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Does Brad Bird's 'Tomorrowland' Plot Have an Alternative Dimension?

by Alex Billington
March 4, 2013
Source: HitFix

Wait - so what exactly is this movie about? Does anyone really know the truth? There's another rumor going around, a supposed plot description from a new casting breakdown, about the concept for Brad Bird's 1952 written by Damon Lindelof. A month ago it was officially retitled by Disney to Tomorrowland, referring to one of the areas of Disneyland, or so everyone thinks. While we did report on another rumor involving aliens and government cover-ups, this new plot description involves "a teenage girl, a genius middle-aged man" and Tomorrowland itself existing "in an alternative dimension." Say what now? This is getting crazy.

Now, these new details are far from confirmed and come from HitFix, where they even state: "Do I know for sure if this is the 'real' logline description for Tomorrowland? Nope. But what I do know is that this is the official description that's being used to help assemble a cast." Not many people have seen it yet, but this kind of sounds amusingly similar to Sundance film Escape from Tomorrow - involving teen girls and weird things happening at Disney World. Here is the short synopsis for Brad Bird's Tomorrowland going around:

"A teenage girl, a genius middle-aged man (who was kicked out of Tomorrowland) and a pre-pubescent girl robot attempt to get to and unravel what happened to Tomorrowland, which exists in an alternative dimension, in order to save Earth."

So far, we know the cast includes George Clooney and Hugh Laurie, and they've been auditioning high profile actresses for the teen girl role. I'm sure they'll show this some way in the marketing, but what exactly is the alternative dimension "Tomorrowland"? Here's how they describe it: "a place where science has blown past the world we live in, and when Frank Walker was a young man, he first encountered the promise of Tomorrowland at the 1964 World's Fair." One of the other characters: "David Nix was there, showing off his own work, and he told Walker to come back when he was older and his inventions actually worked. A girl named Athena saw great promise in 11-year-old Frank" and snuck him in. Eventually he "was discovered by Nix and thrown out, but not before learning that the girl he loved, Athena, was actually a robot." Okay…

Beware, from here on out there might be spoilers, but most of this is just establishment of the premise. The film is then set years later, with Clooney playing Frank as an adult. "By the time we meet Frank in the film, he's much older.. Nix is the role that Hugh Laurie is signed for, and by the point the main story of the film kicks in, Nix has been the mayor of Tomorrowland for many years, and he's become rotten, corrupt. Athena, unchanged since Frank was a young man, plays a key role in the film, and the hero is a girl named Casey who has a quick scientific mind that becomes important as the story unfolds." Interesting, sounds very cool.

I have to remind everyone, once again, that none of this is completely confirmed, but it sounds a lot more interesting than I was expecting. Both Damon and Brad Bird have been hinting that Tomorrowland doesn't actually involve aliens, which was the original theory ever since it was called 1952. Also - I'm not entirely sure how all this connects to that "Brad Bird 1952 Mystery Box" discovered earlier this year. More than anything, this sounds like it's all about the concept and Brad Bird pulling off the interdimensional visuals, which is what I'm most excited to see. In the meantime, we'll keep an eye out for official casting news and shooting updates, as well as unofficial plot details that may end up online. What does everyone think?

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