Meet the Robinsons (2007)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Stephen J. Anderson

Writers:

Jon Bernstein (screenplay) and
Michelle Bochner (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

30 March 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Family | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

If you think your family's different, wait 'til you meet the family of the future.

Plot:

Lewis is a brilliant inventor who meets mysterious stranger named Wilbur Robinson, whisking Lewis away in a time machine and together they team up to track down Bowler Hat Guy in a showdown that ends with an unexpected twist of fate.

Plot Keywords:

Future | Hat | Bowler Hat | Invention | Memory

Awards:

1 win & 8 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sun. Nov. 15	8:00 PM	ABCF
Sun. Nov. 15	10:00 PM	ABCF

Cast

Angela Bassett	...	Mildred (voice)
Daniel Hansen	...	Lewis (voice)
Jordan Fry	...	Lewis (voice)
Matthew Josten	...	Michael "Goob" Yagoobian (voice)
John H. H. Ford	...	Mr. Harrington (voice)
Dara McGarry	...	Mrs. Harrington / Receptionist (voice)
Tom Kenny	...	Mr. Willerstein (voice)
Laurie Metcalf	...	Lucille Krunklehorn (voice)
Don Hall	...	Coach / Gaston (voice)
Paul Butcher	...	Stanley (voice)
Tracey Miller-Zarneke	...	Lizzy (voice)
Wesley Singerman	...	Wilbur (voice)
Jessie Flower	...	Young Franny (voice)
Stephen J. Anderson	...	Bowler Hat Guy / Grandpa Bud / Tallulah (voice) (as Stephen John Anderson)
Ethan Sandler	...	Doris / CEO / Spike / Dmitri / Laszlo / Fritz / Petunia (voice)

Also Known As:

A Day with Wilbur Robinson (USA) (working title)
Beetle (Philippines: English title) (review title)

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS | SDDS

Certification:

Finland:K-3 | USA:G | Australia:G | UK:U | Ireland:G | Singapore:G | Germany:o.Al. | Hong Kong:I | Argentina:Atp | Brazil:Livre | Malaysia:U | Philippines:G (MTRCB) | Portugal:M/6 | South Korea:All | Netherlands:AL | New Zealand:G | Sweden:7

Filming Locations:

Burbank, California, USA

Company:

Walt Disney Animation Studios

Trivia:

The Robinsons' topiary garden is inspired by Walt Disney World. Large, intricate topiaries (generally of Mickey and other easily recognizable characters) have long been a staple of Disney World. Also, the Robinsons' garden features colored circular "bounce" pads; during the scenes where the characters bounce on these, they bounce in the same way as the "jumping" fountains outside the Imagination! pavilion at Epcot (which also jump from colored circles).

Goofs:

Continuity: During the memory scanner's wedding scene, Lewis recognizes Grandpa Bud because of the smile on the back of his balding head. In the next few glimpses, Bud has no hair on the back of his head, but when they get in the car together he does.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Michael "Goob" Yagoobian: Then, um, I didn't choose that one because it was gonna give me pimples so I choosed, um, another scary one cause for, um, all those years that I went for halloween I wasn't scary at all... I love baseball. It's my destiny to play that game. And I don't really care about winning...
[...]

Movie Connections:

References Toy Story 2 (1999)

Soundtrack:

Another Believer

"Back to the Future" meets "The Incredibles"

Somewhere Walt Disney must be smiling. "Meet the Robinsons" is the perfect, unlikely marriage of manic, absurd humor, eye-popping visuals and honest-to-goodness emotional depth. It is a close cousin to the first "Back to the Future," yet it feels completely original at the same time. The 3-D animation works seamlessly within the story. It is not played for a cheesy gimmick (like, for example, "Spy Kids 3-D"...groan). In fact, it is so well integrated into the narrative that you could almost take it for granted, so it's a good thing that at the heart of "Meet the Robinsons" there is a wonderfully entertaining story. In typical Disney fashion the central character is a motherless (and in this case, fatherless) youth -- however this time it is not merely a device whose sole purpose is to leave him unencumbered to embark on his own adventure. In fact, his orphaned status and quest to find the mother that left him at the orphanage as a baby IS the point of his journey. But there's no room for sugary sap here, thanks to an almost unending stream of quirky characters and plot twists. Of course stories like this can't succeed without a great villain. In this case the filmmakers have managed to craft a bumbling villain who is simultaneously hilarious, sympathetic and just menacing enough to keep the tension going. He reminded me of Snidely Whiplash, Mack the Knife, and the magician from Rankin-Bass' "Frosty the Snowman," all rolled into one.

This movie has all the seat-of-your-pants fun of a great amusement park ride and still manages to make you (well...me) cry at the end. The deft combination of love and laughs results in a movie that stays with you well after the lights have come up, leaving you wanting more. It is rare nowadays for and entire audience of moviegoers to spontaneously burst into applause at the end, but that's what occurred when the credits began to roll for this film. "Meet the Robinsons" is loaded with enough heart, rapid fire jokes and blink-and-you'll-miss-them sight gags to make it worth repeated viewings. We can't wait for the eventual DVD release -- hopefully in 3-D. Come to think of it, we REALLY can't wait, so we're going to see it again on the big screen.