‘Planet’ treasured for new techniques

“Treasure Planet,� the animated, futuristic version of Robert Louis Stevenson’s “Treasure Island,� isn’t breaking any box-office records. But it is breaking new ground in a number of ways.

The ship’s captain (Emma Thompson) is female, a clipped, hard-nosed sort who delivers lines like “Don’t be daft� to her predominantly male crew. But the cyborg-pirate John Silver (Brian Murray) may be the most cutting-edge of all. Though movies such as “Tarzan� mixed hand-drawing with computer graphics, this is the first time both techniques have been used to create a single character.

Eric Daniels (“Who Framed Roger Rabbit,� “The Rescuers Down Under�) took on Long John’s mechanical aspects, while Glen Keane (“Aladdin� and “The Little Mermaid’s� Ariel) assumed responsibility for fleshing out the rest of the character by hand. Taking on this assignment, he says, was his way of preserving tradition in an increasingly computerized age.

“To me, an animator is an actor who acts with his pencil,� he explains. “I wanted to be at this juncture of computer and hand-drawn, speaking for artists who want to draw.�

The two techniques are generally like oil and water, Daniels says, one using the intuitive part of the brain and the other, the more technical. But in this case, the marriage worked. Keane would sketch out the robotic areas, which Daniels scanned into the computer. Using one without the other, they agree, would have been virtually impossible.

“The computer is a master of symmetry,� Daniels says. “Though it’s great at creating robotic arms, imperfection is inherent in humans. Expression is best conveyed in drawing. As they say, the computer makes easy stuff hard and hard stuff easy.�

The duo first tackled Silver three years ago, turning out 500 versions along the way. The mandate: to create a heavy, cast-iron, robotic look rather than a high-tech feel -- as though Stevenson had written a futuristic sci-fi tale using 19th century technology, co-director Ron Clements suggested.

A trip to Griffith Park’s Travel Town gave animators the feel of bulky old steam engines, and checking out junkyards provided additional leads. In the end, Silver’s skull plate was inspired by a locomotive wheel and his knee by an ironing press. “The challenge was to connect the mechanical to Silver’s heart and soul, as though it was attached to the nerves,� Keane recalls. “We wanted the movement to be naturalistic, revealing something of his character.�

In one particularly demanding sequence, Silver had to chop space-shrimp at lightning-fast speed. At Benihana restaurant, Daniels and Keane studied the moves of a Japanese chef and drew on mechanical references as well. Brass lawn sprinklers go slowly in one direction and speed up in reverse, Daniels observes. It took two weeks to design a rotating blade with knives at right angles that put the chef to shame.

Putting the right face on Silver was an ongoing puzzle -- cracked only by entering the animal world. If Captain Amelia was a descendant of cats and Professor Doppler (David Hyde Pierce) a member of the dog family, they reasoned, why not make the massive but accessible pirate a warm, fuzzy bear? Another role model for Silver was Mickey Ryan, Keane’s high school football coach. A big-bellied, fun-loving Irishman, he provided much-needed reassurance at a time of personal defeat, just as Silver did for Jim Hawkins, the protagonist, (Joseph Gordon-Levitt). Animators pictured a flame inside the hardened pirate, one that ignites a bit when he meets the youth in whom he sees himself.

Characters already exist, Keane maintains. The challenge is to unearth them. At a certain point, he insists, they virtually jump off the paper.

“Walking out of the studio one day, I realized that Silver was no longer on the drawing board,� he says.

“He was as real as anybody. It was as though I could put my hand on his shoulder. A character, if done right, takes on a life of his own. Not until that happens will the audience believe in him.�

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The making of a cyborg pirate

John Silver is the first character to be created by a mix of hand-drawn and computer-generated animation. Below: a look at the figure’s features and inspirations.

BODY: The bear-like Silver has a long torso, short legs, and huge, paw-like hands. Brown, rather than the original purple, was used to convey a “warm, more huggable� feel. Animators gave him weight, to be in sync with Brian Murray’s “rich, deep, butter-on-your-bread� voice.

FACE: Wrinkled (like Robert Shaw), it had a more human feel until co-director Ron Clements observed that Silver could be confused with the long-lost father of the young protagonist -- one of only two humans in the film. Instead, he’s half-alien, half-robot.

ROBOTIC ARM: Modeled after Popeye, it has a large forearm inspired by a potbelly stove. Skinny biceps and holes (negative space) hit home that there’s nothing under the mechanical sleeve. A series of cartridges rotates, accessing the tools Silver needs like old juke boxes pulled out records.

MECHANICAL LEG: Basically, a pogo stick -- a spring with a rubber base. Also patterned after an asphalt compressor, a pneumatic drill with a foot on the bottom of his calf.

LEG: Conveys the fact that Silver is handicapped by the way he moves -- walking with a limp and a hop, throwing his hip. He also walks with his torso out, a la John Wayne.

GOOD EYE: Most expression is in the eyes -- not only the key to the emotions but a point of reference for the audience.

CYBORG EYE: A super-telescopic nod to the patch of yesteryear, it squints as Wallace Beery did in the film “Treasure Island.� Mostly shut, it’s divided into upper and lower eyelids each with three sections that open up like a flower. Color changes according to mood: gold is normal, red is cool, hot red is angry -- helping the viewer know what’s happening in the

artificial organ.

MOUTH: Gap-toothed (like David Letterman), Silver also has dimples to humanize him and convey his friendly side. Like Beery, he talks out of the side of his mouth to suggest duplicity.

BELLY: Putting the belt below the belly button conveys a swashbuckling, beer-drinking type. (Above it would have connoted a “respectable professor.�) Probably a pretty handsome guy when he was young but a lifetime of drinking and carousing has taken its toll.

-- Elaine Dutka