Disney's 2022 film Strange World has taken the company to a world that it's a stranger to: outright failure. The movie has received pretty decent reviews, but it's also bombed on an astronomical level at the box office. In fact, it almost resembles another Disney animation from two decades prior.
Treasure Planet was a sci-fi rendition of an adventure classic, and while fans love it, it completely crashed when released. Its premise, genre and release date are all evoked in Disney's newest film, making the mutually unsuccessful movies like distant twins. Here's how Strange World celebrates the 20th anniversary of Treasure Planet in the worst way.
Treasure Planet and Strange World Are Both Sci-Fi Throwback Adventures
The 2002 film Treasure Planet was a science fiction version of Robert Louis Stevenson's novel Treasure Island, turning the pirate adventure tale into one of steampunk wonder. Given that it wasn't even the first or second sci-fi take on the material, it made sense that it freshened things up with a steampunk aesthetic. Unfortunately, this subgenre could be seen as part of the reason for the film's failure, with these types of throwbacks almost always failing. For instance, the '90s pulp film The Rocketeer and the later film Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow were not big hits at all, even if they became cult favorites.
Strange World is somewhat similar, with its scenery, designs and science fiction elements being based on classic sci-fi such as the works of Jules Verne. This is also a rather inspired choice, especially considering that Verne's works were such a big influence on Disneyland attractions around the world. Of course, none of this convinced the mainstream audience to give the film a chance, with its opening weekend being particularly bad for Disney. It was released two decades exactly after Treasure Planet, making their features and failures all the more ironic. However, it's their mutual expenses that may have failed both of these Disney films' chances of making money.
Strange World and Treasure Planet Were Both Extremely Expensive
Made on a budget of $140 million, Treasure Planet is still the most expensive traditionally animated film ever, and not just from Disney. After failing to connect with audiences, even with the Disney name, it made only $110 million at the box office. This was a terrible result for usual juggernaut Disney, especially since the previous decade had been such a boom period for the company. Strange World is likely set for a final tally that's just as bad, if not far worse, making only around $27 million worldwide on its opening weekend. Given that its budget is between $135 and $180 million, it's unlikely to ever make that money back.
The film was noted, however, for its effective use of color and animation, with Pixar's expensive animation methods likely being the reason for the immense price tag. The same thing happened to Treasure Planet, which actually combined 2D and 3D animation. Neither movie is the more traditional Disney musical, either, making them even harder to sell to mainstream audiences and families. With a lack of appeal and a horrendously high budget, two Disney-animated sci-fi flicks have become notorious bombs 20 years apart. In the case of Treasure Planet, however, it's likely to be more fondly remembered than Strange World.
To see how it compares to Treasure Planet, Strange World is in theaters now.