Tomorrowland

When Frank Walker (Thomas Robinson) was a teenager, he brought a jet pack he'd invented to the 1964-65 World's Fair in New York. While he didn't amaze contemptuous judge David Nix (Hugh Laurie), a young British observer named Athena (Raffey Cassidy) was so impressed by Frank's optimistic ingenuity that she slipped him a small pin marked with the letter “T.” To his amazement, when Frank touched the pin he was miraculously transported to an alternative dimension known as Tomorrowland—a shiny, shimmering, serenely futuristic utopia. Following this prologue, the films shifts to present-day Cape Canaveral, where too-bright-for-her-own-good teen Casey Newton (Britt Robertson) lives with her soon-to-be-out-of-work NASA engineer father (Tim McGraw) and brother (Pierce Gagnon). Casey also mysteriously receives one of those magical “T” pins, catapulting her into Tomorrowland's hologram. When Athena warns of great danger, curious Casey winds up meeting now-pessimistic, paranoid scientist Frank (George Clooney), who is living an embittered, hermit-like existence in a secluded farm house. Apparently, Frank discovered that mankind might not have the bright future he'd envisioned. Director Brad Bird's Tomorrowland serves up a spiritually simplistic condemnation of the social and cultural cynicism epitomized in our present dystopian, post-apocalyptic entertainment. But while there are several surprises and delightfully nostalgic moments along the way—with nods to Gustave Eiffel, Jules Verne, Thomas Edison, and Nikola Tesla—this sci-fi fantasy film is far less wondrous than one might expect from Disney. Optional. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include production diaries by director Brad Bird (5 min.), a brief “Blast From the Past” commercial, and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are deleted scenes (24 min.), the production featurettes “Remembering the Future: A Personal Journey Through Tomorrowland with Brad Bird” (7 min.), “Casting” (7 min.), “A Great Big Beautiful Scoring Session” (6 min.), and “The World of Tomorrow Science Hour: Hosted by Futurologist David Nix” (5 min.), the animated short “The Origins of Plus Ultra” (4 min.), and bonus DVD and digital copies of the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a disappointing sci-fi fantasy film.] (S. Granger)