Tomorrowland (film)
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Brad Bird |
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| Starring | |
| Music by | Michael Giacchino |
| Cinematography | Claudio Miranda |
| Edited by | Walter Murch |
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Production
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| Distributed by | Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures |
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Release dates
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Running time
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130 minutes[1][2] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $180–190 million[3][4] |
| Box office | $9.7 million[5] |
Tomorrowland (titled Disney Tomorrowland: A World Beyond in the United Kingdom)[6]is a 2015 American science fictionmysteryadventure film[7]directed by Brad Bird, and co-written and produced by Bird andDamon Lindelof.[8][9] The film stars George Clooney, Hugh Laurie, Britt Robertson, Raffey Cassidy, Thomas Robinson, Tim McGraw, Kathryn Hahn, and Keegan-Michael Key.[7]
Walt Disney Pictures originally announced the film under the working title1952, and later retitled it to Tomorrowland, after the futuristic themed land found at Disney theme parks.[9][10] Bird and Lindelof’s screenplay was heavily influenced by Walt Disney‘s optimistic philosophy of innovation and utopia, such as his conceptual vision for the planned community known as EPCOT.[11][12] The film was released in conventional and IMAXformats on May 22, 2015.[13]Tomorrowland was the first theatrical film to be released in Dolby Vision.[14]
Plot
The story then shifts to optimist and science enthusiast Casey Newton, who sneaks into a former NASA launch site in Cape Canaveral. She sabotages a machine that is being used to replace certain workers, including her dad Eddie, who is an engineer. Casey returns home, unbeknownst to Athena following her. Athena sneaks into the Newtons’ garage and leaves another “T” pin that is programmed to Casey’s DNA. The next night, Casey fails to break into the compound, and is arrested. At the police station, she discovers the pin among them her personal items. Casey discovers that upon contact, the pin instantly transports her to another world with a futuristic cityscape in the distance, and that she is the only one able to experience it. Retrieving the pin from her disgruntled father, Casey successfully returns to Tomorrowland and explores the advanced utopian city, brimming with technological innovation. However, a timer on the pin expires, and a frustrated Casey is returned back to her world.Frank Walker and Casey Newton are addressing an audience, about the future and describe their beginnings. In 1964, a young Frank attends the New York World’s Fair, where he meets renowned inventor David Nix. Frank shows him his jet pack that he built himself. Then Frank meets a young girl named Athena, who is taken with Frank’s enthusiasm for inspiration. Nix, however rejects Frank’s submission out. Athena approaches Frank and presents him with a pin embroidered with a “T” symbol, and instructs him to follow her aboard the fair’s “It’s a Small World” attraction. Frank sneaks onto a boat, where during the ride, a laser scans the pin on his shirt, and it takes him through an underground passageway, leading him into a pod that transports him to a mysterious place. Frank falls of a ledge onto another platform where he encounters a large robot that fixes his jetpack. During a mishap, Frank falls over again and soars over the futuristic city, much to the astonishment of its residents. He lands before Nix and Athena, with the former still unimpressed. Athena smiles and guides him through what is known as Tomorrowland.
Casey and Nate find an address to a Houston science-fiction memorabilia retailer that supposedly sells that same pins as Casey’s. Casey leaves though Nate ends ups revealing her destination to Athena when she appears asking for her whereabouts. Arriving at the shop, Casey meets the two shop owners, Hugo and Ursula. When Casey shows them the pin, they ask her if she saw something and where she found it. Casey says she got it after she was arrested, prompting Ursula to push a button. They start to ask her menacingly if she saw a girl. They then take out two plasma guns and aim them at Casey. Athena then bursts in and fights Hugo and Ursula. She fires a time sphere that traps the two in a bubble before they can kill Casey. Athena convinces Casey to follow her as she pulls her out of trouble. She then gets Ursula to impale Hugo, and then she rips off Ursula’s head, revealing both of them to be robots. Athena grabs Casey and runs as the robots self-destruct and destroy the shop. Athena breaks into a car and uses a special key to take it.
Casey learns that Athena is an Audio-Animatronic and that she knows of what Casey has seen. She admits that she planted the pin in her helmet. Casey makes Athena stop the car and leaves. Athena follows after her and gets hit by a truck. The driver runs out, giving Casey a chance to swipe the truck. Athena gets up and runs after her before catching up and hijacking the truck herself.
The girls ride to find Frank’s house. Athena takes Casey far enough to leave her right in front of Frank’s house. A wild dog runs out to Casey, which turns out to be a hologram. She goes up to the door and calls Frank out. She holds the pin to the camera and then gets thrown back by a powerful blast. Frank tells Casey to go away, and that he won’t tell her anything about the pin, and that he couldn’t even take her to the place she saw because he’s been banished from there. A team of robots disguised as United States Secret Service agents goes to the burnt-down shop. The police pull out Ursula’s burnt robot head, revealing her nature to the cops on the scene, so the fake Secret Service agents vaporize them with their plasma guns to stop the truth getting out.
At night, Casey sets Frank’s tractor on fire, distracting him long enough for her to sneak into his house. She finds a few of Frank’s inventions, including a recording device showing him as a child with Athena. He apparently tried to make her laugh but did not succeed. He still didn’t seem to know that she was a robot. Frank gets back inside as Casey goes to his room where he has a bunch of monitors linked around the world, along with a countdown clock. Frank has apparently built something that is about to go off in 58 days time, bringing about the end of the world. Frank has lost all hope, but Casey hasn’t, and the 100% probability meter on Frank’s screen goes down a few point. The robots then show up and threaten to attack Frank if he doesn’t give Casey up. They break in and attack, forcing Frank to use whatever inventions he prepared against them. Casey finds a portal machine and uses it on one robot, while Frank uses a laser trap to kill a few others. They go into the bathroom and hop in a tub where Frank ejects the tub and blows up his house. He and Casey land in the lake and run into Athena, and Frank is not very happy to see her.
Knowing that they’ll be hunted, Frank brings Casey and Athena to a teleportation machine of his invention. Frank makes Casey cover her eyes with padding and then braces her for blood sugar loss. When they arrive at their destination, Casey falls to the floor. Athena fetches her a bottle of Coke, which she chugs instantly. They walk outside to see themselves in the Eiffel Tower. They go into a room with mannequins of Gustave Eiffel, Jules Verne, Nikola Tesla, and Thomas Edison. They were the founder of Plus Ultra, a group of inventors dedicated to finding other dreamers and inventors with the hope of shaping the future for the better. Together, their experiments uncovered a new dimension that would become Tomorrowland. Frank brings the girls to a rocket in the tower. Three robots then come in to attack. The rocket launches into the sky, with many people watching. The pod with the three inside breaks off and blasts into the next dimension.
The three crash-land into Tomorrowland, which looks broken down and desolate. Nix, now the governor of the city, arrives, not surprised to see Frank and Athena. He takes them and Casey to his building where they stand on a platform that shows them a few seconds into the future using tachyons. They come across a monitor that shows certain events in time, in this case, Casey with Nate and Eddie a few days ago. Casey is given the chance to see into the future. She looks into Cape Canaveral at the NASA platform. As she goes through the time passing, the platform becomes practically destroyed. She looks all over the rest of the world and sees riots, natural disasters, and utter catastrophe. This is all because of Frank’s device, and because he gave up when he said he wouldn’t. Casey still refuses to believe this will be what happens to the world, offering another glimpse of hope.
Our Thoughts
I would have liked this movie a lot better if I didn’t know that it was more-or-less just an advertisment for Tomorrowland “The Real Disney Theme Park.” The plot was cool, interesting, original, and the fact that there was no romantic crud made it even better. Well okay, there was a little romantic crud, but it was robot, human, relations …if that is possible.
Our 13 year old loved it. Our 18 year old (both of them boys) was like; “I wan’t to go home and buy Will Smith’s, “Focus” on PrimeTV? He said the movie was okay. Which means he liked it, but he is 18 and the movie is sort of geared for the “not-yet-driving” teenage crowd.
I have to give it 4.5 stars for being entertaining despite the fact that I could hear kids asking if they could go to the “REAL” Tomorrowland as we exited the theatre. If you like YA sci-fi you’ll like it. I’m 45 years old and I liked it quite a bit. Comercial it may be, but it is a highly recomended flick for the whole family. Seeing it in IMAX only made it better. – MR
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