Time travel stories are difficult to tell.  When watching a movie that focuses on time travel, the audience is often quick to point out the multitude of story problems and paradoxes that ought to make the entire film unspool far differently than it does.  When the film in question is an animated movie put out by Disney and geared for children, as with Meet The Robinsons, the target audience is probably somewhat less demanding.  It is lucky for Disney that this is the case, as Meet the Robinsons is riddled with plot holes, paradoxes, and a multitude of ill thought through notions.  While children in the audience won't be picky about these, it does lessen the enjoyment for adults. 

The movie focuses on young Lewis, an orphan who fancies himself an inventor.  Sadly for Lewis, none of his inventions work, that is, until he decides to come up with a machine that will tap into people's hippocampus in order to show trapped memories.  Just as Lewis is about to unveil this creation at his school's science fair, a strange young boy named Wilbur Robinson appears.  Wilbur warns Lewis of a sinister man in a bowler hat.  While Lewis has not encountered Bowler Hat Guy to this point, the villain does make an appearance just as Lewis is about to unveil his creation. 

The bowler hat itself (it is a robot) breaks the memory machine just as Lewis is about to fire it up, causing enormous destruction and devastating Lewis.  Lewis opts to quit his inventing, which was the Bowler Hat Guy's goal, much to the chagrin of Wilbur Robinson.  Wilbur, as it turns out, is a boy from the future who has traveled back in time to try and stop Bowler Hat Guy from ruining Lewis's invention. 

Quicker than you can say "danger Will Robinson," Lewis, Wilbur, and Bowler Hat Guy are headed to the future as Wilbur tries to stop Bowler Hat Guy and convince Lewis to continue inventing.

 If one opts to not apply logic to the film, it is a children's movie after all, things are much more fun.  Director Stephen J. Anderson's (who also voices Bowler Hat Guy) vision of the future is fun and bright and cheerful.  Wilbur and his family live in a fantastic place where, even if things don't work as they should, everyone tries to "keep moving forward," which happens to be the Robinson family motto.  While the computer animation is not quite as spectacular as what emerges from Pixar, there is still plenty to look at and be impressed by.