Cinema - Meet the Robinsons

You would be forgiven for thinking that ‘Meet the Robinsons’ was the latest instalment in the series that has given us ‘Meet the Parents’ and its self-consciously-comically titled sequel, ‘Meet the Fokkers’. In fact, Disney’s latest animated feature bears no relationship to these near namesakes, (although the film’s sound-a-like title could be considered an unconsciously ironic allusion to its somewhat derivative status). Critically the film has not fared altogether well, facing charges of a lack of originality, an overcomplicated plot structure and an excess of characters.
In brief, the central character, Lewis, is a twelve-year old orphan longing for a family of his own after 100-odd adoption meetings have resulted in rejection. His creative overdrive for inventing things apparently keeps putting adoptees off. Then one day, a boy from the future (who later turns out to be his son) whisks him to the year 2037 where he is introduced to the dysfunctional family of his dreams, the Robinsons (his future family). Meanwhile in 2007 a bowler-hatted villain has stolen one of Lewis’s inventions and is trying to put it to misuse (see what I mean about the plot twists?). Lewis’s job is to return to his own time, save the day and thus restore the natural order of things, aided by the emotional boost his foray into the future has given him. The moral lurking in the narrative fog? Look to the future and don’t dwell on the failures of the past, or something. Look out for the 3D effects scene, though, for the overwhelming redeeming feature. ER