Meet the Robinsons is a computer-animated film and the 46th animated feature produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures.
In the United Kingdom, the 3D version was released on March 23, 2007. It was released in standard and Disney Digital 3-D versions in the United States and in its standard version in the UK on March 30, 2007. It is based on the book A Day with Wilbur Robinson, by William Joyce. The film originally had the same title as the book. The voice cast includes Jordan Fry, Harland Williams, Tom Kenny, Steve Anderson, Adam West, Tom Selleck, and Angela Bassett. The film was rated G by the MPAA. It was released on DVD-Video and Blu-ray on October 23, 2007
Plot summary
A young woman leaves her baby boy on the steps of an orphanage. Twelve years later, Lewis (voices of Daniel Hansen and Jordan Fry), the baby, has yet to be adopted. Confident that his birth mother abandoned him against her will, he attempts to invent a memory-scanner that will allow him to remember his mother in the hopes that he can find her. He keeps his roommate, Mike “Goob” Yagoobian (voice of Matthew Josten), up every night working, which causes Goob’s Little League baseball team’s performance to suffer. Goob attempts to be supportive but is finding things more and more difficult himself.
At Lewis’s school science fair, Inventco. representative Dr. Krunkelhorn (voice of Laurie Metcalf) is judging the event. Lewis is approached by a thirteen-year-old boy named Wilbur Robinson (voice of Wesley Singerman), who claims that he is a “time cop” from the future, and that a man wearing a bowler hat stole a time machine. The sinister Bowler Hat Guy (voice of Steve Anderson), for whom Wilbur is searching, sends Doris (voice of Ethan Sandler), a robotic hat with mechanical arms, to sabotage Lewis’s machine. As Lewis begins demonstrating his machine, it explodes, throwing the science fair into chaos. Lewis runs out, leaving his machine, and Bowler Hat Guy steals the memory scanner.
At the orphanage, Lewis goes to the roof, crushed by his “failure”. Wilbur appears and tells Lewis to go back to the science fair and fix the machine. Lewis agrees, under the condition that Wilbur proves he is from the future. Wilbur then takes Lewis to a flying time machine, and uses it to take them to the year 2037, thirty years forward.
In 2037, Lewis meets Wilbur’s grandfather, Bud (voice of Steve Anderson). Bud takes Lewis on a tour of the house, during which Lewis meets the rest of the strange and fun-loving Robinson family. This includes Wilbur’s friendly mother, Franny (voice of Nicole Sullivan). Assured that no one Lewis met knows that he’s from the past, a relieved Wilbur explains that his father, Cornelius, the only member of the Robinson family that Lewis did not meet, invented practically everything Lewis has witnessed, coining the motto “Keep moving forward”. Together, and with the help of the large and multi-talented Robinson family, Wilbur and Lewis have to overcome the menace to the future posed by the time-machine-stealing Bowler Hat Guy and DOR-15 (aka Doris - the bowler hat) in order to ensure that the utopian future that the Robinsons live in will come to pass - and so that Wilbur will take Lewis to see his mother.
The Robinson family, unusual and eccentric though they may be, teach Lewis a lot about what it means to be a family, and about accepting and learning from failures. Lewis learns that he can only realize his full potential when he’s willing to move past his mistakes and “Keep Moving Forward”.
Reception
The film received many generally favorable reviews from critics. The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 65% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 126 reviews.[2] Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 61 out of 100, based on 27 reviews.[3]
Realmovienews stated that it has “a snappy plot that demands close attention as it whizzes back and forth in the space-time continuum, touching on serious ideas and proposing some rather disturbing alternate realities. And the witty story twists are handled with rare subtlety and intelligence. In the end it may get a little weepy and inspirational. But it’s so charming that we don’t mind at all.”[4] Danny Minton of the Beaumont Journal said that “The Robinsons might not be a family you want to hang out with, but they sure were fun to meet in this imaginative and beautiful 3-D experience.”[5] And Andrew L. Urban of Australian Urban Cinefile said that “Walt Disney stood for fantasy on screen and this is a loving tribute to his legacy.”[6] Kyle Smith of the New York Post named it the 10th best film of 2007.[7]
On the other hand, the infamous A.O. Scott of the New York Times wrote: “Meet the Robinsons is surely one of the worst theatrically released animated features issued under the Disney label in quite some time,”[8] while Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a “C” and said “This is one bumpy ride.”[9]
While the movie has not reached the box office heights of many animated films, it did gross $25,123,781 on its opening weekend only behind Blades of Glory. The film nevertheless grossed over $97,822,171 domestically with $71,410,782 overseas with $169,232,246 worldwide.
Disney Digital 3-D
Over 600 REAL D Cinema digital 3D-equipped theaters presented the stereoscopic third-dimensional version of the film.[10] The 3D version is preceded by the 1953 Chip ‘n Dale 3D short Working for Peanuts.[11] The final credits of the 3D version were left two-dimensional, except for the names of those who converted the film to 3D.
In late 2005, Disney released Chicken Little in the same process, but in only 84 theaters.[10] According to the trade figures discussed on line and in the press, that film earned nearly three times as much per screen as the standard release and encouraged Disney to release the new film on a larger scale.[citation needed]
Credits
Voice cast
- Jordan Fry - Lewis
- Daniel Hansen - Lewis
- Wesley Singerman - Wilbur Robinson
- Aurian Redson - Frankie the Frog
- Jamie Cullum - Singing Voice for Frankie the Frog
- Don Hall - Uncle Gaston, Gym Coach
- Ethan Sandler - DOR-15, Uncle Fritz, Aunt Petunia, Uncle Dmitri, Uncle Spike, Cousin Laszlo
- Harland Williams - Carl
- Jessie Flower - Young Franny
- Tracey Miller-Zarneke - Lizzy
- Joe Mateo - Tiny
- Kelly Hoover - Aunt Billie
- Adam West- Uncle Art
- Laurie Metcalf - Lucille Krunklehorn
- Matthew Josten - Michael “Goob” Yagoobian
- Nicole Sullivan - Franny Robinson
- Steve Anderson - Bowler Hat Guy, Grandpa Bud, Cousin Tallulah
- Tom Kenny - Mr. Willerstein
- Angela Bassett - Mildred
- Tom Selleck - Cornelius Robinson
Crew
- Music by Danny Elfman
- Executive producers John Lasseter and Clark Spencer
- Based on the book A Day with Wilbur Robinson by William Joyce
- Adaptation by Jon Bernstein
- Written by Michelle Bochner and Jon Bernstein
- Produced by Dorothy Mckim
- Directed by Steve Anderson
- CG Stereoscopic Supervision by Phil McNally
Soundtrack
The soundtrack album was released by Walt Disney Records on March 27, 2007. Contributors to the album beyond the Danny Elfman score include The Jonas Brothers, Rufus Wainwright, Rob Thomas, Jamie Cullum, The All-American Rejects, and They Might Be Giants. The Track “Little Wonders”, recorded by Rob Thomas, has reached #5 on the Billboard AC chart. Although the song “This Much Fun” by Cowboy Mouth was featured in the trailer, it wasn’t in the movie or included on the soundtrack.
