Movie Review: Meet the Robinsons
new animated feature film from Walt Disney Animation
Stephen Anderson's film Meet the Robinsons has what few family-oriented animated films possess: a heart. 7/10.
This is the tale of two movies. Two movies called Meet the Robinsons.
The first movie was developed during the end of the Michael Eisner era, before John Lasseter took over as the chief creative officer of Walt Disney Feature Animation. This flick "brings the Wow," as Eisner used to say. It is a fast-paced time travel adventure with eye-popping visuals, numerous pop-culture gags, and plenty of pratfalls to delight the kiddies. It is hip, glib, glitzy, fast-paced and ultimately, soulless.
The second Meet the Robinsons is more personal. It is a crie du coeur from one adopted child (director Stephen Anderson) to another. That child is Lewis (voiced by Daniel Hanson), a brilliant 12-year-old who builds a memory scanner so he can recall what his mother looks like. Lewis is an orphan, trying desperately to find some place to belong. When Lewis's invention fails, due to the machinations of the Bowler Hat Guy and his sidekick Doris, he admits defeat. That's when he meets a mysterious boy named Wilbur Robinson (Wesley Singerman) who whisks him off to the future in his time machine.
According to Wilbur, the Bowler Hat Guy and Doris are trying to do more than just ruin Lewis's life. They're trying to alter the very shape of the future. What follows is a romp through time as Lewis and Wilbur, along with Wilbur's eccentric family, try to stop Bowler Hat Guy and Doris (we're not sure who is the true villain here) from bringing their nefarious plan to fruition. Hijinks ensue, along with shades of 1984 and Jurassic Park.
Meet the Robinsons has its share of pratfalls, gags and pop-culture references. Some of them work, and others fall flat on their faces (a throw-away reference to Tom Selleck becomes more important later on in the flick). If Meet the Robinsons was simply that movie, I would have equated it with CGI flicks like TMNT or The Ant Bully.
But at the surprising center of Meet the Robinsons is a little boy who is looking backwards while developing his future. As the theme of the movie makes abundantly clear, you must "Face the Future" (part of a quote from Walt Disney himself). The story of how Lewis learns to let go of his past, and discover the family he seeks, is what helps this flick rise above the usual CGI pack.
Meet the Robinsons isn't perfect. Bits of that older, glitzy movie remain, tattered remnants fluttering in the breeze. But it's the other, later version of this film that toys with greatness. To paraphrase Bill Clinton, It's not about the visual effects, Stupid. It's about the heart.
Trailers attached to Meet the Robinsons include Shrek the Third, Martian Child, Evan Almighty, Ratatouille, and Underdog.
