Tuesday, June 2, 2015
Tomorrowland Adoption Movie Review
A school-aged inventor named Frank believes he has created a
functioning hovercraft. Although his invention flops at the World’s Fair, he
gains the attention of Athena, who recruits him to what, initially, seems to be
a wonderful, new, secret world. Years later, Frank has been cast out from that
world and is a bitter old man. He is surprised when Casey arrives, sent to him
by Athena. We learn quickly that the world that had seemed to be so wonderful
isn’t quite what it seemed – but is it possible to make the world what it ought
to have been all along?The Adoption Connection
Frank and Casey seem to have become a team; it’s not an
adoption story, but they do seem to form a sense of family through circumstance
and shared experience. In this way, Tomorrowland reminds me of the relationship
between the title characters in the delightful animated film Ernest and Celestine – which by the way, I’d recommend, perhaps in lieu of this one,
especially for younger viewers.
One character expresses, “Even the tiniest of actions can
change the future.” That rings true of life in general, but perhaps especially
true of adoption.
Strong Points
Tomorrowland encourages optimism. Casey notes that her father
is discouraged. She shares a story with him, “There are two wolves fighting.
Light and Hope against Darkness and Despair. Which one wins?” The answer is,
“The one you feed.”
Tomorrowland also encourages viewers to take responsibility
for the world, “Sure it’s bad; but what are we doing to fix it?” Teenagers and
adults, especially, might find this movie to be a helpful challenge to take
control of circumstances in their own lives that may have seemed hopeless.
Challenges
Frank asks Casey whether she would want to know the date of
her death in advance, if she could. It’s an interesting and common question,
but I could see it being hard for some kids who might find themselves later
thinking about death without remembering why.
In one scene, Casey is in a bathtub with Frank. They’re
fully clothed, but it could be a hard scene for kids who have been sexually
abused, especially in bathrooms.
Weak Points
Several scenes of violence by children, attempted violence
against children, and attempted (and perhaps successful) child abductions might
be traumatizing to unexpecting younger viewers. We see robots (that look very
much like humans) be killed in violent manners - for instance, Casey attempts
to kill one of them by hitting him in the face with a baseball bat nearly two
dozen times. She does succeed in disfiguring his face. Another girl rips the
heads off two other androids. Frank and two girls kill androids by
electrocuting one, dicing another into pieces with a laser, and stabbing one in
the heart. Another has an arm chopped off. A real human is crushed to death. A
little girl is unexpectedly crushed by a speeding car. Police officers are
killed on screen (melted into ooze). A dog appears to charge at Casey. Two of
the protagonists are shot on screen, and one of them dies. Sensitive kids
might also be disturbed by the large amount of loud screaming in the movie.
Recommendations
This isn’t really a movie for kids. Tomorrowland is at times
dreamlike, as we see Frank take joyful flight with his jetpack. Other times,
it’s surprisingly violent, especially for a Disney film. While there is some positive
encouragement to be taken from the film, the unexpectedly high content of
violence makes it best suited to kids age 15 and up and it might even be better
suited to an adult audience. For younger kids, a film like Ernest and Celestine also features a rocky relationship which improves over time, but it does so in
a gentler fashion.
Questions for
Discussion
This film highlights that the future can be scary. What
scares you?
What do you imagine the future will be like, in terms of
technology – and in terms of your life? (This
might be an especially fun one to
dream about with your kids!)
Casey’s story helped her dad choose to be hopeful. What
stories have been helpful to you?
What do you think about self-fulfilling prophecies? Do our
attitudes and expectations determine our outcomes, or can outcomes be
influenced by our actions?
How would you change the world, if you could?
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