Movie Review: Meet The Robinsons by ME

Title: Meet The Robinsons
Starring: Angela Bassett, Jordan Fry, Tom Kenny, Harland Williams, Adam West
Directed By: Stephen J. Anderson
Produced By: John Lasseter, Clark Spencer, Dorothy McKim
Genre: Kids/Family, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Animation and Adaptation
Release Date: March 30th, 2007
MPAA Rating: G
Distributors: Buena Vista Pictures Distribution

Lewis is an orphan who dreams of finding a family. His journey takes an unexpected turn when a mysterious stranger named Wilbur Robinson whisks him away to a world where anything is possible…THE FUTURE. There, he meets an incredible assortment of characters and a family beyond his wildest imagination, The Robinsons, who help lead him on an amazing and hilarious adventure with heartfelt results. Based upon the book “A Day with Wilbur Robinson” by William Joyce.

Meet The Robinsons is the way an animated kids movie should be done. With the onslaught of CGI films in the past few years, the market has been saturated with mediocre films designed just to make a buck. Meet The Robinsons hearkens back to a day when kids movies were fun for both children and adults without having to use jokes designed to go over children's heads. Dare I say that this may be the best computer animated film since Toy Story, or at least Shrek. I really can't sing enough praise for this movie. The story is a wonderful tale of not letting failure stop you from trying. The main motto is “Keep moving forward” and that is a great lesson for our children to learn. The animation is top notch, there are reflections from glass that look like the animators inserted actual glass domes in the scenes. Textures of clothes pop without seeming repetitive. I want to mention one character design, Bowler Hat Guy. Now, I don't usually get creeped out by an animated character but there was just something about him that got to me, in a good creepy way of course.

I saw this in Disney 3-D and I must retract my statement made in my A Nightmare Before Christmas review stating that Disney's 3D didn't compare with the IMAX 3D. Well, that was a film that was converted to 3D and Meet The Robinson's was made for 3D. There is a big difference between the two and Disney 3D is just as good as IMAX. Before the film started, Carl, a robot from the film comes onto the screen to tell you to put your glasses on. He then extends his arms and various body parts out into the audience. I flinched and jerked back. No kidding. It was that good. While this extreme use of 3D isn't used in the feature, it sure impressed me.

Another great thing about the movie is that it wasn't about talent. There were no voice actors named in the opening credits and the cast wasn't listed until about a third of the way through the end credits. Most of the main cast were people who I have never heard with a few cameo voices thrown in. I really don't want to give them away as one is pretty major plot point that could be construed as a spoiler. Let's just say that I was pretty tickled. Since voices come from mouths, I will mention my only problem with the film here. To me, a lot of the mouth animations didn't sync up with the voices. Otherwise, this movie was wonderful.

Some final thoughts. With some twists that even got by me, Meet The Robinsons is a very refreshing children's film that gets almost everything right. I highly recommend this, and for those of you who are my Constant Readers, you know how much I don't like seeing a kids movie in a theater full of children but this was well worth it. Just the dinner scene alone is worth having your seat kicked for an hour and a half. Oh yea, you know that line that the T-Rex gives that everyone quotes? Well, there is more to it that makes it even funnier.

Until Lewis meets Marty McFly,
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Mitch E.
mitchemerson@hotmail.com