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The best word I can think of when considering the science-fiction film Forbidden Planet, from 1956, is “quaint”. The feeling I get about the movie is the same feeling I get when I visit Walt Disney World and see attractions like Spaceship Earth—among other things, the attraction shows us technological visions that seemed daring in the 1950s but silly now—and the Carousel of Progress. These are attractions that provide visions of the future that still haven’t happened, and seem ridiculous to ponder these days. When I watched Forbidden Planet, which has just been released on Blu-ray for the first time, a film that’s considered a major influence on science-fiction films such as 2001, I could not help but laugh at what is initially cheesy and becomes almost sad.

There’s no question that we take special effects for granted these days. I don’t just mean that we take them for granted in that we use them all the time, and often for stupid reasons. Every movie doesn’t need special effects, but most studio films have them even when they’re completely unnecessary. There was a time when special effects were either a rare commodity in films or relegated to B-movies. So, when Forbidden Planet used them, and used them relatively well, people sat up and took notice. Whatever else I’ll say here about Forbidden Planet, I will not ignore the special effects: now, they look less than daring, but for a 54-year old movie, the work is pretty damned impressive. I wish I could say the same for the rest of the proceedings.

Most people my age who have not yet seen Forbidden Planet but are mostly familiar with popular culture of the past 30 years will probably be taken a bit aback by the appearance of Leslie Nielsen in the film. I knew he was going to be in the movie (for all intents and purposes, he’s the lead of the film), but man, did he look young. Freakishly young, honestly. Even his voice didn’t sound as deep as it’s sounded ever since the first Airplane! film. He looks much younger, he sounds much younger, and his role is meant to be taken completely seriously. Self-seriousness is, unfortunately, the first and biggest problem in Forbidden Planet. The plot is kind of minimal, despite being based on Shakespeare’s The Tempest, so all there is are the visuals and the slow, plodding romantic subplot. What’s left just isn’t that entertaining.

The story focuses on a mission to Altair IV, a planet that was meant to be colonized by Earthlings hundreds of years in the future. Unfortunately, the mission to colonize has gone, essentially, AWOL. The new mission, headed by Nielsen’s Commander Adams, is trying to figure out what went wrong. The team finds only two human survivors: Dr. Morbius and his fetching young daughter Altaira. The doctor appears to be the only survivor of the initial colonization, and says that some strange phenomenon destroyed every other member of the colonization team, but he doesn’t know why he was spared. As Adams and the rest of the male crew get close to Altaira (and it’s a lot closer to what you might be thinking), the truth about Morbius is revealed as an invisible monster attacks the crew.

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