Tomorrowland

Starring: George Clooney, Hugh Laurie, Britt Robertson
Directed by: Brad Bird
Rated: PG
Running time: 2hrs, 10mins
Walt Disney Pictures

My rating: 3 out of 5 stars

I was a little wary about a film based on a section in Disneyland/Magic Kingdom. Some of the films based on rides were awful (I'm looking at you "Haunted Mansion") while others lost their mojo three films ago ("Pirates of the Caribbean"). Still, I was slightly curious about what it was this film had to offer.

The film begins at the 1964 World's Fair (Disney buffs will know the significance of this). A young Frank Walker (Thomas Robinson) shows up with his invention hoping to win the top prize of $50 for his invention. He meets Nix (Laurie) and Athena (Raffey Cassidy). Nix is unimpressed by Walker and his invention, but Athena sees something in him that intrigues her. I really wish this was where the relationship had stopped.

We shift gears and we are now 50 years into the future. Casey Newton (Robertson) and her father (Tim McGraw) are preparing for the day he will lose his job at NASA. Casey tries to delay the layoff by breaking into Cape Canaveral and ruining the cranes that are there to destroy the launch platform. She gets caught and is arrested. After her bail is posted and her belongings are being returned, she finds a mysterious pin among her stuff. When she touches it she is transported to another land. Tomorrowland to be exact.

Frank and Casey meet thanks to the help of Athena. Frank basically represents the people who say this world is getting more and more screwed up each day but do nothing about it, while Casey represents the future generation and their passion to fix the world and make it a better place. Frank's negativity is slowly chipped away by Casey's optimism and they both set out to fix what seems to be an inevitable future of despair. The film is gorgeous to look at and the film's message is a good one, but I do feel as though it gets convoluted in all the action.

While the reference to the World's Fair and the significance of "It's a Small World" being there are fun, there were many times in which I felt Disney was promoting itself. I do understand it is a Disney film, but instead of trying to find little Easter eggs like at the beginning of the film, the whole Easter basket was delivered throughout the rest of the film. I was also very uncomfortable with the relationship between Frank and Athena. He falls in love with her at the age of 11 and fifty years later he still seems to be hung up on this unrequited child love. Can you say totally awkward? Anyway, Raffey Cassidy did a fine job as Athena and was definitely the standout character to me. The veteran actors did a good job as well and while Britt Robertson didn't do a bad job, I felt she was trying to hard at times. The film kept me entertained, but it will easily be forgotten amongst Disney's greatest.