D Couples: Captain Amelia and Dr. Doppler

First thoughts right after watching the Movie

My first thoughts right after watching the movie is that this couple is a lot better executed than I thought it was. Sure, they don’t have a lot of scenes, but there was a blatancy that shows where they don’t get along, where they grew respect for one another, and where their attraction starts. They do have common interests, and their communication skills add up to an interesting dynamic. Not one of my favourites, but a lot better than what I expected.

Summary

This is going to be short, but still enjoyable to write up on, since I do not pay much attention to the film in general, so maybe I will pick up on more than I would in a film I’ve watched many times. Dr. Doppler is accompanied by Jim on a ship he commissioned, called the RLS Legacy, which they will use to find Treasure Planet. The doctor meets the lively Captain Amelia, and he is shocked with her spirit. She kind of makes fun of his outfit, and instantly takes initiative to fix his very weird outfit, which causes him to demand her to stop, since he can handle it himself. He takes note of her overly talkative nature, and he politely interrupts her to introduce her to Jim.

Amelia literally grabs his cheeks and chin to shut him up, as there are very suspicious workers on the boat. She brings him into a room to passive aggressively (in a nice way) lecture him about his ineptitude and imbecility about talking about the map so openly. Doppler gets defensive about her accusations, but she cuts him off to ask Jim to see the map. At the end of their meeting, Amelia tells Doppler that he needs to remember to shut up, and hates the LUDICROUS crew that he hired. Doppler tries to get defensive, but she shuts it down, and sends the both of them out of their way. He is offended by her attitude, and rants about how HE hired HER, so HE should be the BOSS.

So what do we know about them from their first interaction? Doppler has some sort of insecurity, and does not like to be doubted, but fails at starting up a coherent defense or argument about himself. Amelia controls the entire conversation, and her being too talkative causes her to push people around, not caring about certain social cues. Easy to say that they don’t get along.

The duo’s next scene is under more dire and life-threatening circumstances, as the ship is attacked by a supernova. Everyone rushes to try and swerve it, with Doppler and Amelia having to work together. What happens is that they start to get sucked into a black hole, with Amelia doing anything to swerve from the black hole. Doppler tells her what is happening, and it involves some scientific stuff that I don’t care enough to get into (something about riding waves), but Amelia appreciates, and is thankful for his knowledge. Right before this scene was the montage song involving Jim and John Silver, which took place within weeks or months. After they are saved, he is amazed by her, and she tells him that he needs to be proud of himself, due to his astronomical knowledge. He starts to stumble on his words, so he is probably developing some sort of crush on her at this point in time.

We see Dr. Doppler and Captain Amelia together next when them (and Jim) are running from the crew, and land on some random planet. She has somehow gotten injured, and Doppler is aiding and tending to her every step of the way. Amelia’s attitude has completely changed, as she is speaking in a more softer tone, and slower, telling them that they need to stick together, and even tells him that he has nice eyes. He freaks out, thinking she has lost her mind and is delusional. You see, romantic plots can be sub-plots, and still be executed well. We saw them not get along at first, and after a cleverly placed montage scene, the two start to appreciate the other more, and what they bring to the crew. The ice is broken, and there is common interest between the two, which is their connection to space, navigation, and astronomy.

They end up tied together on a boat in their next scene, and both are extremely vulnerable. He talks about how useless he felt, and that this was the adventure that he has been dreaming of, apologizing that he could not have been more useful. She tells him to not be daft, and that he’s helped her a lot. Since her right hand man was killed, it probably forces her to trust him and Jim even more.

The crew have to escape the exploding planet, and they have to navigate to the portal, or else they will die, and of course they make it through the portal. A hug and solemn smiles are shared between the two of them, and everyone is celebrating in their victory.

It is then the epilogue, when we see that the store has reopened. It is unclear the timespan between the climax and this scene, but we quickly see that the pair has 4 kids now; one boy and three girls. I can assume that they are married, and live nearby.

Final Thoughts

My final thoughts is that this couple is the perfect example of romantic subplots that can be executed well. The excuse of a romance being a subplot is not a good excuse, and this film shows it perfectly. They are a more mature and subdued couple, but there is a lot of details that show that these two are really good for one another. Treasure Planet is great with establishing and executing interactions, and these two are the epitome of that.

Next week, we will be taking a trip to DreamWorks Animation, before they decided to set the formula for every non-Pixar CGI film in recent years.

Advertisement