Meet the Robinsons (2007)
Released: March 30, 2007
Director: Stephen J. Anderson
*****
Meet the Robinsons carries many of the hallmarks of a Disney film (a theme of family, non-fatal action, eccentric characters) yet misses a rather big one: heart. That's not to say the computer animated film isn't a fun ride with enough in-jokes to present and past Mouse House projects; by the end, though, we're left feeling a little empty. After he is left on the doorstep of an orphanage as a baby, brainy Lewis puts off one adoption family after another with his crazy inventions. One day, he travels to the future with a boy named Wilbur. Someone has stolen a time machine from Wilbur's garage and he needs Lewis to help him find it.
From a pure children's perspective, the film is colorful, fairly action packed and potentially mesmerizing. But with complex themes like time travel and a past self meeting the future one, the story proper inevitably goes over their heads. The script is so concerned with making sense of going forward in time and giving us enough wacky characters it never bothers to explain what it's doing. Not even a half hearted attempt. This isn't a simple story like Snow White or even Toy Story. Full of paradoxes and "what if's," it plays on our sympathies more than it has any right to.
See, since Lewis doesn't know who his mother is, he forces Wilbur to take him into the past to see her in exchange for his work in the future. Throughout the film, we're told all the spiky haired boy wants is to have a family. It's a point driven home more times than anyone can count, making him a caricature, a stereotypical kid in the adoption system. But there's nothing else there. He's smart and puts himself first. Yup, great character development. We get marginally better from his roommate, affectionately known as Goobs, who gets an actual storyline from beginning to end.
One technical matter, though: if Lewis stops the bad guy in the future and goes back to change said bad guy's past (hence making him a good guy), does that not alter future history and kill a person? And why does future Lewis not remember his son Wilbur going back in time to visit his past self?
This isn't a total wash. The film zips along fairly well, keeping the audience engaged throughout. Various gags are actually funny (note the big-headed, small-handed T Rex) and there is an interesting concept buried in the material. A whole cadre of writers (9 credited, not including William Joyce) is the major problem, with a whole lot of elements thrown in "just because." Is this worth the 95 minute investment? Yeah, you could do worse. Just put your brain on hold and enjoy the vibrant-if untextured-pictures.
Director: Stephen J. Anderson
*****
Meet the Robinsons carries many of the hallmarks of a Disney film (a theme of family, non-fatal action, eccentric characters) yet misses a rather big one: heart. That's not to say the computer animated film isn't a fun ride with enough in-jokes to present and past Mouse House projects; by the end, though, we're left feeling a little empty. After he is left on the doorstep of an orphanage as a baby, brainy Lewis puts off one adoption family after another with his crazy inventions. One day, he travels to the future with a boy named Wilbur. Someone has stolen a time machine from Wilbur's garage and he needs Lewis to help him find it.
From a pure children's perspective, the film is colorful, fairly action packed and potentially mesmerizing. But with complex themes like time travel and a past self meeting the future one, the story proper inevitably goes over their heads. The script is so concerned with making sense of going forward in time and giving us enough wacky characters it never bothers to explain what it's doing. Not even a half hearted attempt. This isn't a simple story like Snow White or even Toy Story. Full of paradoxes and "what if's," it plays on our sympathies more than it has any right to.
See, since Lewis doesn't know who his mother is, he forces Wilbur to take him into the past to see her in exchange for his work in the future. Throughout the film, we're told all the spiky haired boy wants is to have a family. It's a point driven home more times than anyone can count, making him a caricature, a stereotypical kid in the adoption system. But there's nothing else there. He's smart and puts himself first. Yup, great character development. We get marginally better from his roommate, affectionately known as Goobs, who gets an actual storyline from beginning to end.
One technical matter, though: if Lewis stops the bad guy in the future and goes back to change said bad guy's past (hence making him a good guy), does that not alter future history and kill a person? And why does future Lewis not remember his son Wilbur going back in time to visit his past self?
This isn't a total wash. The film zips along fairly well, keeping the audience engaged throughout. Various gags are actually funny (note the big-headed, small-handed T Rex) and there is an interesting concept buried in the material. A whole cadre of writers (9 credited, not including William Joyce) is the major problem, with a whole lot of elements thrown in "just because." Is this worth the 95 minute investment? Yeah, you could do worse. Just put your brain on hold and enjoy the vibrant-if untextured-pictures.
