Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4221 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-09-10
• Rating: Universal, suitable for all
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 91 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Developing positive self-esteem and persevering in the face of difficulties are fundamental parts of growing up, but when 12-year old orphan Lewis (Daniel Hansen and Jordan Fry) can't seem to get adopted or make his inventions work despite repeated efforts, he begins to seriously doubt himself and his abilities as an inventor. A CGI picture by Disney with great animation and a fresh vision of what the future might look like, Meet The Robinsons follows Lewis from his lonesome days at the orphanage to his crushing failure at the school science fair when his newly invented memory scanner won't work. Then, an odd boy named Wilbur Robinson (Wesley Singerman) shows up to warn Lewis about the mysterious "Bowler Hat Guy" (Stephen J Anderson) lurking around the science fair, an evil man Wilbur claims is from the future. The next thing Lewis knows, he and Wilbur are on route to the future via time machine. Once there, Lewis meets the very quirky, extended Robinson family with whom he feels oddly at home. As the search for the Bowler Hat Man and his constant companion Doris (Ethan Sandler) becomes more and more dangerous, the Robinson family becomes crucial in keeping Lewis safe.

In the end, Lewis returns to the present with a whole new inner strength, a sense of his place in the world, the knowledge that his actions directly affect others, and an optimistic determination to "keep moving forward." While comparisons with the Back to the Future films are inevitable, Meet the Robinsons stands apart from its predecessors as its own, thoroughly entertaining family film. --Tami Horiuchi

Synopsis
Based on William Joyce's beautifully illustrated children's book A DAY WITH WILBUR ROBINSON, this lively computer-animated Disney film follows the adventures of Lewis (voiced by Jordan Fry and Daniel Hansen), a young orphaned inventor who is determined to find his birth mother by using a 'memory scanner', a device of his own creation. When Lewis meets a boy from the year 2037 named Wilbur Robinson (Wesley Singerman), they begin a charmingly strange time-travelling journey that involves Wilbur’s eccentric family, bowler hats bent on world domination, song-and-dance frogs, and a frustrated Tyrannosaurus Rex. Boasting the debut of cutting-edge 3D technology, MEET THE ROBINSONS is helmed by first-time feature-film director Stephen J. Anderson, who also voices numerous characters, including the moustachioed villain, Bowler Hat Guy. (Other notable vocal actors include Angela Bassett, Tom Selleck, Adam West, Harland Williams, and Laurie Metcalf.) MEET THE ROBINSONS also marks Pixar head John Lasseter's first outing as an executive producer on a non-Pixar movie, resulting in a film that features some of that company's signature energy and wit, but stands on its own outside of that universe. While MEET THE ROBINSONS' literally all-over-the-place plot can be a little difficult to follow at times, its stunning retro-futuristic visuals and amiably wacky characters easily keep viewers entertained.

Customer Reviews

Funny Futuristic Film for Families
Lewis is an orphan. He was left on the steps of an orphanage almost 13 years ago by his mother. His deepest wish is to be part of a family. He has had lots of adoption interviews, but he always seems to scare off his perspective parents with his latest invention.

See, he's a genius. He's got these great ideas; they just don't quite work right, usually resulting in a mess. But this time, he's got just the thing. He's invented a memory retriever. He just knows it will win the science fair.

But there's a strange boy at the science fair. He claims his name is Wilbur and he's from the future. Wilbur is there to stop Bowler Hat Guy, also from the future. But he won't tell Lewis what BHG is planning.

When Lewis' invention malfunctions, he's crushed. But Wilbur shows up again, telling him to keep working on it. And to prove he's from the future, Wilbur takes Lewis there, only to have them crash land the time machine.

Meanwhile, BHG is trying to sell Lewis' invention as his own. Will he succeed? Does the machine work? Will Lewis get home? Does he want to?

This movie is an over the top comedy. Wilbur's family, while lovable, is also extremely strange. Silly yet fun. But the funniest character of all is BHG. He appears to have learned how to be a villain from the melodrama school of villainy. He comes complete with the black cape, mustache, and menacing laugh. I honestly felt like I needed to boo him when he appeared. Yet he is completely stupid, too. I haven't laughed that hard at a character in a long time.

While the movie was extremely funny, the plot was a little weak. I'm not bothered by predictable plots (which this was). What bothered me here was how simple it was. It needed to lose a few of the jokes for another twist or a better climax.

Saving the movie is the character of Lewis. I truly felt for him very early on and spent the rest of the film rooting for him.

The voice cast is mostly unknowns with one or two exceptions. This harkens back to the Disney of old that used a voice because it was right and not because it was already a name. The animation is fine without doing anything extraordinary.

Then there's the theme. Over the course of the movie, Lewis learns that you have to keep looking forward. You can't live in the regrets of the past or look at your failures. And you can't stop because of one success. You must keep pressing on. After the movie ends, they throw a quote from Walt Disney up talking about that very thing. I think they were making a point to fans like me who are upset with some of the changes they have made to the company in the last decade. And, while I hope they don't forget their past, I get their point. So I guess I must let them keep moving forward.

The movie is silly and will easily appeal to kids. Yet it isn't so stupid that it will turn off parents. And the underlying theme is good (even if I am reading too much into it.) This won't go down as a classic, but there are worse ways to spend an hour and a half.

Meet teh Robinsons, the best kids film since Shrek 2
I first had the pleasure of watching this film on holiday, and I must say i'm addicted. The surreal and hilarious film about Lewis, the orphan inventor and his adventures in the future when he gets stuck there. The humor is fast, the setting (and the Robinsons themsleves) brilliantly imagined, and the villan is absolutely ace. you can't help but love him and his bowler hat sidekick, Doris. (Yes, you heard me right).
There are some moments of comic genius (just look out for what the frog and T-rex say - it had me in stitches) - but it is a kids film. It blatantly is, and that's what charges it with such energy. It can be enjoyed by anyone.
Not only that, but it's got a few twists in it that you really don't see coming (and a couple you do).
Either way- a throughly enjoyable way to find your inner child :)

Here's to you Jnr Robinson
Rather adult themes and style dominate the 47th animated Disney feature, as aspiring inventor and abandoned baby Lewis despairs of ever being adopted and spends his days at the children's home devising new inventions and terrorizing would be foster parents with them. When he meets a time-travelling boy from the future he ends up in 2037 where he meets the eccentric Robinson family and tries to prevent the sinister `Bowler hat guy' from ruining his future.

This witty and charming fantasy proposes possible dystopian futures and lots of time-travelling shenanigans that can get pretty confusing at times. It's hard to say much more without spoiling the ending but in true Disney style the finale is both breathtaking and mildly schmaltzy.

Voice artists include Tom Selleck, Adam West and Angela Bassett, and the movie rattles along at a fair pace with little room for a proper plot or character development. Nevertheless, it is a diverting and enjoyable fantasy romp that will keep you involved from start to finish; it may just go over the heads of kids under 10.