Tomorrowland
Brad Bird has been a beloved filmmaker for years, starting with animated work such as his cartoon, “Family Dog,” for Steven Spielberg’s “Amazing Stories” series and his work directing for the early years of “The Simpsons,” and transitioning to his feature films like “The Iron Giant,” “The Incredibles” and “Ratatouille.” His last film, “Mission: Impossible– Ghost Protocol,” was his first foray into live-action, and it continued his justifiably great winning streak unabated. The early reviews for his latest film, Disney’s “Tomorrowland,” did not instill confidence. Would he overcome that buzz when I finally saw it?
One of the things that struck me almost immediately while watching “Tomorrowland” was not just how it lined up with Bird”s previous ventures with Disney in showing extraordinary people who require the chance to share their exceptionalism with the world. The thing I kept thinking about while watching this PG-rated adventure is how it reminded me, in tone, of movies like “Flight of the Navigator,” “The Black Hole,” “TRON” and other Disney family adventures from the ’70s and ’80s when I was growing up. This helped me enjoy the film, and appreciate it’s predictable storyline and one-dimensional characters without feeling too terribly devastated by how below the bar it was for Bird. I’ll always cherish “The Incredibles” and “Ratatouille” unreservedly, but even if it didn’t end up being a great piece of filmmaking, “Tomorrowland” certainly hit some personal buttons that made it easy to watch.
George Clooney gets the top billing as Frank Walker, but the real star is Britt Robertson as Casey Newton, the daughter of a low-level NASA worker who is frustrated by cuts to the agency her father works for, and is trying to sabotage the dismantling of the launch platform in Cape Canaveral. One night, she gets arrested, and when she gets out, she finds a pin with a “T” logo in with her stuff. When she touches it, it shows her a glimpse of a wonderful city in an isolated place. It’s not long before her, Frank (who has a history with the city, known as Tomorrowland, a haven for the best and brightest in humanity) and Athena (Raffey Cassidy, terrific) are headed there themselves on a mission to save this city, and the world.
There’s not much more to the story and screenplay by Bird and Damon Lindelof than that, but what’s so surprising about the film isn’t how simple the story is, but how lacking of energy the whole thing is. Gone is the excitement and passion that drove “The Incredibles” and “Ratatouille,” the high-wire suspense of “Ghost Protocol” and the nostalgic feeling of “The Iron Giant.” Bird feels less like the author of this film and more like a hired hand to give Disney a big-budget tentpole based on studio notes. That part is even more surprising because the idea of exceptional people being exceptional at the pursuit of a big ideal that drives “Tomorrowland” is very much a Brad Bird concept– this should feel like a Brad Bird film in every way. And yet, it’s hollow at it’s core in a way no other film of his has been. It’s enjoyable to watch, yes, but it could have been so much more. That’s what makes it a big let down. Even great filmmakers have missteps, though, and no doubt, Bird will bounce back in a big way.
