Meet The Robinsons

Join me today as I take a look at what I consider an underrated gem of a Disney movie as we travel through time to Meet The Robinsons.




The Plot

The plot isn't something I would say is simple as the film does throw a lot of twists and turns at the auidence.  In the film we follow Lewis, a young inventor as he learns about his future and not to give up on the future but rather to "Keep Movig Forward".  Along the way, he meets The Robinsons, a wacky family that knows how to have a good time.


Plot Devices

Before I talk about the characters and the music, there is something else that I need to talk about as they play quite an important part in this film. They aren't people but rather devices that help to advance the plot forward.

Time Machine

The first device I wish to talk about is the time machine as this helps to move the story forward and it takes Lewis from the past to the future and it was actually built by him and there are only two that exist in the world. I love the design of the time machines in this film as they are a nice blend of the future while it also looks as though the designers decided to pay tribute to some old classic car designs as well. They are a nice blend of the future and the past.

Memory Scanner

The next device that I wish to discuss is perhaps the more important of the two. I'm talking about the Memory Scanner as this device really helps Lewis to discover who he is and to find his family.  The idea behind this device is that you plug in a date and the memories from that date appears on the screen. It's a nice idea and I also really love the design of this device as it really does give off the look that it was just built from pieces of scrap and whatever could be found. It's a fun little design of a device and the idea behind it is even sweeter.

Characters

Beleive me, I had a hard time figuring out which  characters to include as this film is really an esemble piece but I was able to narrow it down to I think are the most important characters and the most imoprtant supporting characters to talk about.

Important Characters

Lewis voiced by Jordan Fry

Lewis a young orphan and quite the inventor. As we see throughout all of the film, Lewis is quite smart but he just can't seem to get his inventions to work properly and this causes him to give up on his projects many times. It also causes him to give up on ever being adopted as he at the start of the film had 124 adoption interviews and no one wanted him.  Lewis is smart but he can be easily deterred but I feel that is understandable as going through all of this could lead a person to give up.  Another big aspect is his curiousity about his mother and that in turn is the reason why he built the memory scanner so that he could see her and find out what she looks like. I'd be misleading you if I said that I didn't see any of Walt in this character. I say that because I see the same creative goals that Walt had with Lewis. What do I mean by this, we'll Lewis while smart was sometimes misunderstood and  the same has been said of Walt many a time.

Wilbur voiced by Wesley Singerman

Wilbur is the first Robinson we meet in the film as he steals the time machine and travels back in time to get Lewis to come back with him to the future to fix the time machine. The best way to describe the character of Wilbur is by saying that he is sly and tries to be clever. He tries to get away with things under his parnet's noses but they don't always turn out so well for him as evidenced when it is revealed to his family that he brought Lewis home as Lewis and his father are one in the same.  That may seem a bit confusing and I don't know if I'm explaining this well but the movie does a better job of explaining it.  I only hope that you get what I'm trying to say.  Wilbur is a fun character and I think there is just this really cool vibe about him that makes all of the scenes he is that much more fun. As I stated before he is sly and well most sly characters are just plain fun.

Goob voiced by Matthew Jotsen

I actually had a hard time deciding where to place Goob. My mind went back and forth, do I put him under Supporting Character or do I put him under Important Characters? Well, I think it's pretty clear where I chose to place him. Goob is what  I would like to refer to as a misleading character. What I mean by this is rather simple in that, when you first see Goob, he appears to be nothing more than a comic relief character but as the film progresses. It is shown that as he grew up, he went through torment and much self-pity.  Which makes him more of a three  dimensional character. It's funny the first time I watched this film, I actually found this character annoying but during my viewing for this review, I actually felt sorry for Goob.  All he ever wanted was to win a baseball game but with Lewis being his roommate, he never got any sleep because Lewis would stay up into the wee hours of the night working on his projects.  Part of me wonders though couldn't Goob have fund somewhere else to sleep. I mean yeah the orphanage isn't the biggest place but I would think there are other rooms that aren't occupied.   Anyways, I can understand Goob's frustration.  Not that I have ever had someone keep me up because of them working on something though.   It had to be hard to live like that.  In some ways, it is no surprise at the way he ended up.

Supporting Characters

Mildred voiced by Angela Bassett

Sorry about the picture. I know it's not the greatest but it was the only I could find of Mildred.  Mildred runs the orphanage where both Goob and Lewis lived as children.  Mildred is a very caring soul and only wants the best for Lewis as seen when she sets up all of these interviews with poetinal parents for Lewis.  You can see how happy she is at the prospect of Lewis getting to be part of  a family.  I really liked this character and while I can understand why she didn't have much screen time as she wasn't a main focus, I kind of wish that she did.  Because I loved the caring nature of this character. She just felt gentle and safe. As if she was someone that would protect you and check for the monsters under your bed.

Franny voiced by Nicole Sullivan

I remember during my first viewing of this film I was getting into Nicole Sullivan's work such as her stuff on MadTV  and the first time I watched this film was in '08 on my DVD player and around that time her sitcom, Rita Rocks was airing and while not the greatest, I enjoyed it.  Needless to say I was excited when I heard Nicole Sullivan's voice in this film.  Now as for the character of  Franny, she is such a fun character.  If there is a character that knows how to have fun in this film, it would have to be Franny.  By this I mean that just as with the rest of the family she wants to have fun.  I think this is best seen when she is seen during the Motion Waltz segment when she is conducting her frogs.  Besides being fun she is also very sweet in the same vein as Mildred.  Her motherly side is shown quite well when the family is attacked by the dinosaur and she is worried about Lewis and Wilbur.  Franny is a great character and as I said she is fun and sweet.  Another thing to take note of with Franny is that this film loves foreshadowing their characters as we first see Franny as a young girl at the same science fair, Lewis is attending and she is holding a box of frogs. 

Carl voiced by Harland Williams

Carl appears to be Wilbur's closest friend.  Carl is a bit of a worry-wart and isn't always what is going to happen next and doesn't always trust Wilbur's plans because he doesn't think they will always work. In that sense, he reminds me of another cinematic robot.  I'm referring to C-3PO as they both get worried easily. Though unlike 3PO,  he is still willing to have fun and  to me, it appears as though he is quicker to leap into action and help his family.

Cornelius voiced by Tom Selleck

Now even though this character isn't in much of the film, he is still  important to talk about. As you see this is actually Lewis from the future and he convinces young Lewis to go back to his own time to work on the Memory Scanner.  He does this by taking Lewis to his or would it be their lab to show him all the inventions that they have built. This helps Lewis to see that anything is possible. As I stated with Lewis, I saw a bit of Walt in him. Well, I think that idea is further expanded here with the creativity and go getter attitude that Cornelius has.  Speaking of Walt, there is this one great scene that gets a bit of a chuckle out of me when Lewis and Wilbur first enter the future.

Music

Another Believer

This song is just so much fun and while it is used to convey an emotional scene. It is just a fun song with a sound that is unique to this song and it is not something that I have heard before but I enjoyed it.  I actually didn't take notice of this song the first time watching the film.  While it is featured in the film, it is not in it's entirety.  The film only give you a little snippet of the song.

The Motion Waltz

Now I'm not sure if this song is in the film but here again is a song that has a unique sound.  I actually think this is the first time that I have heard this song and while it is nice, I actually find it a bit annoying with the way it is sung.  It almost sounds lazy and the lyrics are a bit hard to make out.  Not the worst Disney song that I have ever heard but nowhere near the best.  Honestly, the singer sounds half asleep.

Little Wonders

Ah, yes here w are. The most popular song from this film and this song has made quite a few appearances on A Look at Disney.  Rightly so though as this is the best song from this film and it perfectly defines the emotions that Lewis is going through in this film.  This is one of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard and it can bring a tear to my eye. You can just feel the passion in this song.  This is bar none one of the best songs to come out of a modern Disney film.   It is so simple yet it rings so true.

The Future Has Arrived

There is just something about this song that makes it fun and I feel that this is another standout song.  Again, it's hard to describe but the sound of this song just fits the tone of the film quite well and I think that it is a song that people can just have fun singing along with.  Again as I stated the sound is nice and I also dig the way it is sung.  But more than that I love the message of this song as it lets us know that the future will be all right and will be better than we think.  Call me an optimist but I'd like to think this song is right and that the future will be all right.  

The Villains

Bowler Hat Guy voiced by Steve Anderson

Now if you go back to what I said about Goob and how I had a hard time deciding where to place him. This character is part of the reason why I placed Goob under Important Characters.  As you see Goob grew up to become the Bowler Hat Guy.  Bowler Hat Guy while not the smartest villain in a Disney film, sure is one of the funniest. The humor of this character comes fro how inept he is at actually being able to pull anything off successfully.  Though you have to give the guy credit for trying.  Though it is no surprise that he is no good at pulling anything off as he has the knowledge and mindset of a grade school student. If you recall that I said that Goob grew in a life of torment and self-pity. Well this is the end result and it also comes in part from him holding a grudge towards Lewis. That is part of the reason he wants revenge on him.  Because of being kept up all those nights and losing a baseball game.  Bowler Hat Guy is a great bad guy and  he is definitely a lot of fun.

Dor-15  (Doris) voiced by Ethan Sandler

This film does something that I love with the villains as the film misleads  the audience by making them think that Bowler Hat Guy is the main bad guy but it is later revealed that Dor-15 is the one that is actually running the operation.  She too wishes to exact revenge on Lewis. You see she was one of the inventions that  he created. Dor-15 was to be an aid to mankind but she felt as though she would be a slave to mankind.  She didn't want this and knew that she could do more.  So in order to exact her revenge, he pertended to be defunct and then she left the storage bing where she was kept. She then later met up with Bowler Hat Guy and they planned to get their revenge on Lewis.  Dor-15 is dark and creepy.  She was able to get her revenge and when she did the future became a dark and grim place.  With her producing other Dor-15 hats that could be used to control the minds of others and turn them into her slave zombies.  That scene was dark and creepy and some might say felt out of place compared to the rest of the film that was pretty light andwacky but it worked.  Dor-15 was a great villian and I loved the idea of the sidekick actually being the villian.  It is just a great idea and while it has been explored before, I don't think we have seen it enough in Disney films.  Now as I mentioned about Franny, this film loved foreshadowing their characters and Dor-15 is no exception.  As we see in the past, when Lewis is on the roof of the orphanage and across the street is a billboard sign promoting a horror movie called Brain Scanners where it appears that the main monsters are hats that look like Dor-15 and also turn people into zombies as well. Now I didn't catch onto this the first time I watched but when I watched this film for this review, I picked up on that.

My Final Thoughts

Meet The Robinsons while not the strongest film in the Disney Canon is still a great film that is underrated when looked at the others in that line-up.  I find that enjoy the time-travel elements but more than that I also feel that this film has a lot of heart and as I said, there is a lot of Walt in this film.  While I tried to explain that the best I could, that is something that is easier to understand by viewing the film.  Now I  would like to end this the same way the film ended with this wonderful quote from Walt Disney. This is where the film's quote of "Keep moving forward" comes from.

"We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths."  - Walt Disney