National Film Vault

FILM NOTES

Treasure Planet arrived in November 2002 from Walt Disney Feature Animation, representing one of the studio's most ambitious reimaginings of a literary classic. Directors Ron Clements and John Musker transposed Robert Louis Stevenson's seafaring adventure into a retro-futurist cosmos, blending traditional hand-drawn animation with extensive CGI. Released during a transitional period for Disney animation, the film has since earned a devoted following for its visual invention and emotional sincerity.

This three-frame cell captures Jim Hawkins in one of the film's most kinetic sequences, riding his solar surfer through open sky with the ship visible below. Seen from behind and then with arms outstretched, Jim embodies the restless freedom central to his character arc — a rare continuous passage of movement preserved across a single strip.