Disfans

In honor of Meet the Robinsons, on DVD today, I’m reprinting my original review. This was from the 3D screening at our local theater. Enjoy the movie!!

I brought my kids (girl age 12, and boy age 8 ) to see the movie with some trepidation, having read a few reviews of this movie online, I had heard it suffered some from too many cooks syndrome, having so many writers.

We got there early to avoid crowds and make sure we got choice seats. There is nothing worse than trying to find a seat in a crowded theater in the dark, with 2 kids, popcorn and drinks. As a consequence of our early arrival, we didn’t receive 3D glasses, before we sat down. I hoped we’d soon find out why.

Other people arriving asked the same question, as they arrived laden with snacks, and one gentleman finally went out to find that later arrivals were getting their glasses on arrival. Soon a theater employee came in with an armful of 3D glasses.

Black horn-rimmed style glasses, which reminded me immediately of my father’s glasses, and a standard “Do not use as sunglasses” warning on the plastic overwrap. I was quite glad to see we all got fresh new pairs of 3D glasses and that they were not paper. These were sturdy plastic, and not uncomfortable to wear.

After the standard previews, we were treated to a visit by the Robinson’s robot, advising us to put our glasses on. A preview for The Nightmare Before Christmas in 3D (which my 8 year old boy found “scary”), was then followed by a Donald Duck short, which we are told was originally produced by Disney in 1953 as a 3D cartoon. “Working for Peanuts”, was a cartoon I had seen many times on television before, but I had never seen it in 3D, and had no idea it was originally produced that way.

Finally to the main feature. After all those previews, preliminaries and the cartoon short, it was finally time to see the movie.

I immediately took to the main character, Louis . He is the traditional Disney orphan, an endearingly sweet nerd who invents things in his room at the orphanage, while trying to get adopted. Its not going so well. He gets a brilliant idea for an invention to help him find his real Mom. It seems like a familiar theme for a Disney movie, with a sweet little orphan child looking for their parent, and maybe that’s why I sort of felt weary at this point. When the action begins, and Louis meets the protagonist, Wilbur, the movie took off for me.

I was anticipating a story that was confusing, with so many writers, but I found it easy to follow and very entertaining. My children loved it. Rather than a standard Disney adventure, with a problem and a resolution and happy ending, this was a rather convoluted story, with complex ideas and many characters. There were a LOT of characters to keep track of but I didn’t feel confused or befuddled even though I thought that some of their appearances were a bit fleeting. I thought the kids might have difficulty following this kind of “sci-fi” idea, but they got it, and enjoyed it. It was a very basic science fiction story, not that complex, but just enough of a twist on reality to make an enjoyable story. I’m not sure that smaller children would get it, but I might be wrong, my kids seemed to have no trouble with the idea. The basic idea of family and people who love you makes it easier to understand.

The message of the movie, “keep moving forward” is a great one, and I found it to be a refreshing one. I have been to a lot of kid movies, and the ones that try to give the kids a message are very annoying to me. The best way to ruin a movie, is to stop the action, or sabotage the cuteness and put a heavy message into it.

Meet the Robinsons puts a positive idea into a movie for kids, doesn’t preach it too hard, and makes an enjoyable story out of it. I really liked this movie, and the kids did too. We all enjoyed ourselves and I would love to buy this movie when it comes out on DVD. We laughed and yes, I teared up at the end, and then I teared up again when my son told me his favorite part was the end. I can’t tell you what happens, because that would ruin it for you.

I would recommend this movie to anyone. Even people who don’t have children might like this movie. We can all use a reminder to not let failure drag us down, and keep moving forward.