Tomorrowland is Disney’s new movie that’s not so much based on the area of the Disney parks as it is based on the idea of a bright future that we once had but no longer do. Since the trailers have done a very good job of hiding the real plot of the movie and there are mysteries to solve and surprises to be had, I won’t reveal much.

It stars George Clooney and Brit Robertson, a young actress who is really good and she’s really good bantering against Clooney. They banter well together – he’s kind of grumpy and she pushes his buttons with her stubbornness and optimism. It’s fun. There’s another younger tweenish girl played by Raffey Cassidy who is also really good and she bounces against the other two leads very well. I like the cast… there’s some newcomers who work well against each other and Clooney.

And, yeah, a lot of this movie is legit fun. It has an old-school Disney adventure and 80s kids-can-do-anything feel that had me smiling through 3/4s of the flick. But then it gets messy and convoluted and goes off the (mono)rails a little bit. And I can’t help but think back to various moments in the film and think that I’m seeing big plot holes. The movie is disserviced by its own script (and its editing).

But I like the message and themes of the movie… it wants to champion futurism, art, and artistry all as one unifying force for human good. The Brit Robertson character is a teenage girl who knows how machines work and looks to the stars but also knows they are tearing down the NASA launch platforms. She wants a brighter future… but all her teachers can talk about is how badly off the world is. Her dance is a NASA engineer with nothing to launch. She’s basically promoting the idea of being the change you want to see and that’s cool.

The movie, however, does get a little heavy handed in its message and chastises the audience a bit too much. But, to its credit, it’s not a bad message and there’s something unique in that message as well. Mild spoiler: that if the movies about the future we make popular these day are all about the apocalypse, then how can we wish for that bright future? I’m guilty of that… my favorite movie this year has been Mad Max: Fury Road… apocalypse all the way.

So Tomorrowland is a bright and charming movie with some fun adventure and action. It’s good good ideas and has it’s heart in the right place. It just kind of unravels near the end a bit and that hurts the movie from getting a strong recommendation. But it’s still a recommendation.

Score: 82