Movie Review: Meet The Robinsons

Written by Hombre Divertido

Disney goes cutting edge with a movie that posses a new look, classic characters, and a good story told well. It may be cliché, but this is indeed fun for the whole family. Though the story may be a bit complicated for the younger members of your clan, the film is flashy and action packed enough to hold their attention. The adults are treated to a story that takes us back to classic tales of our youth, while giving us humor lost in recent Disney efforts such as Chicken Little and Cars.

In this tale we are introduced to Lewis, a 12-year-old inventor who lives in a home for orphans. Lewis enters the school science fair and meets Wilbur Robinson a young boy from the future who has come back to insure the success of the Lewis entry. Wilbur then whisks Lewis off to the future where he meets the rest of the interesting and eccentric Robinsons.

Not only do we get a full story, that may feel slow at the beginning to those not used to effort spent on character development, but it has a solid beginning, middle, and end, and contains a clearly defined protagonist and antagonist, as well as wonderful sub-plots and characterizations. The artwork in this film stands out as it manages to give us a future reminiscent of a Flash Gordon serial of the ’30s or ’40s, but presents it with a technology that looks well ahead of its time.

To be this far into the review and not have mentioned the vocal talents should speak to just how good this film is. Daniel Hansen and Jordan Fry do well to portray the innocence and intelligence of Lewis at different ages, while Wesley Singerman must have been in amazing shape required to portray the energy that is Wilbur. Though both lead performances compliment the film well, it is the supporting voices that bring the Robinsons to life that deserve the accolades. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself waiting for Uncle Art to speak just so you can hear the classic tone of Adam West.

Disney has brought new and old together here, and appears to be back on track in the field of animated film. The days of Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King may be behind us, and that is indeed sad, but if this is the future, it does look bright though quite different. Let’s hope that future endeavors are this entertaining, and that we get to Meet the Robinsons again.

Recommendation: Don’t miss this in the theatre; bring the whole family, and then get in line to buy the DVD.