Tomorrowland

The world was introduced to two-time Oscar winning director Brad Bird by way of “The Incredibles”. His subsequent Pixar film, “Ratatouille”, was evidence that he was not a one-hit wonder and “Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol” showed that he could also work in live action. With “Tomorrowland”, I see his potential in the field of live action even if this movie has a few narrative errors. As with “Pirates of the Caribbean” before it, “Tomorrowland” is based off an attraction at Disneyland. The difference is that Tomorrowland is not a ride but instead an area of the theme park. Walt Disney was not just a moviemaker but also an innovator. Shortly before his death, Disney wanted to explore ways of not just entertaining the world but how to make the world itself a better place. The focus of the movie “Tomorrowland” is on that very idea and other similar themes. While that is a great central characteristic for any movie, those themes must be conveyed affectively. Because the plot has a few problems with its narrative story pattern, the themes are not as powerfully expressed to the audience as they could have been. Still, the other components of this movie such as the acting and special effects are noteworthy. I came out of this movie feeling much like I do after watching “The Social Network”.

The framing device for “Tomorrowland” doesn’t work at the start. If it had been more serious, I think it would have opened the movie just fine. At least it concluded the film quite nicely. I really appreciated the two Sherman Brothers’ songs at the start because it takes you to Disneyland emotionally. “Tomorrowland” is definitely a sentimental film for Bird. The World’s Fair is one example because he has us harkening back to his childhood in the late 60’s. I bet many people are hoping for an escape from the Small World ride just like Frank got. “Blast from the Past” in Houston is another example of sentimentality because it is a Movie Easter Egg treasure-trove. There is quite a bit of memorabilia from Brad Bird’s past works: “The Simpsons”, “The Incredibles” and “The Iron Giant”. The platform that uses tachyons becomes important to the story but it seemed too conspicuous. Unless I missed something in the dialogue, there was an explanation as to why the characters could see seconds into the future but no reason for this happening other than that it was an important plot point. I enjoy a movie better when important plot points happen subtly. Any film’s climax is very important because everything we have seen previously leads up to a resolving and enthralling conclusion with emphasis on the word “up”. Hiking is more exciting when you go higher in elevation, music is better with the use of crescendos and the same can be said for narrative structure. As we are told a story, we desire for the drama or excitement to build and build until we conclude with the best part of the story. For “Tomorrowland”, I can’t seem to identify my favorite scene but I know it wasn’t at the end. I felt the level of action or drama was constant throughout the show. Therefore, there was no true climax. Despite this, I do enjoy the concluding scenes because by the end of the story, Tomorrowland isn’t opened to everyone in the world but rather serves as inspiration for those who can make our world better. That is an important message for us because instead of wishing we were in the future, we should focus on making our reality whatever we want it to be.

I love the symbolism behind Frank’s invention. I personally believe that it is not fear that will save the world but instead faith, even in one’s self. Fear can prevent you from failing away from your destiny but it cannot help you progress beyond your present situation. Fear prevents people from taking risks and progression is all about taking risks. For those who hated this movie, I am betting they were expecting a greater conflict or more action. When you think about it however, that kind of movie goes against the themes of “Tomorrowland” because the future is not to be feared. Today’s society has both an optimistic and pessimistic outlook on its future and the media reflects this. Sadly, the evening news and internet tells us that the pessimists are the most vocal. Christianity for instance may contain awful prophecies about the end of the world but what about other Bible prophecies concerning after Armageddon? We all have a choice in how we deal with trials, problems and limitations. Those who are dreamers, hard-workers, risk-takers and optimists tend to change the world for the better. These themes help make “Tomorrowland” enjoyable to watch as does other elements. The cast of actors did their jobs almost perfectly. My favorite performance came from Raffey Cassidy as Athena. In Greek mythology, Athena is the goddess of many attributes including wisdom, courage, inspiration, civilization, mathematics, the arts, crafts and skill so we get added symbolism from the use of this name. Other great characteristics of this movie include the musical score by Oscar-winning composer Michael Giacchino and the special effects. The visual design of Tomorrowland in the movie is obviously going to be modeled after its namesake at Disneyland. Space Mountain is visible a few times for example but the filmmakers only used the real Tomorrowland as a foundation and built off of it to create their own version. Another source of inspiration comes from Walt Disney’s original idea for the “Florida Project” that became Walt Disney World after his death. EPCOT, before it became a tourist theme park like unto a world’s fair, was going to a utopian city based on futurism. Finally, the term “Audio-Animatronics” is the name for the robotic technology found on rides such as “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “The Enchanted Tiki Room”.

It appears that director Brad Bird has started his own production company and to have it named “A113” is very fitting. The secrecy behind the plot of “Tomorrowland” led some to suspect that Bird was working on “Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens”. I think the secrecy would have been warranted if the final story had a better narrative structure. I think that too much focus was placed on the strong themes of the movie, which had good and bad outcomes. One good result is that the show is a feel-good movie with a lot of admirable qualities. It advocates a lot of Walt Disney’s principles. The movie can inspire but would have been more inspirational with a better story. The critics who disliked “Tomorrowland” are probably likening it unto “John Carter” (which was directed by another Pixar filmmaker with two Oscars under his belt, namely Andrew Stanton). I feel that “Tomorrowland” is better thanks to its originality. Both movies take inspiration from past works but Brad Bird’s film had the potential to go beyond the source material. Even though this movie wasn’t perfect, that won’t affect the success of Bird’s next film back at Pixar. Now that Bird has confirmed that he will not only write a new “Incredibles” movie for Pixar but also direct it, I am pumped because I didn’t think he was the kind of moviemaker to create sequels.

4 Stars