:38So I have no issue with it when it's done well, when you've seen it done poorly.
- 38:42Yeah, I'm with you 100%.
- 38:43But if you're saying that's happening in Treasure Planet, like, it's time to walk the plank.
- 38:46I know how to fight.
- 38:49Yeah, and you never know.
- 38:51You.
- 38:51If you express these feelings in any Chipotle, you may end up being in.
- 38:55TJ might be there and he might overhear you.
- 38:57This isn't Waffle House.
- 39:01No, it ain't.
- 39:01No, Waffle House hasn't stories released to the press.
- 39:06TJ knows how to keep things concealed.
- 39:11All right, so, gentlemen, we also do bonus questions with these.
- 39:15I'm going to be asking a question.
- 39:16What other classic novels are begging for a Treasure Planet like adaptation?
- 39:21We don't have to spell exactly what we do with it, but if you want to, we can.
- 39:25So if that guy, if that interests you listeners, you can head our way to fourth wall, become a member there at the end of here.
- 39:31You feel free to do so.
- 39:33But gentlemen, before we head any further into the wrapping up segment, is there anything you'd like to discuss before we do wrap things up?
- 39:41If you are still listening to this right now and you haven't seen Treasure Planet and you don't know what we're talking about with the animation style, Deep Canvas.
- 39:51You've probably seen Tarzan.
- 39:53That is the only other time Disney ever used this technology, to my knowledge.
- 39:58And they only used it for the vines during the vine surfing.
- 40:03Anyway, it's visually my favorite part of Tarzan, and this entire movie looks like that.
- 40:09All right, so out of 10, what are you rating?
- 40:1110 this film, John.
- 40:1310?
- 40:13I'm gonna say 10 as well.
- 40:14We got a 30.
- 40:15I am very happy with that.
- 40:17It's.
- 40:18It's a perfect film on the fact that it makes me very happy.
- 40:21It is not a perfect film, as in without flaws.
- 40:23But you know what?
- 40:23That's fine.
- 40:24Once again, created by human hands.
- 40:26So, gentlemen, do you have a recommendation for the audience to check out besides.
- 40:30The movie we just discussed, Muppets Treasure Island.
- 40:34If you have.
- 40:34If you're not a Muppets guy, Muppets Treasure island is a great one.
- 40:38It's, it's probably like top three or four for me for Muppets films.
- 40:44Also, while we're, while we're in town, if you watch Muppets Treasure island, also go watch Dolly Parton's episode of the Muppets show, May she rest in peace.
- 40:57It's a great episode.
- 40:58She's so funny.
- 41:00Also, Peter Cullen was in Muppet Babies.
- 41:04I'm.
- 41:04I like them up.
- 41:05It's been a week.
- 41:06It's been a week.
- 41:07Optimus Prime.
- 41:08Optimus Prime.
- 41:09And also Fozzie Bear's cousin.
- 41:12Good recommendations, John.
- 41:14I would recommend Skeleton Crew if you're gonna be on the Treasure Island.
- 41:18Kind of a theme in space.
- 41:21Skeleton Crew is kind of almost loosely similar to that as well, except it follows kind of a ragtag, ragtag group of kids that's like the Goonies in space, but it's another piratey adventure.
- 41:33A lot of fun.
- 41:34Yeah.
- 41:34The Treasure island, you know, representation there is very self apparent.
- 41:38That's not a bad thing.
- 41:39Like, yeah, it's a fun, harmless show.
- 41:41Go have fun.
- 41:42That's the worst part about reading the classics.
- 41:45Every time I read a classic novel, I'm like, oh, get it.
- 41:49Yeah.
- 41:49I really, I've seen this elsewhere and it's not your fault novel that I saw this elsewhere before I got to you.
- 41:55It's not even that.
- 41:56It's just every time it annoys me because I'm like, oh, yeah, this is a classic.
- 42:00This is a great book.
- 42:03Oh, that's what you're talking about.
- 42:04Yeah, like war.
- 42:05You ever have you read War and Peace?
- 42:07Yes.
- 42:08It's so good.
- 42:09Yeah.
- 42:09Yeah, I agree.
- 42:11That realization of, okay, why is everyone hyping this up?
- 42:14Oh, that's why.
- 42:15Yeah.
- 42:15So they were right.
- 42:16They were.
- 42:16They were the breaking bads of their times.
- 42:18Yeah.
- 42:18It's like, okay, this is 3,000 pages long.
- 42:21No way.
- 42:21Everyone who reads it says it was worth it.
- 42:24This was phenomenal.
- 42:25It is.
- 42:26And I'm gonna throw up my recommendation.
- 42:28I got reminded of this today from news of why doesn't Rick Weisman just make it into a comic book?
- 42:33Well, because Sony and Disney won't let him.
- 42:35And that's a Spectacular Spider man show only ran for two seasons.
- 42:38We deserve much more, but we got what we got and it was very great.
- 42:42So, like to thank some supporters real quick, thank you very much to Aaron Hardy, Daniel Sigman, Trip Fuller and James Barrett.
- 42:49You guys are the best.
- 42:49But remember, we are all the chosen people.
- 42:51A geekdom of Greece.