Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Meet the Robinsons

Title: Meet the Robinsons (2007)
Dir: Stephen J. Anderson
Rating: ***1/2 out of 5 stars



After Chicken Little, I did not have much faith in Disney's ability to make a decent computer-animated film without Pixar. So I was pleasantly surprised when I saw Meet the Robinsons. It's not Pixar quality (honestly, what is?) but it is still a sweet, well-written comedy for all ages.

An orphaned boy-genius named Lewis, longing to see what his mother looked like, invents a memory scanning device. While presenting it at a science fair, a nefarious villain from the future - known simply as "Bowler Hat Guy" - sabotages the device, effectively crushing the boy's confidence. But his spirits pick up when he meets Wilbur, a boy from the future who takes Lewis forward in time to meet his wacky futuristic family. Warm and fuzzies ensue as Lewis finds the family he never had. But meanwhile, Bowler Hat Guy is cooking up an evil scheme....

The whole film is very amusing for kids, and has occasional moments of great adult humor. The Bowler Hat Guy in particular had me laughing out loud a few times. More than anything, Meet the Robinsons is heart-warming, like the olden days of Disney films. In fact, the story itself was inspired by Walt Disney and focuses heavily on his motto, "Keep moving forward." All the follow-your-dreams-and-never-give-up stuff even had me welling up once or twice. This is a movie kids will surely love, but it also has enough humor and heart to keep adults happy.

0 comments: