1. SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, BUILDING AND DESIGN
THE DESIGN SCHOOL
FOUNDATION IN NATURAL BUILD ENVIRONMENT
NAME: PRESTON LIEW RU PING
STUDENT ID NO: 0313822
FILMS SELECTED: TREASURE PLANET (2002) & MEET THE ROBINSONS (2007)
WORD COUNT: 1000
ENGLISH 2 (ENGL 0205)
WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT 1: COMPARE – CONTRAST ESSAY
LECTURER: CASSANDRA WIJESURIA
SUBMISSION DATE: 5TH DECEMBER 2013
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2. “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. Security does not exist in nature, nor
do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long
run than exposure.” – Helen Keller
Adventure, it’s exciting, it’s risky and to be honest it’s definitely worth it. I have
seen adventure-themed animations such as Treasure Planet, Meet the Robinsons,
Chicken Little etc. and these animations definitely blew my mind away. But today, I’ll be
comparing the similarities of both Treasure Planet and Meet the Robinsons. According
to iMDB (Internet Movie Database), both of these movies possess the adventure and
animation genre. Treasure Planet is a story about a rebellious teenager named Jim
Hawkins who dreamed about sailing across the universe but his dream came true one
night after a dying passerby gave him a map to a planet filled with treasure. While Meet
the Robinsons is a story about Lewis, a smart boy who invented a machine that could
reveal the past then someone from the future came and warned him about a mysterious
person stealing his machine, after that they travel into the future to stop the mysterious
person. After some careful evaluation, I’ve concluded three similarities of both
animations – the contribution of inspiring messages, the presence of a sidekick, and
parental influence.
One of the following conversations from Treasure Planet actually inspires me,
and I bet it inspires other people as well: “John Silver: Now, you listen to me, James
(Jim) Hawkins. You got the makings of greatness in you, but you got to take the helm
and chart your own course. Stick to it, no matter the squalls! And when the time comes
you get the chance to really test the cut of your sails, and show what you're made of!
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3. Well, I hope I'm there, catching some of the light coming off you that day.” That was how
John Silver comforts Jim Hawkins after the whole catastrophic chaos whereby Jim was
blamed for the death of one of his allies. Those influential words are normally what
parents say to their children when the children have an ambition. To see this in the
movie gives a nostalgic chill to my bones because my parents told me that before and
it’s like being reminded that my parents has high hopes on me once again.
For Meet the Robinsons, their tittle stating: “Around here, however, we don’t look
backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing
new things, because we’re curious… and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.”
People are always being reminded of their past no matter what depth the happening
affected them, but they need to be constantly reminded that they need to keep moving
forward because what’s in the past stays in the past, the future is a present that we
build ourselves.
Next, I’ve noticed that each of the character has their own sidekick. For Jim
Hawkins from Treasure Planet, his trusty sidekick is a rust-covered eccentric robot
named B.E.N., short for Bio-Electronic Navigator whose memory is all hazed up
because of his missing “brain”. But he was still able to have a few helpful glimpses of
some paths and details to aid Jim in his journey to Treasure Planet. As for Lewis, his
sidekick is someone who is strange yet cheerful and turns out to be his own son from
the future in the end – Wilbur. Since Wilbur is from the future, he understands what will
happen if things go wrong or what will happen. That was a big plus for Lewis because
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4. he could access to the future’s technology AND a time machine. I mean, who doesn’t
want a time machine right?
Next, Jim’s father is one of a bunch of people who could travel across the
universe. It was because of that Jim was very interested about stories of space pirates
and he understands what happens in the universe. But sadly his father acted
indifferently towards him as a child and then sets off, leaving him without saying
anything during his pre-teens. After that day, he became a rebellious teenager despite.
During the starting of the movie, his mother confides to another character that despite
being smart, Jim fails in school and is being very distant from her. Regarding Lewis, for
some unknown reason, his mother abandoned him at an orphanage while he was still
an infant. Because of his love for inventing, he actually invented a machine that could
reveal the past through your brain my keying in the exact time and date of the moment,
and it could actually project a video of your memory through its screen. The reason he
invented the machine was because he wanted to know what his mother looked like. He
wants to know why his mother abandoned him when he was a mere infant. But in the
end with the help of his sidekick, Wilbur, he managed to travel back in time to the exact
place where his mother left him. But he chose not to approach his mother because he
did not want to ruin what is already planned in the future.
Those two animation movies are inside the top 10’s of my favourite movies list.
The reason being the message it portrays through the movie and soundtrack. Disney’s
movies are very influential as they try to bring out the good in each person. With
touching endings and characters with good moral ethics and ambitions, it gives us the
“feels” every time. When it comes to good adventures and inspiring messages, Disney’s
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5. movies gives the most bona fide feelings. I’ve always aspired to go on a meaningful
adventure. After watching Treasure Planet or Meet the Robinsons, it gave me a little bit
of the adventure ecstasy and made me want to fulfil my dreams as fast as I can before I
grow old. So pack your bags and go out of the house, because every day is a new
adventure for yourself.
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6. References:
1. (). Lewis (Meet the Robinsons). [ONLINE] Available at:
http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/Lewis_(Meet_the_Robinsons). [Last Accessed 5
December 13].
2. (). Treasure Planet. [ONLINE] Available at:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0133240/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1. [Last Accessed 5
December 13].
3. (). Meet The Robinsons. [ONLINE] Available at:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0396555/?ref_=ttpl_pl_tt. [Last Accessed 5 December
13].
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