Shipwrecked

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Stian Smestad ("Haakon") is engaging in this hybrid of "Treasure Island" and "Robinson Crusoe" seafaring adventure. Faced with the foreclosure of his Norwegian farm, he agrees to sign on as the ship's boy for two years. After a brief stop in England - where they pick up Royal Navy sailor "Lt. Merrick" (Gabriel Byrne) they set sail again and shortly into their new voyage, the old captain dies and "Merrick" assumes command in the style of Capt. Bligh. Their ship is wrecked in a violent storm and our young castaway has to fend for himself on a deserted island. He is quite an adaptable and versatile wee lad, and soon has things shipshape and Bristol fashion; he discovers a horde of treasure and even befriends a bear. On exploring his island, he discovers two of his friends with some local tribesman and they soon also encounter Byrne, but this time he shows his true colours as a treasure seeking pirate. The rest of this is fairly procedural, but with lots of traps and chases through the jungle before a pretty obvious conclusion. It is quite good fun, though Byrne would not have been my first choice - he doesn't really have much charm or menace as the baddie.

Feels repetitive due to previous Disney films, but I still felt satisfied with <em>'Shipwrecked'</em>. Nothing is particularly memorable about it, admittedly. The cast aren't all that, while the cinematography and editing isn't amazing. The dialogue is basic, as is the premise - which feels as if it has taken different parts from the studio's other work. Those include <em>'Treasure Island'</em>, <em>'Kidnapped'</em>, <em>'In Search of the Castaways'</em> and <em>'Swiss Family Robinson'</em>. The source material by Oluf Falck-Ytter is apparently inspired by some of the same things as those are, so I guess it's no surprise. Either way, I'm not convinced Disney needed to tackle this area once again. I will say, by the conclusion, I did feel content enough with the film; helped by the short run time, no doubt. Straightforward and a little plain, but narrowly enjoyable.