There is an ongoing battle between two wolves. One is evil – he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, guilt, resentment, lies, pride, superiority, self-pity, and self-doubt. The other is good – he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. Which wolf will win?
The one you feed.
I first heard this Cherokee parable earlier this week at a screening of the latest film from Disney, Tomorrowland. I liked the movie…. but I don’t think I’ll see it more than once (or twice, actually, because I’ll watch it once with my kids). Tomorrowland has been highly anticipated since the buzz and mystery began at Comicon last year. With a budget of $190 million dollars and Brad Bird directing, I expected it to be much better than I ultimately think it is.
The movie focuses on a mysterious young girl, Athena, and her quest to find people who believe the world can be a better place than it is today. Over time she meets a young boy named Frank Walker who believes anything is possible, and an optimistic teenager Casey (played well by Britt Robertson). She gives them each a mysterious pin and a glimpse at Tomorrowland. Eventually, the three of them must work together to save the world from a (moderately) evil Hugh Laurie.
My husband really enjoyed it; on the way home from the screening, he and I talked at length about the movie, but I was unable to pinpoint what exactly I didn’t love. Thankfully, Peter Sciretta of Slashfilm has done it for me: “when we get to the climax we don’t even feel the stakes or understand the motives of the antagonist”. Scott Mendelson from Forbes compared it to the sixth season of Lost. I don’t know anything about the sixth season of lost, but this felt true of Tomorrowland: “a bunch of worthwhile character work and intriguing mystery threads were set up in service of a final lap that discarded most of the mysteries and introduced a whole new good-vs-evil threat right at the end.”
In what we are led to believe are the most desperate moments of the story, I struggle to understand how Tomorrowland – and the earth – ended up in a place that necessitated its saving. Governor Nix (Laurie) ultimately explains that the world is in trouble because it has lost hope – but the plot up to that point and simultaneous action scenes didn’t do a great job of getting us there until he said it. The revelation of the state of the entire world, and the purpose of the three characters’ “mission”, was not so much a revelation we were waiting to hear but a new concept that seemingly came from left field.
Cinematically, the film is definitely sci-fi. Robot (oops – Audio Animatronic!) battle scenes, amazing, futuristic swimming pools, and everything in between make that clear throughout. It isn’t sci-fi like a superhero epic, though, but more like the movies that show at Walt Disney World’s Sci-Fi Dine in Theater from the days of “The Blob”. At the same time, parts of it are stunningly beautiful – as one might expect from the previews.
I love the message – and I’m not saying this in a placating manner; It’s a beautiful sentiment and will definitely inspire dreamers everywhere. I’m just not sure that the execution beyond that message was great – which surprised me. I was relieved, honestly, to find I wasn’t alone in my reviews (after feeling like it with my last one!). The link above shows plenty of love for the movie, too. I’m really interested to see the overall impression and undoubted box office success the movie has in its first few weeks.
Young Raffey Cassidy as Athena was remarkable. George Clooney as adult Frank Walker provided a powerful look at what happens to someone who loses hope. I’m no feminist, but I certainly can’t complain about two very strong female leads.
When my daughters asked about my favorite part of the movie, I said this: I truly loved the scene where we see a new set of dreamers. In every one of them – a young dancer, an artist, an inventor, a teacher, a mathematician, and others – we see that there is hope for the future. I love the idea of Tomorrowland, a place where anything you can dream really is possible. Despite sitting through the movie thinking, “Gosh, this really isn’t very good….” the message is ultimately a compelling one.
I think it’s worth seeing – for breathtaking first looks at Tomorrowland in its glory, the entertaining first half (with truly laugh-out-loud moments), and for that overarching message. Unfortunately, I’m not sure it’s worth owning or seeing more than once.
Brad Bird, if you’re reading this – thank you for giving Disney nerds glimpses of a romanticized, wonderful 1964 World’s Fair. Thank you for easter eggs and fun homages to our beloved Disney park attractions. Thank you for The Iron Giant, The Incredibles, and Ratatouille. I can’t wait to see whatever you do after this one. ;)
Did you see Tomorrowland? What did you think?
ETA: There’s apparently a Tomorrowland book! I may have to read it to see if I prefer that, though I do think it was written based on the movie, and not the other way around.
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