Meet the Robinsons

Meet the Robinsons

Theatrical poster
Directed by Steve Anderson
Produced by
Screenplay by
  • Jon A. Bernstein
  • Michelle Spritz
  • Nathan Greno
Story by William Joyce
Starring
Music by Danny Elfman
Editing by Ellen Keneshea
Studio Walt Disney Animation Studios
Distributed by
Release date(s) March 23, 2007 (2007-03-23) (United Kingdom)
March 30, 2007 (2007-03-30) (United States)
Running time 95 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Gross revenue $169,333,034

Meet the Robinsons is a 2007 American computer-animated family film produced by Walt Disney Pictures and released on March 30, 2007. The forty-seventh animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics, the film was released in both the United States and the United Kingdom in standard and Disney Digital 3-D versions in the United States. Its standard version in the UK on March 30, 2007. The film 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, Laurie Metcalf, Adam West, Tom Selleck & Angela Bassett. It was released on DVD-Video and Blu-ray on October 23, 2007.[1]

Contents

Plot

Lewis (Jordan Fry), is an aspiring young inventor who was left at an orphanage by his mother when he was an infant. He has yet to be adopted and fears that he never will be. Convinced that his birth mother will want him, he attempts to invent a memory-scanning machine in the hopes that he can find her. He spends all of his time on the project, causing his roommate Mike Yagoobian (Goob) to stay awake for days. This makes Goob fall asleep during an important little league game.

At Lewis' school science fair, Lewis is approached by a mysterious boy named Wilbur Robinson (Wesley Singerman), who claims to be a "time cop" from the future. Wilbur says that a man wearing a bowler hat has stolen a time machine that Wilbur wishes to recapture. The sinister 'Bowler Hat Guy' (Stephen J. Anderson), sends Doris (Ethan Sandler), a robotic bowler hat with mechanical arms, to sabotage Lewis' memory-scanner. As Lewis begins demonstrating the use of his machine, it explodes, throwing the science fair into chaos. Lewis runs out, and the Bowler Hat Guy steals his unattended memory scanner. Wilbur tells Lewis to go back to the science fair and fix the machine. To prove to a suspicious Lewis that he is from the future, Wilbur takes him to a flying time machine to take them to year 2037, thirty years in the future.

While giving Lewis a tour of the fantastical world of the future, Lewis realizes he can use the time machine to go back and actually see his mother, since he knows the date he was left at the orphanage. Wilbur insists he go back to fix the memory scanner instead, and while arguing, they crash the time machine. Wilbur asks Lewis to fix it, and Lewis agrees under the condition that Wilbur take him back to visit his mother afterwards. Wilbur tries to hide Lewis in the garage of his house, but Lewis leaves and meets Wilbur's grandfather, Bud (Stephen J. Anderson). Bud takes Lewis on a tour of the house, during which Lewis meets the rest of the fun-loving and overly-eccentric Robinson family, which consists of adopted people living in a large, stately manor. Wilbur explains that his father, Cornelius, the only member of the Robinson family that Lewis did not meet, invented several of the futuristic inventions earlier seen, coining the motto "Keep moving forward".

Meanwhile, Bowler Hat Guy and Doris follow Wilbur and Lewis to the future and attempt to kidnap Lewis so he can show them how his memory scanner works. Meanwhile, the Robinsons offer to adopt Lewis but change their mind when they discover that he's from the past. Lewis runs away in misery after finding out Wilbur lied to him about going back to see his mom, and encounters the Bowler Hat Guy, who lures him into his time machine by promising to bring him to his mother.

Instead, the Guy brings him to Lewis' orphanage, at some point after 2007, when it has been shut down and abandoned. The Guy reveals himself as an aged and deeply embittered Mike Yagoobian. He also reveals that "Cornelius Robinson" is Lewis, making Wilbur his son and the Robinsons his family. Goob explains that he blames Lewis for his miserable life, which began a downward spiral with the little league game he fell asleep in. He later met DOR-15 (Doris), a failed and abandoned invention of Lewis'. They co-operate to steal the time machine and plotted to use it to capture and plagiarize Lewis' first famous invention, to ruin Lewis' career as an inventor.

Goob and Doris prepare to present the stolen invention to a corporation in the present. Meanwhile, Wilbur and his robot Carl (Harland Williams) save Lewis and escape, but Doris destroys Carl. As Goob makes the sale to the corporation, the scenery around Lewis and Wilbur in the future darkens, and Wilbur vanishes into oblivion as history is rewritten. Lewis enters the derelict house where the Robinsons once lived, and discovers the memory-scanner in the garage. Viewing its records, he discovers that after mass-producing the memory-scanner, Goob also mass-produces Doris, whereupon the multitude of robotic hats took control of their wearers, something Goob hadn't planned. The utopian future is replaced by a Doris-controlled, smog-darkened industrial empire, with mankind reduced to mindless slaves.

Pursued by an army of DOR-15 hats, Lewis manages to repair the time machine and uses it to go to the precise moment and location where Goob signed the contract at InventCo. Lewis causes Doris to disappear into oblivion by promising that he will never invent her. Lewis then shows Goob the bleak future Doris would have created, which is transformed before their eyes back into the utopian future. After they land near the Robinson house, Wilbur is brought back into existence. Lewis gets Wilbur to offer for the Robinsons to adopt Goob, but Goob, ashamed of what he has done, hides and then walks off, uncertain of what to do.

"Cornelius" (Tom Selleck) finally returns from his business trip and meets his younger self, giving him a helpful speech. Wilbur fulfils his promise to Lewis by visiting the moment at which his mother abandoned him. Lewis nearly interrupts her from leaving the infant at the orphanage, but inexplicably decides not to, abandoning his lifelong dream.

Finally, Lewis returns to the present and prevents Goob from becoming the Bowler Hat Guy by waking him up in time to catch the ball that wins him the game. Lewis then returns to the science fair and demonstrates his memory scanner on the science fair judge, Dr. Krunkelhorn (Laurie Metcalf), revealing that she is Wilbur's grandmother, Lucille. Lewis also meets a young Franny. Bud and Lucille adopt Lewis, nicknaming him "Cornelius", as it seems to suit him, and Lewis quickly sets to work building Carl in an observatory bought by Bud and Lucile which will one day become the Robinson house. Just before Lewis drives off with Bud and Lucille, he turns around and waves at Goob, who is also leaving the orphanage with his own new family. Bud and Lucille move into the house Lewis saw further in time where he continues his inventing, fulfilling his future.

Production

As the fusion between Disney and Pixar occurred during the production of the film, John Lasseter became the chief creative officer for the Walt Disney Company. When he saw an early screening for the movie, he told the director Stephen Anderson that he didn't find the villain scary or threatening enough, and suggested that he make some changes.

Ten months later, almost 60% of the movie had been scrapped and redone. The villain had improved and was given a new sidekick, a dinosaur chase had been added, and the ending was changed.[2]

Reception

The film received generally favorable reviews from critics. The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 66% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 132 reviews.[3] Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 61 out of 100, based on 27 reviews.[4]

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".[5] 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".[6] 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".[7] Kyle Smith of the New York Post named it the 10th best film of 2007.[8]

Conversely, 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",[9] while Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a "C" and said "This is one bumpy ride".[10]

The film grossed $25,123,781 on its opening weekend, falling behind Blades of Glory. Over its theatrical run, it grossed $97,822,171 in the United States and Canada and $71,510,863 in other territories, totaling $169,333,034 worldwide.

Disney Digital 3-D

Over 600 REAL D Cinema digital 3D-equipped theaters presented the stereoscopic third-dimensional version of the film.[11] The 3D version is preceded by the 1953 Chip 'n Dale 3D short Working for Peanuts.[12] 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.[11] 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.

Cast

Other media

DVD & Blu-ray release

The DVD & Blu-ray Disc versions were both released on October 23, 2007. Both versions feature 1.78 widescreen aspect ratio and Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound, plus music videos, the "Family Function 5000" game, deleted scenes, and other bonus features. The DVD's audio commentary contains Steve Anderson's narration, occasionally interrupted by himself as the Bowler Hat Guy. As of January, 2008 the DVD had sold approximately 4,000,000 copies.[1] The Blu-ray also includes uncompressed 5.1 audio and a BD-J game, "Bowler Hat Barrage!". You can see more details on the releases here for DVD[2] and Blu-ray[3]. The UK release was in September, and became number one in the DVD charts. Although the Blu-Ray features on the site said that it features a 5.1 Effects-Only Audio track, it is also on the DVD, unexpectedly to many people who buy the DVD.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack album was released by Walt Disney Records on March 27, 2007. Contributors to the album beyond the Danny Elfman score include 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.

Video game

Disney's Meet the Robinsons is available from Buena Vista Games for PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Xbox 360, Wii, Nintendo GameCube, Nintendo DS, and PC. The independent England-based company Climax Group developed their own adaption for the Gameboy Advance. Nintendo created a version of the movie for Gameboy Advance Video.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Meet the Robinsons (English/French/Spanish DVD)
  2. ↑ John Lasseter: Disney's new boss reimagines the Magic Kingdom
  3. ↑ "Meet the Robinsons - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/meet_the_robinsons/. Retrieved 2008-01-05. 
  4. ↑ "Meet the Robinsons (2007): Reviews". Metacritic. http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/meettherobinsons. Retrieved 2008-01-05. 
  5. ↑ Real Movie News
  6. ↑ Beaumont Journal
  7. ↑ Australian Urban Cinefile
  8. ↑ "Metacritic: 2007 Film Critic Top Ten Lists". Metacritic. http://www.metacritic.com/film/awards/2007/toptens.shtml. Retrieved 2008-01-05. 
  9. ↑ The New York Times
  10. ↑ Lisa Schwarzbaum (2007-03-28). "Meet the Robinsons (2007)". Entertainment Weekly. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20016245,00.html. Retrieved 2008-01-05. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 HollywoodReporter.com New dimension at Real D Accessed March 12, 2007
  12. ↑ /Film 3D Meet the Robinsons Advertisement, Featurette, and Fun Facts Accessed March 31, 2007

External links