People today seem to be fascinated with dystopias. These stories reflect the consequences of the excesses of contemporary societies: overpopulation, mechanized living, environmental destruction, violence and war, technology used to control people and other problems. Things aren’t that bad yet in this film, but the end of the world as people know it is clearly on the way.
Director Brad Bird encourages us to empathize with three unconventional rebels in a time when there is little hope for the future. They meet up in another dimension known as Tomorrowland, where an authoritarian leader thinks the way to get people to change is to bombard them with predictions of the world’s collapse. Can he scare people straight or is his mindset creating a self-fulfilling prophecy?
Three idealists take a different approach. Teenager Casey is an optimistic girl; Frank Walker was a boy-genius turned adult inventor; and Athena is a robot who can override her programming. They discover that averting the impending disaster requires a change of heart and a change of mind. They want others, especially young people, to join them, starting with the belief that transformation is possible (Walt Disney Studios — PG). Now on DVD.
