Taking a trip to the future to meet the Robinsons is much like seeing the future of Disney animation. Arguably one of the best films to come out of the Walt Disney Feature Animation studio for a while, "Meet the Robinsons" would have made Disney himself proud.
Lewis (Jordan Fry, Daniel Hansen) is an orphan about to turn 13 years old - a condemning age, because no one wants to adopt a teenager. Right away, the classic Disney themes of dreams, imagination and creativity ring out clearly: Lewis uses his ingenuity to follow his dream of finding a family.
A talented inventor, he creates a memory-retrieving machine to see what his mother looked like. However, on the day of the science fair, the machine is stolen by the villainous Bowler Hat Guy (Stephen J. Anderson) and his evil hat, Doris (Ethan Sandler). A mysterious boy from the future, the slick-haired Wilbur Robinson (Wesley Singerman), tries to stop the theft.
When that fails, he whisks Lewis off to the future, resulting in numerous complications. After meeting Wilbur's eclectic family, escaping a dinosaur, and being captured by the Bowler Hat Guy, Lewis allies with the Robinsons to foil Doris's plan of world domination. Ultimately, Lewis follows the maxim propagated by Mr. Robinson and his family, to "keep moving forward," so he goes back in time to fix his mistakes, and gets a family of his own.
Unfortunately, "keep moving forward" may also double as a message to audiences to stay in their seats and wait for the good parts - the interesting action in the movie doesn't take place until well into the second half. Still, a slow beginning makes viewers wonder when they will actually meet the Robinsons, a process which takes longer than it should. The end is worth the wait, however, complete with alternate futures and a clever twist that throws everything for a loop. It is this twist that redeems the movie and provides the film with a surprisingly sophisticated plot structure for a children's movie.
All animated films must strike a balance between finding popular actors to voice the characters, without letting their participation overshadow the animation. Although there are a few famous names in "Meet the Robinsons," few of the voices are recognizable, and this helps them belong solely to the characters. Anderson, the rookie director, lends his own voice to three of the characters: the Bowler Hat Guy, Grandpa Bud and Wilbur's spunky female cousin, Tallulah.
Lewis is voiced by two young actors, Daniel Hansen and Jordan Fry. Fry, last seen by major audiences as Mike Teavee, the TV-junkie in Tim Burton's 2005 "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," has a voice that conforms to the nuances of an energetic, kind-hearted (if still self-absorbed) child inventor quite convincingly.
Tom Selleck has a brief part as the voice of Wilbur's father, Cornelius. Adam West, the original Batman in the 1960s television show, is the voice of Uncle Art, a pizza deliveryman who takes his job very seriously, acting as if a timely delivery is a heroic accomplishment.
The film's action is driven by a hip, energetic soundtrack with songs by popular artists including the All-American Rejects, Rob Thomas, Rufus Wainwright, They Might Be Giants and a score by Danny Elfman.
Disney seems to have moved away from the musical genre, but a jazz performance by Jamie Cullum as Frankie the Frog recreates the Disney tradition of musical numbers by singing animals.
"Meet the Robinsons," is proof that Disney can do computer animation as well as its CGI subsidiary, Pixar. Of course, "Meet the Robinsons" looks much like a Pixar film, and for good reason. There is certainly crossover between the studios, notably in its Executive Producer, John Lasseter. Lasseter co-founded Pixar in 1986 and currently serves as its Executive Vice President. With the sale of Pixar to Disney, he also became the Chief Creative Officer of the Disney and Pixar Animation Studios, and his influence may have had a large affect on the film's production.
An onscreen quote at the end of the movie reveals that Mr. Robinson's maxim, "keep moving forward," came from a speech by Walt Disney himself, who once said, "we don't look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things...and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths."
"Meet the Robinsons" is a tribute to Disney, a company of the future and the past that remains dedicated to wholesome entertainment and fantasy.
