Tomorrowland

Actors: George Clooney, Hugh Laurie, Britt Robertson, Raffey Cassidy, Tim McGraw, Kathryn Hahn, Keegan-Michael Key

Rating: 7 out of 10, Tomorrowland immediately tapped into several pillars of my childhood fantasies. I actually attended the 1964 World’s Fair in New York City which is the starting point of this Disney vehicle although I think Clooney had more fun on his ride through It’s a Small World than I did. I wanted so much to love this movie because it did tap into those youthful dreams cultivated each Sunday night watching Disney’s Wonderful World of Color. It just misses though by effectively hiding the message of hope and imagination in an obscure plot. Clooney and the young female lead, Britt Robertson, are very good although they lose each scene they share with Athena (watch out for her in the future). The movie spends too little time in the fantastical Tomorrowland and too much getting the heroes there although it was instructive to learn where Gregory House ended up after his television show ended. The movie briefly soars with a siege at Clooney’s house and a glimpsed commercial but I wanted the whole thing to fly and it didn’t.

MVP: Raffey Cassidy emerges as Athena the conscience of Disney