‘Tomorrowland’: Movie For The Children Of The Past

Tomorrowland is Disney’s version of dystopia: shiny, colorful, and a little bit naïve. Right now the movie gets more criticism than praise; however, it does not discourage people from going to the cinemas and taking their kids with them.

According to the Inquisitr, from the very first moments it’s obvious that Tomorrowland is more about fantasy and progress and is nothing like other teen movies from its category (Hunger Games, for example).

“The opening scenes of Tomorrowland promise to deliver a thrilling adventure ride, not to the kind of dystopian worlds we’ve been used to seeing in teen movies over the last several years, but away from that and to a world of unfettered intelligence and creativity where the human spirit thrives and people get to regularly travel into space and roam around the city in their jetpacks. The jetpacks, robots, and sumptuous scenery in Tomorrowland are for the children.”

Yes, though the movie was aimed at the teen audience, it appeared to be way too idealistic. After other dystopias that came upon the big screen, like Divergent and The Maze Runner, teens are not going to be satisfied with something that looks just as naïve and harmless as Disney cartoons from their childhood.

So, can children be the only appropriate audience for this movie?

Not quite. USA Today reports that Tomorrowland brings most joy to those who were born back in ’70s and ’80s.

“The movie is very much a nostalgia trip. When young Frank (Thomas Robinson) is zooming around Tomorrowland in his homemade jetpack, there are shades of The Rocketeer, a sense of wide-eyed wonderment not seen much since Steven Spielberg’s 1980s heyday, and even the ‘kids are smart, adults are dumb’ theme of E.T. and The Goonies.”

“Had this come out 30 years ago, it would be every child’s favorite movie, and Bird and Lindelof seem to recognize as much: They fill a whole store with yesteryear items including a lifesize Han Solo in carbonite that would have been in a Gen Xer’s dream bedroom as a tyke.”

Most things people wish for come too late. Perhaps, if this movie was filmed in the 20th century, it would gain overwhelming popularity among children. But right now these children are mostly grownups with not such an idealistic worldview and all Tomorrowland brings to them is a half-smile of nostalgia and dim memories of childhood dreams.