Livesy and Squire Trelawney, who kinda show up with no introduction at all. Jim returns with a small cavalry of lawmen that send the pirates scurrying. Jim barely gets down the road before… shocker… the pirates come back! They turn the inn upside down but don’t find the map. He pleads for Jim to go for help, then shoves the map into his vest just in case the pirates come back. It’s a treasure map, leading to the loot of the legendary pirate Captain Nathaniel Flint! He goes to stuff it into his shirt but collapses before he finishes the action. In an understandable panic, he slices a small piece of paper out of the lining. He’s given Bones until dark to live, so Bones tells Jim to help him to his sea chest. Blind Pew forces the Black Spot, a pirate’s death sentence, into Bones’ hands and leaves the movie.
He doesn’t die like in the book either so that’s cool I guess. His sense of menace makes him a true one-scene wonder.
TREASURE ISLAND DISNEY MOVIE
And can I just say that while Pew isn’t in the movie long enough to warrant an entry in characters, he is delightful? He has an extremely hammy Scottish-Irish-ish accent and chews the scenery to bits throughout his limited screen time. Another pirate, Blind Pew, seizes him and threatens to break his arm if he doesn’t take him to Bones. Jim races outside to fetch the doctor and the squire because he knows that alcohol does not mix with this guy’s already fragile health. You can’t keep a pirate from his rum so Bones just forces his way behind the bar and steals a whole bottle of rum.
Bones pleads for Jim to give him a drink of rum to calm his nerves, but Jim refuses because it’s against the doctor’s orders. He wasn’t, but he did have an ugly scar which would make him the one-legged man’s right hand and no less dangerous. He asks if Jim’s strange seafaring visitor was a man with one leg. He bolts away, leaving Jim very confused as to what just happened.īones himself hobbles down the stairs, looking like hell warmed over. Jim acts confused, but Black Dog lays eyes on an old sea chest with the initials W.B. The old sailor, Black Dog, orders double rum and asks if Jim knows a sailor named William Bones. Side note, it is so weird seeing a ten-year-old tending bar. I mean, we skip the first few chapters of Billy Bones terrorizing the Admiral Benbow Inn and jump right in to Jim Hawkins being approached by a sketchy old sailor with a nasty scar. This version of Treasure Island dispenses with any semblance of backstory or character introductions. I know, crazy, right? So, let’s see how it stacks up against the Muppets and the cyborgs! STORY However, somehow or other, this version slipped through the cracks. I’ve seen and loved both other Disney adaptations of the story, as well as a small handful of others. This is my second favorite of his books (behind Jekyll and Hyde, if you’re curious). Not only was 12-year-old me absolutely obsessed with pirates but 26-year-old me is a big fan of Stevenson. But on the whole, audiences loved it enough to make Treasure Island the sixth highest grossing movie in British cinemas that year.įor my part, as previously mentioned, I’ve loved the book since I was a little girl. Some questioned whether Bobby Driscoll was a good enough actor for the role of Jim, and thought the American actor was out of place in a British story. They also enjoyed that the movie was a faithful adaptation of the original novel, something that is all too rare in the cinema world. It was praised as being an extremely entertaining action film and a beautifully shot one at that. The solution? To film Treasure Island entirely on location in Cornwall, Bristol, Devon, and Buckinghamshire. Due to new laws made after World War II, Walt could no longer take the money his films made in the UK market outside of the UK. His choice in story was Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic novel, Treasure Island, which has long been a personal favorite. As a result, Walt was finally able to start making a fully live-action picture like he’d been wanting to. Some time after So Dear to My Heart, RKO relaxed their restrictions requiring Disney to include animation in their films. All photos are capped from my copy of the movie with Lightshot Screenshot or the Disney Wikia unless otherwise specified. The opinions expressed therein reflect those of the authors and are not to be viewed as factual documentation. The authors’ claim no ownership of this material. Any material, including images and/or video footage, are property of their respective companies, unless stated otherwise. Weigh anchor and hoist the mizzen! But remember- dead men tell no tales! This be Treasure Island, yaaaaar!ĭisclaimer: This blog is purely recreational and not for profit. Avast me hearties! It be time to make our first venture to the Golden Age of Piracy.