Tomorrowland Review
RYAN: Tomorrowland is a new, live-action Disney adventure film based on that area of the Magic Kingdom in DisneyWorld and Disneyland. And I’m so impressed with the story and the characters they’ve developed around this area. It’s real Disney magic at work and I feel as though they’ve unfrozen Walt from his cryogenic freeze just to bring him back to approve of and produce this movie. It feels like it’s got Walt Disney blood pumping through it.
CHUCK: It definitely does feel like Uncle Walt was involved, as people who used to work with him called him. You know, Disney was always about invention and innovation and being a dreamer. That really is at the heart of what this movie is about. We have to say right away – it’s directed by Brad Bird who did Iron Giant and The Incredibles and Ratatouille. He directed Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol… Started off in animation, with an Amazing Stories episode, actually, that was back in ‘87.
RYAN: It’s such a great family film and it’s intense and suspenseful and colorful. It transports you to another world, real escapism.
CHUCK: Absolutely. Bird really does creative, innovative actions scenes.
RYAN: I was delighted on every level.
CHUCK: It really starts off with a bang. You’re kind of unsure of what’s going on; but really like you said, it does transport you to another world.
RYAN: And before we talk about the stars in the cast, there’s this young British actress making her debut here – Raffey Cassidy, who is a scene stealer. This is a star-making turn for her. She’s100%. She’s like a young, brunette, modern Haley Mills and reminded me of Fairuza Balk in Return to Oz and I think she should already win every “Best Young Actress” award!
CHUCK: She’ll probably be nominated at the MTV awards.
RYAN: She was phenomenal. I’m obsessed with her. I couldn’t take my eyes off of her. I love her confidence, expressions and delivery.
CHUCK: She was great and for being such a young actress and able to act well with established stars like George Clooney…
RYAN: He’s really good and not in much of the movie. But he’s terrif and this really is aligned with his sensibility and his politics. This turns out to be a very politically charged film with themes of global warming and caring about the environment and human connectivity.
CHUCK: I think it really comes down to that we have control over our destiny. And nothing’s impossible, which again, was something that Disney was a firm believer in: If you can dream it, you can do it.
RYAN: And without giving anything away, because we don’t do spoilers, using “dream” here is so the operative word because the message is so inspiring about not giving up on your dreams. And, you know, not tainting the hope that you have in childhood as you grow up. I was so touched by that.
CHUCK: This might be my own interpretation, but it would be hard for me to believe that they didn’t take some inspiration for this from Epcot. The original concept of what Epcot was, which was an experimental prototype community of tomorrow, and even though the look of the city of Tomorrowland in this has a futuristic resemblance; i’s all about the ideal and perfection and how humans can live together harmoniously.
RYAN: Yes and we have to mention Brit Robertson – fantastic. She was recently in the The Longest Ride and she was on TV’s Secret Circle where she played a witch.
CHUCK: This is the first thing that I’ve seen her in and she was great. She really carries the movie and for someone who hasn’t had the pressure of a blockbuster before – it’s impressive.
RYAN: The design was also brilliant. We both regret this movie wasn’t in 3D. Tomorrowland looks so cool. I would go there. And I loved all the clothes they wore – futuristic but accessible to how we dress today. But it’s also reminded me a lot of, like, Back to the Future. Remember the hoverboards? It’s like that on steroids in this movie in terms of the future technology.
CHUCK: Everything was accessible, nothing looked like “That’s impossible.” Yeah, if we put our minds together, any of this could happen. And that’s what the best art and the best movies do… make us dream, make us see the potential for what we can do together.
RYAN: I loved it. I think it was beautiful and fun seeing in the theater.
