REVIEW: Meet the Robinsons

Meet the Robinsons

Year: 2007
Director: Stephen J. Anderson
Starring: Jordan Fry, Daniel Hansen, Matthew Josten, Nicole Sullivan, Wesley Singerman
Distributor: Buena Vista Pictures
MPAA: Rated G

Meet the Robinsons wasn't a movie that I was ever planning on seeing. It just didn't look like something I would have spent $10 bucks on to watch it. Me and my friends were planning on watching a movie in 3D and unfortunately, this was the only film playing in 3D so we took a chance and went to it. After watching it and looking at the credits, I realized how much I liked the film. I thought it was a pretty good film. I would have never thought it to be a good flick, but I was proven wrong.

Plot Outline:
Lewis Robinson (Daniel Hansen) is an orphan that no one will adopt. He is also a science genius. On his 13th birthday, he builds a machine that will help read his mind back to the day his mother left him on his doorstep, so that he can see what she looked like and why she left him there. Unfortunately Lewis bumps into Wilbur (Wesley Singerman) at the science fair, who claims hes a "time cop" tracking an evil villain in a robot bowler hat. The bowler hat manages to damage his demonstration, making it look like his machine doesn't work. He then steals Lewis's machine and prepares to bring it to a meeting to pass it off as his invention changing the future as we know it.

Plot:
The story of Meet the Robinsons is pretty good and thoughtful. Its pretty easy to follow so the audiences shouldn't be confused or anything. I thought it had a caring story that went with this interesting, but fun plot. There were parts of the film where I felt the writers tried too hard to make the comedy aspects alittle too high which resulted in making some of the scenes being alittle un-needed. There were also parts of the film where smart mature adults might take notice of all of the back to the past/future events don't quite add up. With all this said, Meet the Robinsons still has an enjoyable, yet easy story to follow. The film can be entertaining to watch in almost anyway.

Cast:
The cast of the film was great. I was expecting a Disney movie like this is going to have an all star cast of famous celebrities, but I was wrong. The film consists mostly of low key actors and actresses which to me felt fine. I thought everyone had a clear voice that went with the characters body. I did however feel alittle annoyed by Daniel Hansen who's playing Lewis after awhile. He did a good job in his role, but to me his voice felt alittle too high pitched. Everyone else sounded pretty solid.

Picture:
The visual effects of the film are amazingly great. Typical of a Disney movie, the animation is pure and simple, but with a fluid transition. The future looked very colorful and eye popping. There were moments were I thought the film looked almost too good. The art direction and colors really blew me away. Seeing how I saw it in 3D made the visuals that much better. With all this said, the visuals later on get alittle dark and might not suit your children if there under 7. There were alot of people that complained about the dark tone of the second half saying "my children were afraid", but this didn't distract me from loving the look of the film.

Sound:
Meet the Robinsons has a wonderful soundtrack. It goes so well with the concept and story of the film. Its also used very well through out the entire film and really makes those amazing visuals that much more amazing. The soundtrack is very aggressive when it needs to be with the bass getting cranked up in certain moments. The movie has many moments that deliver great bass work and one that will easily satisfy your home theater. Its not really demo worthy, but it sure comes close enough.

Conclusion:
I was never expecting this film to be good since it was a cartoon flick and not an action packed film, but to my surprise, it is. Meet the Robinsons has a unique feel to it that makes it not your typical Disney film. Its got a good story with a good cast that makes the characters very entertaining, but very lovable. Its got an amazing visual look to it with a great soundtrack to back it up. While some of the younger children might not appreciate the dark second half of the film, they are still going to enjoy this film either way.

Grade: B-