Few people champion the Disney animated features as strongly as I do. When naysayers complain about Disney producing less-than-stellar fare over the last few years, I listen with disbelief. I count Mulan, Tarzan, and The Emperor's New Groove as some of the best movies made since 1998. This year's Lilo & Stitch is going to join that list, and, to a lesser extent, I even liked last year's Atlantis: The Lost Empire.

That's why I'm saddened by my slightly disappointed reaction to their latest offering, Treasure Planet. Yes, it has spectacular artwork, using a much more noticeable combination of traditional and computer animation. And it also depicts an appealing fantasy concept -- Robert Louis Stevenson's novel Treasure Island retains all its salty seagoing flavor, complete with pirates and a big wooden ship, but this time it's set in outer space (e.g., an exploding star replaces the storm at sea). However, its story is merely decent, and the character arcs seem much too predictable. Although Disney follows its standard formula in this animated adventure, it feels more forced than usual.  

Everything comes down to the film's characters. Since the plot follows an old tale, these characters are the elements that will make or break such a feature. In Treasure Planet, the physical features of the characters stand out -- the protagonist is the only human, while the rest are a mix of cyborgs, anthropomorphic animals, robots, and aliens. They are a delight to look at, but many of them are simply overdone familiar character types. For instance, Dr. Doppler (the dog-like being voiced by David Hyde Pierce) is a prissy scholar who longs for adventures, but he doesn't have a lick of physical grace. Naturally, he acts as comic relief, embarassing himself with his lack of seafaring knowledge and street-smarts. The second he makes the decision to embark on the journey, you know exactly what he'll contribute to the movie -- clumsy antics and foolhardiness. His character tries too hard to get a laugh, especially in the first half of the film.

The hero of the story, young teenager Jim Hawkins (voiced by Joseph Gordon-Levitt), emerges as one of the more dull central characters Disney has come up with recently. His role demands that he spend the movie earning the respect of the other major characters, but does he have to be so danged despondent about it? For most of the movie, he sulks and feels sorry for himself. Perhaps this is fitting behavior for a character of his age, but that makes him hard to cheer on.   At least Aladdin had a sense of humor while looking for  respect.

Possibly the most annoying character here is a floating pink blob named Morph. He can shape-shift into any small object, or even into miniature versions of the people he interacts with. The problem comes when he's in his original form -- he looks like he came out of the "Mr. DNA" cartoon from Jurassic Park. He clashes so badly with the rest of the character art that he kept jarring me from my sensory acceptance of the movie's fantasy world. Making little cutesy noises, he causes mischief like an untrained puppy. Morph earns the distinction of having both an off-putting personality and an off-putting appearance.

But enough of the bad -- thank goodness Treasure Planet has a few really cool characters. The Emma Thompson-voiced Capt. Amelia comes to mind. She's a very slender cat-like being who runs a tight ship. No-nonsense yet charming, she's the kind of British lady who could out spit-spot Mary Poppins. And yet she comes across not as cold, but very warm and open -- a delightful character. Her first-mate, Mr. Arrow (voice of Roscoe Lee Browne), is also no-nonsense and commanding. He deserves notice because he is a golem -- what was the last movie that featured a golem as a character?

I believe the best character work in Treasure Planet  involves John Silver, the large sea veteran with one mechanical leg, arm, and eye, each. He's a blast to watch -- his mechanical-arm spins, flips, and changes to reveal an array of tools, weapons, and gadgets. He plays both the mentor and the nemesis to Jim, and in so doing becomes the movie's only real conflicted character. Brian Murray appropriately voices Silver with a softness inside his rough-edged brogue. Even though we learn about his unsavory agenda, we hope his growing attachment to Jim will turn him around, and we want to root for this guy. Silver actually "out-protagonizes" the movie's protagonist. It's too bad we ultimately have no doubt about which direction his character will turn, but watching him is fun (not surprisingly, the similarly characterized "Diego" was the only character I liked in Ice Age -- I guess I must have a thing for conflicted souls).

Meanwhile, Silver has to compete for screen-time not only with a loud robot who's funny half the time and annoying the other half but also with odd crew members, including an unreasonably evil crab creature and this thing that passes gas to communicate, and -- ugh -- Morph. So therein lies the problem with Treasure Planet. With a formulaic plot to guide them, the characters have a big job to do -- to stand out and be noticed. This time, not enough of them manage to  become worth remembering.

(Review also posted at www.windowtothemovies.com.)

Released by Walt Disney Pictures and rated "PG" for adventure action and peril.)