Discussion for those who have seen Tomorrowland. SPOILER ALERT

As People start watching the movie let's talk about here.

I hope I can watch it next Weekend. Can't wait to read how you guys liked the movie.

I thought the movie was about C level mainly cause the writing falls apart in the second  half and George just plays a grumpy old man with lots of stuff blowing up. Not his worst film but by far not his best.

Spoiler:

which made you wonder, the second half will have your head scratching WHY? Where are the good Hollywood screenwriters anymore? I think as you begin the film with much hope it does leave you disappointed with its simplistic moral of the story. Very shallow story.

OK. I'm going to go against the crowd here and say that I thoroughly enjoyed the whole movie. The effects were spectacular, the girls were terrific and George was...George - grumpy, funny George.

I do agree that more could have been done with the plot resolution, but I'm not sure what they could have done. If they "saved the world" it would turn the movie into a total goody-goody fantasy when it is really a wake-up call for the next generation. I would have liked Hugh Laurie's character to be a little more forceful (I was going to say "evil", but I don't think he was meant to be that) and the writing could probably have been a little better at the end, but it wasn't terrible - just not spectacular.

Some critics are saying the theme of the movie is simplistic so it's  just for kids . I think it's deliberately simplistic because it's meant to inspire kids. I wish the people at Disney and the people involved with the film would take advantage of the opportunity the film offers and issue a challenge -

Spoiler:

to all the young people who see the film.

We need our young people to get involved with their own futures. There are many problems to be solved in the world and young people need to be involved in finding solutions.

I second what Lizzy said. Really loved the spirit of young Frank Walker and Casey Newton, that they never give up and could make their dream happen.
The contract between young and old Frank Walker is really what most of us have become. Cynical can be easy, though being an optimist is rather difficult in this time. I thoroughly enjoyed the humor and visuals and ideas in the movie.
Actually I'm not that old and I felt inspired leaving the movie. I don't want to become the lost old grumpy Frank Walker.

Sevens wrote:
Actually I'm not that old and I felt inspired leaving the movie. I don't want to become the lost old grumpy Frank Walker.

If that's how you felt after seeing the movie then it was a success. That's exactly the effect they wanted to have on the audience. Now it's up to you to find the issue that matters to you and try to figure out a way to make it better.

Lizzy and Sevens I'm glad you really liked it.  I wanted to really, really like it but for me it was just ok. I'm not a sci fi fan first of all so George is the only thing that drew me to this movie.

For me I thought the best aspect of the movie was having the two young girls driving the plot. It was their spirit and determination that force George to take them to Tomorrowland.  Their characters and George's were strong and well defined.  Visually I found the movie very impressive.  Especially the scenes when Casey touches the pin and she gets transported to the other universe and then comes back.  The images of Tomorrowland were cool and wonderous.

For me the story fell apart mostly in the last chapter.  Since the filming of this movie wrapped the word out there was to keep the story and the ending a secret.  Which led to such a mystery of what is going to happen.  So expectations were high.  I didn't find anything really extraordinary about the film's story.  And I feel the ending wasn't any different than most good vs evil type stories.

Spoiler:

 Except in the case of Tomorrowland the message is its up to all of us to change our world into a better place for the sake of our future.

I get the message and feel it was a passionate and genuine one felt by the writers.  I just think it was told in a confusing and messy way.  I think lionheart used those words to describe the movie in the other thread.
Even my young adult daughter thought it's storytelling was confusing. I think the message is simple but it was told to us in a muddled way.  

But overall it's refreshing that Tomorrowland can be told with strongly defined female characters and a positive message about our world and how each of us can make a difference.  

I DO hope this movie does really well at the box office.  
I think it is kid appropriate and there is certainly enough action to keep them engaged.  

As far as George's performance to me it was spot on for the character he played.  His scene with Athena at the end was quite touching.

Hi guys just a reminder if you give specific scene descriptions (not thematic but what actually happened) please use the spoiler format. I didn't add spoilers to descriptions of scenes that were in the trailers just those that were not previously released.

I saw the film today in IMAX.  Loved it.  Loved the theme, loved the scenes with George and one of the characters in the film - quite touching.

I think it is simplistic for a reason - as others have said - not just to give hope to children but to remind adults that we sometimes make things in this world much too complicated and focus on too much negative.

Maybe the film was meant to be "muddled" to help you understand how the characters were feeling and how YOU might feel if faced with the same situation.  Just a thought as I wasn't in the writer's head when it was written!

Donnamarie - I'm confused that anyone found it confusing!  To me it seemed pretty straightforward. The bad guys were going to let the earth end and the good guys had to stop them.
I just think the writers fell down on the job of making the final situation with Gov. Nix as dramatic as it could have been - there was too little tension there. The earth was going to end  and everyone was  sort of upset, but not to the extent that you would expect if they were racing to save the world. It seemed emotionally "blah" to me. - I blame the writers.

I also think they missed an opportunity to use the film as a vehicle to engage young people in some sort of related contest or program to attempt to solve some of the problems they see in the world. The recruiting program they initiate at the end of the film would translate really well to the real world - whether through social media or the schools.  Maybe they could have had some sort of "recruitment" ad at the end of the movie. It would be a great way to engage kids in the sciences and social planing issues and it seems to me a great fit for Disney.

Lizzy they already launched the contest named "Create TOMORROWLAND" to encourage young people to submit an idea they imagine in the future. There is a great deal of prizes to win.

Sevens wrote:Lizzy they already launched the contest named "Create TOMORROWLAND" to encourage young people to submit an idea they imagine in the future. There is a great deal of prizes to win.

Sevens - I have avoided all things "Tomorrowland" until now (except premiere coverage) because I didn't want to know too much about the movie before I saw it. I especially didn't go to their website. Is that where you saw the contest info?

The thing is - I knew nothing about it and I'm guessing most of the people who saw the movie didn't know about it either. That's why I think they missed a great opportunity. If there is a contest, it should have been part of the publicity campaign for the movie and there should have been some sort of trailer attached to the movie. That way all the kids who see the movie would know there is a real way for them to get involved, rather than "It's in your hands. Good luck."

Maybe they're planning to promote the contest through social media or the schools. I hope so. It would be sad if such a great opportunity was wasted.

Here's a link to that challenge - looks like they've selected winners.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Thanks Lorna. It looks like an interesting program for the winners. Too bad it's limited to only six. As a teacher, I'd love to see this morph into an ongoing national program that would not only pick winners but maybe also connect kids with similar ideas so they could network. There's just so much that could be done with this and I still feel like they're missing an opportunity.

I enjoyed the movie very much. I did think it was a bit long and that the fight scene wasn't really needed. Some people thought it was simplistic. I on the other hand, thought the concept was very abstract and perhaps too abstract for some of the audience they are trying to attract.

I just thought the writing was not polished at all. A Daily Mail commenter called it a flop. I think mainly cause the raw dollars was niot that big.

Re: the writing. I don't know why Bird wanted Damon Lindelof (sp?) for this. He is not a closer. Look at 'Lost,' for example. And Brad Pitt had to take over 'World War Z' to get the ending right before its release. Great imagination for concept, but not much for executing an ending that pays off everything that came before.

I thought it was Lindelof who wanted Bird? That's the impression I got from reading some articles and forums. I dont know, I could be wrong.

Maybe so. I could be wrong. But usually, once a project gets its director, creative control goes to him or her. That includes the final shooting draft of the script. Plus, Brad Bird has a lot more clout in the business than Lindelof does. I'd think it would be Bird who was doing the picking and choosing. Again, I might be wrong.

Either way, Lindelof would not be my choice as a writer for a movie that needs a slam dunk ending.

I was smiling all the time
"be surprised and don't ask"

kids are the target but I fear it's not exactly a kid movie
despite the wrap

a bit too long too
but i appreciated those deep humanity reactions


I guess it's difficult to put in a category

maybe it deserves its own

I really enjoyed it, although I do think it's a children's (ok, young adult) film and maybe should have been better marketed that way.  The whole adventure was just all too easy all the time for them.  You never felt at any time that they'd not be able to prevail.

The only character that I felt was weak was Hugh Laurie's.  Everyone else had a fleshed-out background to explain their current behaviour except for him.  He was just a baddie for the sake of being bad.  When he was explaining his contempt for humans for not changing their ways even after he's been showing them what's going to happen, I don't think I was the only one sitting there in the cinema going, "So try something different, dipshit!"

George's character was a curmodgeonly old grump with the heart of a teddy bear.  There was not one second where it was in any doubt that he'd help the girl.  

Generally there was no real tension, no real sense of threat or danger and you always knew it would end happily ever after.  I guess this is to be expected from Disney but it's a shame they played it so safe because most young adult films nowadays are much more gritty (see any of the hunger games or divergent/insurgent films - even Harry Potter puts its characters into more peril than Tomrrowland did).  It kind of had an 80s vibe to it.

And also, is anyone else tired of seeing completely impossible stunts supposedly happening in the real world? No, if you're falling off a tower, you can't fall sideways and put your jet pack on. You just can't.

Katidot I also feel there was a lack of tension or sense of real threat in the movie.  I said in another thread that I wasn't emotionally connected to the characters partly because I didn't feel a sense of urgency or threat to any of them.  The characters were well defined and all the actors were terrific but the storytelling to me fell short.

One other thought.  The scenes in Tomorrowland the other dimension in IMO weren't fleshed out.  We see happy people walking around, in a remarkable environment, dressed fashionably but no real sense of what it was like to live there.

Donnamarie wrote:
One other thought.  The scenes in Tomorrowland the other dimension in IMO weren't fleshed out.  We see happy people walking around, in a remarkable environment, dressed fashionably but no real sense of what it was like to live there.

I think "happy" Tomorrowland was just a 3D sort of trailer that you could walk around in (entered via the special pin/Small World ride) ... it wasn't real or long lasting enough to examine in depth

moniquevander wrote:
I think "happy" Tomorrowland was just a 3D sort of trailer that you could walk around in (entered via the special pin/Small World ride) ... it wasn't real or long lasting enough to examine in depth

I think it was Hugh Laurie who said something to that effect. That the pin showed the holder a recruitment video from the early days of Tomorrowland.

Yes, it was a recruitment advert but it was still meant to feel real and convincing.