Movie Musings: Disney and More

From the Sea to the Stars: 

The Remarkable History of Treasure Island at Disney

From movie-musicals like Beauty and the Beast (1991) and Aladdin (1992), to sci-fi flicks like The Black Hole (1979) and the Star Wars reboot trilogy (2015-2019), Disney has produced films of nearly every genre throughout their history. Another genre they are known for producing is action-adventure, best demonstrated by The Pirates of the Caribbean series (2003-2017) and Swiss Family Robinson (1960). Long before they produced those films, however, Disney’s first live-action film was Treasure Island, based on the Robert Louis Stevenson novel of the same name. Released on July 19th, 1950, it was also readapted by Disney two other times. In today’s blog I’d like to tell you about these three adaptations, beginning with a brief history on the novel itself.

Robert Louis Stevenson first published the novel Treasure Island or the Mutiny of the Hispaniola on November 14th, 1883. He had been inspired to write the story from drawing an imaginary treasure map with his stepson, Lloyd Osbourne at their home in Braemar, Scotland. He said that the novel “was to be a story for boys; no need of psychology or fine writing; and I had a boy at hand to be a touchstone.” Stevenson had previously written a novel called The Hair Trunk or The Ideal Commonwealth but that work was never finished or published, but Treasure Island was the first big success he ever had. It’s success paved the way for him to write other novels like Prince Otto in 1885 and Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in 1886. 

During the late 1940s, Walt Disney was on the verge of having to close his studio due to an unfortunate strike and the dismal performance of films the studio produced in the ‘40s. They had experimented with live-action/animated hybrid films at the time with Song of the South (1946) and So Dear to My Heart (1948) and revisited the hybrid idea for Mary Poppins (1964). Walt’s brother Roy, who oversaw all the financing of the studio was confident that it was time to close their doors, but Walt, being the unrelentingly stubborn genius that he was, refused. They argued a great deal, but ultimately reached a compromise, where they would keep making movies, but separate the animation department from the live-action department.

In addition to remaining true to the original novel, “Treasure Island,” was critically well-received, and made a great deal of money (grossing over $4 million dollars in worldwide rentals). It also paved the way for live-action films to follow at the studio, such as The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men (1952) and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954). The film starred Bobby Driscoll (future of voice of Peter Pan in Peter Pan (1953)) as Jim Hawkins and Robert Newton as Long John Silver and was directed by Byron Haskin. Newton later reprised his role of Long John Silver in a non-Disney produced sequel called Long John Silver which was released in 1954 and was directed by Haskin. Although “Treasure Island,” was a hit when it was released, it didn’t quite outdo the success of Cinderella (1950), which had also been green-lit at the Disney Animation Department around the same time. 

Flash forward again to the mid-1990s, Disney was looking for a new film that would be a collaborative production effort with Jim Henson Productions. Their first collaboration (in 1992 with The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)) was a moderate box-office success, but it’s popularity was outdone by Disney’s Aladdin (1992) much like what “Cinderella” had done with the original “Treasure Island,” film. Muppet Treasure Island (1996) was ultimately green-lit thanks to the suggestion of “Muppets,” co-writer Kirk R. Thatcher who wanted to adapt a story with the Muppets that would either be loosely based off of “Treasure Island,” or “King Arthur,” but the rest of the “Muppets” crew decided that “Treasure Island,” would work much better than “King Arthur.” 

The Muppet version was directed by Brian Henson (son of Jim Henson) and it opened on February 16th, 1996. It was a much bigger success than “Muppet Christmas Carol,” grossing $7.9 million dollars opening weekend, a new record at the time for Disney openings in February. The movie also remained faithful to the novel, like the original version, though obviously, the writers rewrote the story to fit the personalities of the Muppet characters, for example, Jim Hawkins having the Great Gonzo and Rizzo the Rat for companions instead of living the adventure by himself or Kermit the Frog playing a strict, though friendly Captain Smollett as opposed to the more stern, rule-obsessed figure that Captain Smollett is in the book.

To acknowledge the third “Treasure Island,” adaptation at Disney involves going back to the mid-1980s. John Musker and Ron Clements, both had already been working at Disney for a while at the time, and proven themselves worthy of directing animated movies. In 1985, they had a meeting with former Disney CEO Michael Eisner where they pitched a concept for a film called “Treasure Island in Space,” but Eisner rejected it. Fortunately for Musker and Clements, this was also the same meeting where they pitched the idea that became The Little Mermaid (1989).

    The “Treasure Island in Space,” idea was pitched again at another meeting after “Little Mermaid,” was released, but Eisner remained uninterested in the idea. Musker and Clements tried pitching it a third time to the other former Disney head, Jeffrey Katzenberg, but just like Eisner, Katzenberg wasn’t interested in the idea either. Angered by the constant rejection, Musker and Clements turned to Roy E. Disney for support, and fortunately he supported both them and their idea and convinced Eisner to reconsider. (Katzenberg resigned from Disney after the release of The Lion King (1994). In 1995, Musker and Clements contract with Disney was re-negotiated, and they began development on “Treasure Planet.” They reinvented the classic novel in space and that they “did a lot of things to make the film more modern,” which were the words of screenwriter Rob Edwards. “Treasure Planet,” opened on November 27th, 2002, grossing $12 million. It later grossed $109.5 million worldwide, received kind reviews from critics, and even received an Academy Award Nomination for Best Animated Feature. (It lost that year to Studio Ghibli’s Spirited Away (2002) which was released under the Disney label).

“Treasure Island,” has a very interesting history at Disney. It’s a very thrilling adventure story, but it also inspires us to always be on the lookout for opportunities to take adventures. Walt Disney only lived to see the final cut of the original “Treasure Island,” but I personally find it hard to believe that he wouldn’t appreciate the uniqueness and the humor of “Muppet Treasure Island,” and “Treasure Planet.”