This film had hype leading up to its release, then people got wind of the details and became turned off, labeling it a boring, silly, misfire. Maybe it was the vague marketing campaign that doomed the film, it did a very poor job of conveying what the film really was. Perhaps if people knew what to expect, they would have appreciated what the film is, a love letter to the idea that Tomorrow can be better, not worse.
The heart of this film is the soul of everything good Disney has done. The film opens with a vague idea that the story is being told in the past tense, we see Casey and Frank, played by the talented Britt Robertson and the always charming Geroge Clooney respectively, then we are thrown into the far past, to give Frank's backstory. Having the first major scene during the 1964 World's Fair, sold everything this film aimed to be, yet I think the metaphor went over people's heads. See audiences expected this to be a film set mostly in Tomorrowland, they expected nothing more than a flashy, fun ride, Disney rides are flashy and fun, but the best also have a point, or even a special meaning. This film is not about what Tomorrowland is, but what Tomorrowland inspires. Ok, sorry, I got too lofty with my metaphors. What is sad, is that the film's metaphor is so obvious, at least if you're not expecting the vague film that was advertised, afterall, expectations make it hard to see something for what it is. Worse, even if that thing is amazing, if it is not what you expected, you still might hate it.
Sorry, I was doing it again. In any case, the film follows a young girl who gets a special Pin, *spoiler warning*, that Pin is basically an ad for Tomorrowland. This Ad leads the girl to meet an Audio-Animatronic named Athena. Ok at this point, opening with the World's Fair, an advertisement for Tomorrowland, and then the robots are called Audio-Animatronics, unless you're a Disney fan, you won't get the point of this, see that is what Walt Disney called the robotic figures in his rides, Disney still to this day calls them Audio-Animatronics. Athena explains they must meet this old dude she used to know, so they can go to Tomorrowland. That dude is Frank and after Casey meets up with him, they get into an exciting battle with evil AA's that are after Casey, because of the Pin she was given. Ok enough distractions, so what is the metaphor, the metaphor is a family going on a road trip to Disney. Yes, it is that on the nose. Yet, that is what is so wonderful about the film. It is not about being in Tomorrowland, it is about getting to Tomorrowland.
The reason is that the world is nearing an apocalypse, which only Casey can stop with Athena and Frank's help. It seems like the set up for a good ad for a trip to Disney, that is until you see Tomorrowland. It is in disarray, this wonderful amazing place, full of incredible inventors, stopped trying to prevent the end, because they got angry that the world began to fetishize and accept the end through films, games, and other forms of art. This is a really personal film, one Brad Bird chose to make over helming The Force Awakens, he wanted to tell an inspiring, original story that is relevant to our world. In other words, he sought to make a great piece of Science Fiction, as all the best Science Fiction is an allegory for our modern-day issues. Sadly, most did not expect this from Disney, mainly because they had stopped dreaming of "the great big beautiful tomorrow" too. This was a return to the best ideals Walt put into his art, no matter who he was as a person, he has inspired some amazing things. We are too programmed to look at the wrongs, the darkness, the hopelessness, we don't know how things work, so we refuse to try and learn. But, the youth, they are always willing to learn, they are always willing to fight and try for a better tomorrow.
Why is hope lame in modern times? Why is trying to inspire us through a fun film, to make tomorrow better, a wasted, silly effort? This is a fun road trip, with an inspiring message, not to mention a very sweet love story. One that may seem off-putting to those who are not familiar with Science Fiction. Yes, Frank and Athena are in love, however, it is not an icky love, they meet when Frank is a child at the World's Fair, his love for her inspires him, and their relationship ends long before he is any older than her. When Frank is older and meets her again, we are seeing the effects of young love, the inspiration and the disillusionment that comes with it. The only two scenes with older Frank and Athena in a romantic light, are seeing Frank admit he felt manipulated that she allowed a little boy to fall in love with her, he felt used, because things fell apart in more ways than one, the last scene that Frank and Athena share is not an old man and a young girl in love, it is his realization that she learned to feel love for him, for the record, she is older than Frank, and she is an artificial life form with sentience.
It is also vital to the story, because that love is what saves the world in the end, all because of Casey's youthful inspiration. That inspiration is the difference in seeing a hopeless future, and one of hope and the chance that tomorrow can be better, not worse. You would think in today's dark times, that this message would be welcome, alas, it is treated like the Ginger in the corner, they just do not know what to make of it, so instead of thinking maybe that Ginger is pretty cool and dope, they think fuck that Ginger, lets make him cry.
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