National Film Vault

FILM NOTES

Walt Disney Animation Studios released Treasure Planet in November 2002, a bold reimagining of Robert Louis Stevenson's classic novel transplanted into a retro-futuristic space setting. Directed by Ron Clements and John Musker, the film represented one of the studio's most ambitious technical undertakings, blending traditional hand-drawn animation with computer-generated elements during a transitional period for the art form. Though it struggled commercially upon release, it has earned considerable appreciation over the decades for its visual inventiveness and emotional sincerity.

This three-frame cell captures Jim Hawkins executing a fluid aerial maneuver on his solar surfer, the sequence unfolding across the strip as his board rotates through a crisp blue sky framed by snow-capped peaks. The progression gives the cell a natural sense of motion, preserving one of the film's most visually distinctive character moments on 35mm.