I wasn't sure exactly what to expect going into Tomorrowland, and I'm even less sure what I saw coming out of it.
Brad Bird's intensely promoted, George Clooney-led vehicle is sold rather transparently as an advertisement for Disney's not-so-ironically named areas of its famous theme parks. To be sure, there are plenty of fairly plain allusions to Disneyworld and Disneyland elements throughout "Tommorowland." Yet the frenetic and often uneven pacing makes it hard to know exactly where the viewer is supposed to jump on board in this curious if feint morality tale pitting optimism versus pessimism in a blender-like mixture of sci-fi, time travel, cyborgs, and general absurdity. If "Blade Runner", "Star Wars", and "Star Trek" crossed with "Back To the Future" and crash-landed in Orlando, "Tormorrowland" would surely be in the merged wreckage.
Ultimately, however, "Tomorrowland" plays less like a commentary on a avoiding an inevitably dystopian human future than an introspective view of the current state of Disney itself; a utopian notion gone awry without its visionary to guide it. Amid its fantastic visuals and caffeinated storytelling is a much simpler notion - that someone recognizes Disney, itself, is a little bit broken, replacing its simple stories and animations for explosions and grand effects, and aspiring to recruit contemporary visionaries to help it regain its lost way.
Can humanity regain its lost way? Can Disney? In its own, heartfelt and sincere, IMAX-inspired way, "Tomorrowland" aspires to put the question out there. Ultimately, it provides no answer; it offers only the hope of one, and an uncomfortable one at that.
Brad Bird's intensely promoted, George Clooney-led vehicle is sold rather transparently as an advertisement for Disney's not-so-ironically named areas of its famous theme parks. To be sure, there are plenty of fairly plain allusions to Disneyworld and Disneyland elements throughout "Tommorowland." Yet the frenetic and often uneven pacing makes it hard to know exactly where the viewer is supposed to jump on board in this curious if feint morality tale pitting optimism versus pessimism in a blender-like mixture of sci-fi, time travel, cyborgs, and general absurdity. If "Blade Runner", "Star Wars", and "Star Trek" crossed with "Back To the Future" and crash-landed in Orlando, "Tormorrowland" would surely be in the merged wreckage.
Ultimately, however, "Tomorrowland" plays less like a commentary on a avoiding an inevitably dystopian human future than an introspective view of the current state of Disney itself; a utopian notion gone awry without its visionary to guide it. Amid its fantastic visuals and caffeinated storytelling is a much simpler notion - that someone recognizes Disney, itself, is a little bit broken, replacing its simple stories and animations for explosions and grand effects, and aspiring to recruit contemporary visionaries to help it regain its lost way.
Can humanity regain its lost way? Can Disney? In its own, heartfelt and sincere, IMAX-inspired way, "Tomorrowland" aspires to put the question out there. Ultimately, it provides no answer; it offers only the hope of one, and an uncomfortable one at that.