A young Jim Hawkins loves stories of the legendary pirate Captain Flint and his ability to appear from nowhere, raid passing ships anywhere in the galaxy, and disappear in order to hide the loot on the mysterious "Treasure Planet". Twelve years later, Jim has grown into a rebellious and isolated teenager, long abandoned by his father. He reluctantly helps his mother Sarah run The Benbow Inn and derives amusement from "solar surfing", a hybrid of skysurfing and windsurfing atop a board attached to a solar sail-powered rocket.
One day, a spaceship crashes near the inn. The dying pilot gives Jim a metal sphere and tells him to "beware the cyborg". After this, a gang of pirates raid and burn the inn. Jim, his mother, and their dog-like alien friend Dr. Delbert Doppler flee. At Doppler's study, Jim guesses the combination on the sphere and realizes that that sphere is a holographic projector, showing a star map that leads to the location of Treasure Planet.
Doppler commissions a ship on a mission to find Treasure Planet. The ship is commanded by the cat-like, sharp-witted alien Captain Amelia along with her stone-skinned and disciplined First Mate, Mr. Arrow. The crew is a motley bunch, secretly led by the half robot cook John Silver, who Jim suspects is the cyborg of whom he was warned. Jim is sent down to work in the galley to work as the cabin boy, which angers him as he is the only one who knows the combination to the map and is arguably the most important person on the ship. He is supervised by Silver and his shape-shifting pet, Morph. Despite Jim's mistrust of Silver, they soon form a tenuous father-son relationship.
During the voyage, the ship encounters a supernova. Jim, while securing all lifelines of all crew members, saves Silver from falling just in time. The supernova then devolves into a black hole, where Arrow dies. The burst of shock waves and maximum engine power enable Amelia to pilot the ship to safety. The crew mourns for the loss of Arrow, and begins to suspect Jim of failing to secure the lifelines. Jim blames himself for the mistake, while in fact Arrow's line was cut by a ruthless crew member named Scroop.
As the ship reaches Treasure Planet, mutiny erupts, led by Silver. Jim, Doppler, Amelia, and Morph abandon the ship, accidentally leaving the map behind. Thinking that Jim has the map, Silver has a chance to kill Jim, but refuses to do so because of his attachment to the boy. The fugitives are shot down by a mutineer during their escape, injuring Amelia.
While exploring Treasure Planet's forests, the fugitives meet B.E.N., an abandoned, insane robot, who says that he has literally lost his mind as part of his brain is missing, and invites them to his house to care for the wounded Amelia. The pirates corner the group here; using a back-door, Jim, B.E.N., and Morph return to the ship in an attempt to recover the map. Scroop, aboard the ship as lookout, stalks and fights Jim. While working to sabotage the ship's artillery, B.E.N. inadvertently turns off the artificial gravity, whereupon Jim and Scroop almost float off into space. Scroop grabs the mast while Jim grabs the flag at the top of the mast. Scroop partially cuts the flag's rope, but Jim grabs the mast, and kicks Scroop into the flag, breaking the rope and causing Scroop to float away to his death. Jim and B.E.N. then obtain the map. Upon their return, they are captured by Silver, who has already captured Doppler and Amelia.
When Jim is forced to use the map, the group finds their way to a portal that can be opened to any place in the universe; this being the means by which Flint conducted his raids. The treasure is at the center of the planet, accessible only via the portal. Treasure Planet is revealed to be a large space station built by unknown architects and commandeered by Flint. In the stash of treasure, Jim comes across the skeletal remains of Flint himself, holding a missing part of B.E.N's cognitive computer. Jim replaces this piece, causing B.E.N. to remember that the planet is set to explode if the treasure is ever discovered. In the ensuing catastrophe, Silver finds himself torn between holding onto a literal boat-load of gold and saving Jim, who hangs from a precipice after a fall. Silver saves Jim, and the group escapes to the Legacy, which is damaged and lacks the power required to leave the planet in time to escape. Jim attaches a rocket to a narrow plate of metal and rides it toward the portal to open it to a new location, while Doppler pilots the ship behind him. Jim manages to open the portal to his home world's spaceport, through which all escape the destruction of Treasure Planet.
After the escape, Amelia has the surviving pirates imprisoned aboard the ship and offers to recommend Jim to the Interstellar Academy for his heroic actions. Silver sneaks below deck, where Jim finds him preparing his escape. Jim lets him go, and Silver asks Jim to keep Morph. Silver predicts that Jim will "rattle the stars", then tosses him a handful of jewels and gold he had taken from Treasure Planet to pay for rebuilding The Benbow Inn before flying off. Jim returns home and reunites with his mother. A short time later, a party is hosted at the rebuilt inn, where Doppler and Amelia, married, have children of their own, and Jim is a military cadet. He looks to the skies and sees an image of Silver in the clouds.
This has been one of my favorite Disney movies since I saw it in theaters. It works very well as a Sci-fi adaptation of Treasure Island and honestly, it is a very under rated movie
