Meet the Robinsons [Blu-ray]
by Stephen J. Anderson
![Meet the Robinsons [Blu-ray]](/images/Meet-the-Robinsons-Blu-ray-B000ROAK36-L.jpg)
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Blu-ray details
Actor: Angela Bassett, Daniel Hansen, Jordan Fry, Matthew Josten, Stephen J. AndersonDirector: Stephen J. Anderson
Brand: Buena Vista Home Video
Blu-ray: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); French (Original Language); Spanish (Original Language); French (Dubbed); Spanish (Dubbed)
Format: Anamorphic, Color, Dolby, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.78:1
Running Time: 95 minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: 2007-10-23
Audience Rating: G (General Audience)
Studio: Walt Disney Home Entertainment
Product features:
- Blast off for a whole new dimension of imagination and surprises with Disney's fun-filled family adventure MEET THE ROBINSONS -- now more astonishing than ever on Blu-ray Disc(R). Join a brilliant young inventor named Lewis who sets off on a time-traveling quest to save the future and find the family he never knew. With the help of the wonderfully wacky Robinson family, Lewis learns to keep mo
Blu-ray Reviews of Meet the Robinsons [Blu-ray]
Blu-ray Review: Ahead of Their Time
Summary: 4 Stars
"Meet the Robinsons" has a strange effect: it's entertaining and baffling at the same time, a good-hearted story with gags aplenty. In traditional Disney fashion, it presents a simple yet effective human tale, weaving numerous messages about family and friendship throughout. Just as traditional is an overabundance of silliness, with every other visual and line of dialogue being some kind of joke. I'm still at a loss to explain why this method only works some of the time; an overactive sense of humor is usually indicative of a weak film, lacking in both story and characterization. But in some odd, inexplicable way, it works in this case. Maybe it's because the time travel aspect is almost always an interesting plot device. Maybe it's because the characters and visuals are at times very funny. Or maybe it's a matter of being in the mood for this kind of film. I'm just not sure.
Twelve-year-old science wiz Lewis (Daniel Hansen) is hoping to get adopted; as an infant, he was abandoned on the doorstep of an orphanage, left with no one to look after him other than Mildred (Angela Bassett), the kindly orphanage director. After over 100 failed interviews with potential parents, Lewis is beginning to give up hope. Part of the problem is that he tries to impress these couples by demonstrating his latest inventions. All go badly (we see him trying to work a supposedly hassle-free contraption that makes peanut butter and jelly sandwiches). He then decides to find his mother; the one person he feels will truly want him. It doesn't matter that no one knows who this woman is or what she looks like; Lewis saw her as an infant, and he's convinced that he can make that long dormant memory resurface.
He spends days building his memory device, much to the chagrin of his roommate, the petite baseball lover Michael "Goob" Yagoobian (Matthew Josten). He enters this device in a school science fair, not for the prestige, but for validation, as if to say his genius is all that matters. He does attract the attention of Wilbur (Wesley Singerman), a young teenager claiming to be from the future. He also claims that a man wearing a bowler hat is after Lewis. It takes a lot to convince Lewis of all this, namely the failure of his experiment, the damaging of the school gym, and the discovery of Wilbur's hovercraft (suspended in mid air, hidden by a cloaking device).
Thus begins Lewis' journey in the future. This part of the film relies on an intentional manipulation of the science fiction genre, harkening back to the pulp magazines of the 1920s and `30s. Back then, emphasis wasn't placed on plausible scientific possibilities; writers freely used their imaginations when it came to futuristic technologies, distant worlds, and alien races. The results were outlandish, but they were also amazing, so much so that the reader was usually incapable of criticizing anything unrealistic. "Meet the Robinsons" works in a similar way; when Lewis and Wilbur first arrive, the audience immediately understands that a realistic future doesn't come into play. Buildings are literally constructed in a matter of seconds; the resulting structures are tall and usually shaped like right triangles with rounded corners. "Jestons"-like vehicles float through the air, as do people (when contained within a massive soap bubble, that is). Long, twisty tubes snake over, around, and between structures. Such visuals are enhanced through sound, combining cartoonish whizzes, wirps, and boings with music by Danny Elfman.
Unbeknownst to Lewis, Wilbur brought him to the future in order to repair an alteration in the space-time continuum. Why Lewis needs to be involved at all, I dare not reveal; let's just say that he's a very important person. I will reveal that Wilbur was right about the man in the bowler hat (Stephen J. Anderson); he's a menacing Snidley Whiplash wannabe, with a long black cloak, a greasy mustache, and crooked, yellow teeth. He travels to the past with a robotic hat named Doris, hoping to steal Lewis' memory contraption and pass it off as his own. While he succeeds in obtaining the device, he has no idea how to work it. His only chance is to return to the future and kidnap Lewis. But that won't be so easy; attempts at using hypnotized animals all fail (a miniature, mind-controlling bowler hat attaches itself to both a frog and a T-Rex). Exactly why is he targeting Lewis? This is something else I will not reveal.
Such films are both fun and frustrating; while I enjoyed "Meet the Robinsons" as a whole, I was bothered by the over reliance on funnier material. This isn't to say that the film isn't funny; truth be told, parts of it will get some decent laughs. I just would have preferred something a bit more restrained, something that wasn't completely codependent on its sense of humor. Consider Dr. Krunklehorn (Laurie Metcalf), a judge at the school science fair; she kept herself awake for eight days with caffeine patches, and as you might expect, she's more than a little hyperactive. Moments like this would appeal more to children, who don't care about unnecessary characters. As an adult, I appreciated the subtle nods to the Disney franchise, such as a wide shot of a very Space Mountain-esque building (sitting behind a sign reading "Todayland"). I also appreciated the imaginative settings, the basic story, and the bright color scheme. For this, I'll give "Meet the Robinsons" four stars; while it isn't the most appealing Disney film, it's still an enjoyable experience.
Description of Meet the Robinsons [Blu-ray]
Studio: Buena Vista Home Video Release Date: 10/23/2007 Run time: 114 minutes Rating: PgBestsellers in DVD
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