TOMORROWLAND Teaser Trailer Analysis

After its reveal at New York Comic Con, Disney released the first teaser trailer for Tomorrowland yesterday.

Considering the experiences we've had in the universe of Tomorrowland with The Optimist ARG, we've analyzed the teaser in terms of what we know of the story thus far:

Our first real glimpse at the cityscape of Tomorrowland comes in this final shot of the trailer. That's Casey Newton (Britt Robertson) looking over the ledge at present-day Tomorrowland. Its design differs from the conceptual artwork by Syd Mead (recently released by Entertainment Weekly) for a very significant reason:

The cityscape seen here is closer to that seen in the concept art revealed at the end of The Optimist ARG:

Mead's gorgeous painting isn't just a piece of general conceptual artwork: it depicts a specific moment from the first act of the film. The boy at the center is Frank Walker, the childhood version of the character played by George Clooney.

See that device in his hand? That's the boy genius's jetpack, recently immortalized in action figure form:

Another jetpack is visible in the trailer, again in the final shot:

In the first act, young Frank finds his way to Tomorrowland after a merry chase through the It's A Small World attraction at the 1964 Worlds Fair. (Contents of the 1952 box and The Optmist ARG indicate there was a secret room beneath the attraction ... a portal?)

The city depicted here is not the one seen in the trailer. Fifty years later in the story, Tomorrowland is now governed by David Nix, the film's antagonist played by Hugh Laurie.

Mead's painting depicts the moment that young Frank first glimpses the wonderful, uncorrupted world of Tomorrowland in 1964, and begins his lifelong obsession that transforms him into the man we briefly see in the teaser:

Elder Frank Walker is a shut in. From the outside, his secluded home is a dilapidated mess, but the inside -- as we see here -- bears all the high-tech markings of a now-jaded inventor. As the NYCC exclusive clip from the film showed (further analysis of that coming in a future article) he has outfitted his house with a slew of inventive booby-traps to protect him against Nix's robotic goons.

The screens behind him monitor abnormal weather conditions he believes to have a more nefarious, unnatural cause.

The pin is also a major focal point of the teaser. When touched, it offers Casey a glimpse of Tomorrowland. Though she is as troubled with the state of the world as Frank (she looks with disdain at a news broadcast) she still harbors the optimism that Frank has lost, giving her access to this realm. 

She first sees the pin mysteriously among her returned possessions after being released from jail. Also among her possessions is a red NASA baseball cap. According to the recent EW article, Casey witnesses the dissembling of the final launch pad at Cape Canaveral. 

The pin seen in the film differs from the previously seen iterations of this design. Here is a comparison of the film pin, the teaser poster pin, the pin earned during The Optimist ARG, and the pin handed out at the NYCC panel:

A fifth iteration of this pin was worn by featured extras during the filming at It's A Small World in Disneyland. This version most closely resembles The Optimist pin, but with inverted colors -- an orange "T" and blue backing:

Stay tuned for more detailed analysis from Tomorrowland's presence at NYCC, including a look at the exclusive clip from the panel, and the Before Tomorrowland prequel novel sneak peek.