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The decision to base a movie around Disneyland attractions and rides can be taken in two ways. The first is that it represents a dearth of ideas and originality, so the execs are using name recognition to rope in the audience.
The less cynical view is that it offers carte blanche to build an adventure from its foundations, free of inherent plot or direction, which allows a director to inspire something wondrous. Think of Pirates of the Caribbean, or at least the first one before that cash cow was udder-ly milked.
Thankfully, I’m happy to report that Tomorrowland falls into the latter category. It’s only tangentially related to the eponymous theme park zone of Disneyland, established by Walt Disney in 1955 to represent a future brimming with potential and technology, which has allowed director Brad Bird to imprint his own vision on the idea, a task in which he mostly succeeds.
The film follows Casey Newton (Robertson), a teenage girl with lofty aspirations of being an astronaut. She ends up being arrested after causing mischief at a former NASA launch site, where her father is about to lose his job.
Upon release, Casey ends up finding a pin with the letter ‘T’ on it among her belongings, which appears to instantly transport her to a futuristic world when she touches it.
Desperate to find out more, she eventually finds Frank Walker (Clooney), a scientific genius who, after a bright youth full of invention, has since led a life of recluse, bitter and resentful over his own history with the place Casey is desperate to know more about.
This is just the initial scene-setting that takes place in the prologue. Trust me when I say that your first viewing of Tomorrowland will benefit considerably from as little foreknowledge as possible. It’s a dense and occasionally complicated yarn, but it’s one which has constant twists and thrills that leaves you never quite knowing where it’s going to go next.
For a Disney film, that’s rare. We don’t watch them for a gripping mystery, but for the characters, the colour, and the dose of youthful escapism we all need every now and then. But this film does both, thanks to intriguing ideas, constant surprise and an obvious enthusiasm from behind the lens. In a sequel-packed summer, this feels fresh and original.
There is a lot of imagination on show here, not only as one of the major themes of the movie, but literally brought to life through the screen. In a brilliant directorial touch, a vast number of the shots Bird uses in the film point upwards to truly encapture that sense of childish wonder and discovery. It’s a subtle move, with very obvious connotations.
One particularly well-crafted scene sees an army of killer robots attack Frank’s heavily booby-trapped house, and it’s crammed with a chain reaction of exuberant inventions that help to repel the invaders. There were so many little details that I know I missed, and it left me dying for a rewind button so I could watch it again.
The only significant problem with the movie is the ending, though this might not be too much of a surprise considering Damon Lindelof is a co-writer and producer. If there’s any of you, like me, who watched Lost right from the beginning and bore witness to increasing levels of intrigue and mystery before most of it was discarded or left as a loose end at the denouement, you’ll not be surprised to see that a lot of his bright and imaginative concepts here don’t get a worthy payoff.
After all the originality in the first hour and a half, the final act devolves into standard Disney moustache-twirling, master-plan villain fare, which seems to have been shoehorned in solely because the company’s blueprint necessitates there must be a good guy and a bad guy.
Still, this is a bright and entertaining movie for all ages with a strong optimistic heartbeat as it looks to the future. Kids will be amazed at the visuals and ideas floated around, while the adults will appreciate something different from the standard sci-fi serving.
