Meet the Robinsons

Posted by Chris Beaumont (chrisbeaumont@filmschoolrejects.com) on April 2, 2007

I approached my viewing of Meet the Robinsons with great reservations. It was, after all, Disney’s follow up to the supremely lackluster Chicken Little, and this wasn’t looking like it was going to help their CG animation pedigree all that much. It seems that no matter how hard they try, they are just simply unable to approach the brilliance that is Pixar and virtually every one of their releases. When I left the theater, I was disheartened to have my reservations to have been proven correct. This film is not all that funny and lacks heart, I cannot honestly say that I felt any connection to the characters that were paraded across the screen.

Preferring the whiz-bang style as opposed to any actual development of characters, the scenes sped by with little impact. The random songs and action sequences at times feeling like padding blended with shorthand story telling. Then there is the whole message about looking to the future rather than looking back that is hammered home whenever an opportunity presents itself. The story just seems completely random at times, with the hallucinogenic whirlwind tour of the Robinson household, and the way the story doesn’t really gel all that well.

The story follows young Lewis, an inventor/orphan who has never managed to find a family of his own. He is about to give up when he meets a young boy from the future who promises to take him to see his mom. Before that can happen, the two go on an adventure in the future where Lewis meets the whacky Robinson clan and has to foil the plans of the eveil Bowler Hat Guy. I don’t know, none of it was all that compelling, I found the family to be annoying more than anything else and none of them had an impact on me, even young Lewis I found to be unlikable and, for the most part, surly.

The animation was detailed and brightly colored, but there were portions that just did not look right, mainly during the flying and some of the transitions. The movie is being shown in Disney 3D and you can see the sequences that were designed mainly for that purpose, and when you see it projected flat, those scenes stick out and look rather awkward.

There were a couple of sequences that I liked, but it was because of what they were rather than what they added to the movie, as they were rather random. One of them is in the commercial, it is the bit with the dinosaur not capturing the little boy due to his big head and little arms, never fails to elicit a chuckle. Then there are a couple of homages to films of the past, probably others that I missed but these two stood out, the first was when the brother and sister Robinson duo get into a battle at the dinner table, and it plays out like an old kung fu movie, the other is Grandpa reenacting Charlie Chaplin’s dinner roll dance from Gold Rush. Outside of those moments, it seemed like the makers were acively working against my smile.

That brings me to something that truly brings a smile to my face, and that is the preceding cartoon that accompanies the film. John Lasseter and Pixar have done it with their films, but this time around, instead of a new cartoon, it is a classic Mickey cartoon called Boat Builders. It teams Mickey with Donald and Goofy on a quest to build a boat that they boat out of a box. It is a fun throwback to the old days at the movies, and is the best story told at this screenig.

Bottomline. Eh, the kids will probably be entertained, but they probably won’t remember it for long afterwards. As for the adults, prepare for a nothing experience. The story seems to be filled with potential, but it is not told all that well, and you will probably guess the twist early on. I’d recommend skipping this and waiting for the next Pixar flick.

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