Review: "Tomorrowland" perfectly channels Walt Disney's philosophy and spirit

[disneysteve]

It is more of a thinking movie than one where you can just shut your mind off and watch a standard typical blockbuster story unfold on screen,

it really is an original intelligent movie.

Exactly. It isn't standard Hollywood mindless entertainment, which is what the public typically goes for.

I'm curious. How did "Saving Mr. Banks" do at the box office?

 

[GAN]

I'm curious. How did "Saving Mr. Banks" do at the box office?

Heck, I know someone who doesn't like anything and they went to see it five times ...of course, that's for another discussion. But it looks like Mr Banks did 115M vs a budget of 35M ...so pretty darn well.

 

[SaraJR]

It was so good, i really hope it inspires people to change their lives and live a more eco friendly lifestyle, I wish they had talked more about actual solitions but i also totally get why they didnt. For any adults wanting info on the biggest enviromental impacts and the biggest things you can do please see the doctumentary 'Cowspiracy the sustainability lie" and feel free to message me for tips/advice as well

 

[DisneyDoc5]

We all loved it, adults, 16, 13, and 10 year olds!

 

[mytripsandraces]

I guess it really depends on the audience. People (including us) were clapping at the end when we saw it. I have a lot of facebook friends who are Disney fans and not a single one has said anything negative about it yet. Everyone has loved it and some even plan to see it again to catch more the endless details contained in there. I won't go that far but I'll definitely get the DVD when it comes out so I can see all of that stuff.

I think the problem is this is really a movie for big Disney fans. The general public probably won't appreciate it as much which will equate to lower box office results. I think this is going to be a definite "cult classic" type of film for Disney lovers.

I'm a Disney fan and didn't like it. It was so elitist. A year later and they're still recruiting just the "dreamers"? The only thing that changed was who was in charge. There were so many plot holes that the only way to enjoy the movie was not to think.

 

[SaraJR]

I'm a Disney fan and didn't like it. It was so elitist. A year later and they're still recruiting just the "dreamers"? The only thing that changed was who was in charge. There were so many plot holes that the only way to enjoy the movie was not to think.

really? i thought it all made sense, they want the dreamers because its a society free of the politics and pressures of our world if anyone could go it would be the same as our world

 

[mytripsandraces]

That's exactly my point. It's elitist. They're doing exactly what Nix was doing, but with a slightly different protocol. For the record, I don't think the end-goal is to have a society of just dreamers, but to change the earth and the way earthlings interact with it so it doesn't end so soon, but, looking deeper, I think they realize that Tomorrowland can only exist if Earth does.

 

[ChrisFL]

I'm a Disney fan and didn't like it. It was so elitist. A year later and they're still recruiting just the "dreamers"? The only thing that changed was who was in charge. There were so many plot holes that the only way to enjoy the movie was not to think.

I think you missed the point of the movie, honestly.

 

[brookmey]

I thought it was OK. Not great, but not bad, either. I thought the ending was the best part and I left the theater with a positive, warm feeling in my heart. I don't know when was the last time a movie left me feeling like that.

My 11 year old daughter LOVED it. She saw herself as one of the dreamers, so she really connected with the story. She always talks about how she wants to change the world and the movie solidified for her that it is possible. The ending showed her the many different ways she can accomplish that. If that was one of the goals of the people who made the movie, then they achieved it with my daughter. Maybe the movie won't be a financial success, but if it inspires more young people like it did for my daughter, then it can never be a failure or flop.

 

[CampbellzSoup]

I think you missed the point of the movie, honestly.

The point is that it's not that good of a movie.

We don't need the guise of being a "Disney fan" to shield mediocrity in terms of taste.

The movie was just...boring it started to get good but when they got to the actual tomorrowland it fell apart...i wanted it to be good so bad too .

From the trailers I assumed people who touched the PIN were selected to go to this mystical world, and she ends up not fitting there or trying to escape from it...

The critics, and people going to the box office are obviously missing the point to then I suppose?

 

[disneysteve]

The critics, and people going to the box office are obviously missing the point to then I suppose?

Yes, I think the critics are missing the point.

I certainly won't say that individuals are wrong for seeing the movie and not liking it. That's just personal preference. But I think critics are different. They view movies from a different mindset. They're out there looking for Oscar-worthy performances. No, I don't think Tomorrowland is going to turn up at awards time, but that doesn't mean it isn't an enjoyable movie.

There are many examples of movies that were very popular and very successful that were panned by critics. Kevin mentioned yesterday on the show that Wizard of Oz was panned by critics. One of the most beloved movies of all time was a bomb according to critics. Does that mean the movie isn't any good? Of course not.

I thought the ending was the best part and I left the theater with a positive, warm feeling in my heart. I don't know when was the last time a movie left me feeling like that.

This sums it up very nicely. This movie was inspirational. I felt the same way as brookmey did. The ending totally hit an emotional chord for me.

Obviously, we aren't all going to agree. That's normal. I would just maintain that people shouldn't be influenced by reviews. Go see the movie and decide for yourself. Heck, Star Wars was panned by the critics in 1977 and look how that ended up.

 

[mjallemand]

The film had its fair share of problems. It's apparent they had a lot of development issues, cuts, and rewrites; probably at the last second, but the message shone through none the less, and it's true: the world could use some optimism.

 

[mytripsandraces]

I think you missed the point of the movie, honestly.

I didn't miss the point; it says a whole lot more than "optimism will save the world" and it's the rest of the message that I object to. How optimistic can you be if only the specials chosen by those in control get to decide whether or not you're saved?

 

[GAN]

I know, it's going to be a real bummer for those who are use to just buying their way into things!

 

[Andrea1973]

I heard from Disney people it was good but I saw in the paper that it got low ratings the first week. Honestly though...as long as the Disney people love it and it holds true to us...then it is good in my books. I hope to go see it soon, mind you, it would be better watching it in the theater in Disney...just my opinion... haha

 

[JerseyKnight]

I guess it really depends on the audience. People (including us) were clapping at the end when we saw it. I have a lot of facebook friends who are Disney fans and not a single one has said anything negative about it yet. Everyone has loved it and some even plan to see it again to catch more the endless details contained in there. I won't go that far but I'll definitely get the DVD when it comes out so I can see all of that stuff.

I think the problem is this is really a movie for big Disney fans. The general public probably won't appreciate it as much which will equate to lower box office results. I think this is going to be a definite "cult classic" type of film for Disney lovers.

We are HUGE Disney Fans and some of our earliest memories are of the NY World's Fair. On a side note, I actually rode the Carousel when I was a little boy at Olympic Park NJ before it was moved to Walt Disney World. We even bought a house 30 mins. from Disney World! We judge movies based on merit and Disney really has nothing to do with it. Yes, we love it when Disney scores a hit but a movie has to have a lot more going for it than just Disney references here and there. Friends who love Disney have said the movie was just ok - not great! I don't know anyone personally who has loved the film. One of the DJ's on satellite radio this morning (he's a huge Disney Fan by the way) called the movie a "mess" and about a half hour too long. George Clooney was.....George Clooney as usual and who cast Tim McGraw as the father? Is that the best they could get? I will give it cool special effects but that's about it.

 

[JerseyKnight]

Do you know how excited I was to see this and how awful it was?

I was anxious since the trailers and the script was terrible absouetly terrible.

The visuals are fantastic, and he direction great but the actual script pacing and characters were all awful...

Had extremely high hopes too

Couldn't agree with you more. Well said.

 

[disneysteve]

I don't know anyone personally who has loved the film.

Everybody is different. I know several people who loved the film and plan to see it a second time.

Again, I have absolutely no issue with folks who saw the film and didn't care for it. What I do have an issue with is people deciding not to see the film because of what a critic or reviewer said/wrote. I don't know about anyone else but I don't allow others to tell me what to think about something. I believe in seeing the movie myself and forming my own opinion. I'd hate to see this movie, or any movie, do poorly just because of bad reviews.

In this case, I thought the movie was enjoyable. It wasn't the best thing ever. It won't win any awards. But I thought it was good entertainment with an inspirational feel-good message.

 

[Pooh2]

I enjoyed the first half of the movie, dozed off toward the end. Not sure if it was the movie or that I got up at 4am and watched the movie in one of the theaters with the comfy recliner.. I will try it again when it's out on netflix.

 

[JerseyKnight]

Everybody is different. I know several people who loved the film and plan to see it a second time.

Again, I have absolutely no issue with folks who saw the film and didn't care for it. What I do have an issue with is people deciding not to see the film because of what a critic or reviewer said/wrote. I don't know about anyone else but I don't allow others to tell me what to think about something. I believe in seeing the movie myself and forming my own opinion. I'd hate to see this movie, or any movie, do poorly just because of bad reviews.

In this case, I thought the movie was enjoyable. It wasn't the best thing ever. It won't win any awards. But I thought it was good entertainment with an inspirational feel-good message.

I 100% agree with you about the critics and what other people say about films. Everyone should make up their own minds. We loved all the Pirates of The Caribbean films but many critics (and many other Disney fans) did not. We also loved Avengers 2 that many critics were less than enthusiastic about. Wish we didn't waste money on IMAX for Tomorrowland - hurt even more. However, we enjoyed the popcorn and seeing a BRIEF glimpse of the NY World's Fair.....does that count for something ? With that said, our "feel good message" at the end of the film was, "let's get the hell out of here and end this torture!"