It’s Film
Strip Friday!
Meet the
Robinsons
Release
Date March 30th, 2005
Join a
brilliant young inventor named Lewis as he sets off on a time-traveling journey
to find the family he never knew. In the fantastical world of 2037, hip-hoppin'
frogs and dogs that wear glasses are as common as talking dinosaurs. In an
amazing twist, Lewis discovers that the fate of the future rests in his hands,
but he can't save it alone -- he'll need every bit of help he can get from the
wonderfully wacky Robinson family, who help him learn to keep moving forward
and never stop believing in himself.
FUN FACTS:
Meet the Robinsons is a 2007 American computer-animated family film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures on March 30, 2007. The 47th 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 Blue-ray on October 23, 2007.
Plot
Lewis is an aspiring young inventor at an orphanage whose
inventions have been scaring off potential parents. He decides that his mother
is the only one who truly loves him and works on a machine to scan his memory
to locate her. Unfortunately, this keeps his roommate Michael "Goob"
Yagoobian awake, which then causes Goob to fall asleep during an important Little
League game.
Taking his memory scanner to his school's science fair,
Lewis meets Wilbur Robinson, a mysterious boy claiming to be a time cop from
the future. Wilbur needs to recover a time machine that a man wearing a bowler
hat has stolen. Lewis tries to demonstrate the scanner, but it falls apart,
throwing the science fair into chaos. Upset, Lewis leaves while the Bowler Hat
Guy, with the help of a robotic bowler hat named Doris, repairs and steals the
scanner.
Wilbur meets Lewis at the orphanage and asks him to
repair the scanner. Lewis agrees to do so only if Wilbur can prove he is
telling the truth, which Wilbur does by taking them to the year 2037 in a
second time machine. When they arrive, however, Lewis says he can use the time
machine instead of the scanner, and he and Wilbur get into an argument and
crash. Wilbur then asks Lewis to fix the time machine, but Lewis has another
condition: Wilbur has to take him to visit his mother afterward. Reluctantly,
Wilbur agrees and hides Lewis in the garage. Lewis doesn't stay there for long,
however, and ends up meeting the rest of the Robinsons except for Cornelius,
Wilbur's father.
Following Lewis, the Bowler Hat Guy and Doris
unsuccessfully try to kidnap him. Meanwhile, the Robinsons offer to adopt
Lewis, but change their mind when they learn that he's from the past. Wilbur
also admits to lying to Lewis about taking him back to see his mom, causing
Lewis to run off in disgust.
Lewis then discovers that the Bowler Hat Guy is a grown-up
version of Goob. After losing the Little League game, Goob had become so bitter
that he was never adopted and remained in the orphanage long after it closed.
Doris was "DOR-15," one of Lewis' failed and abandoned inventions.
They both blamed Lewis for their misfortunes and decided to ruin his career by
stealing the memory scanner and claiming credit for it. Leaving Lewis behind,
they take off with the scanner, drastically altering the future to a world
minus Wilbur and dominated by Doris clones. Lewis repairs the second time
machine, goes to confront Doris and destroys her by promising to never invent
her, restoring the future to its utopian self.
Back in Wilbur's time, Lewis finally meets Cornelius, who
is a grown-up version of Lewis. Cornelius explains how the memory scanner had
started their successful career, which persuades Lewis to return to the science
fair. Wilbur takes Lewis back, but makes one stop first: as he promised, he
takes Lewis back to when his mother abandoned him. Lewis nearly stops her from
leaving the infant at the orphanage, but decides not to, explaining to Wilbur
that he already has a family.
Wilbur drops Lewis off in his own time and leaves. Lewis
heads to the fair, but enroute wakes up Goob just in time for him to make the
winning catch. Back at the fair, Lewis asks for one more chance to demonstrate
his scanner, which this time succeeds. He is adopted by Lucille, one of the
science fair judges, and her husband Bud, who nickname him
"Cornelius" and take him to their home. As Lewis leaves, he turns and
waves at Goob, who is also leaving the orphanage with a family of his own and a
Little League trophy. The movie ends with a quote by Walt Disney containing
Lewis/Cornelius' motto: "Keep Moving Forward."
Cast
- Jordan
Fry as Lewis. Nik Ranieri served as the supervising animator for Lewis.
- Daniel
Hansen voiced a younger version of Lewis.
- Wesley
Singerman as Wilbur Robinson. Dale Baer served as the supervising animator
for Wilbur.
- Steve Anderson
as:
- The
Bowler Hat Guy. Dick Zondaq served as the supervising animator for the
Bowler Hat Guy.
- Grandpa
Bud
- Cousin
Tallulah. Randy Haycock served as the supervising animator for Tallulah.
- Nicole
Sullivan as Franny Robinson. Randy Haycock served as the supervising
animator for Franny.
- Jessie
Flower voiced Franny as a child.
- Harland
Williams as Carl
- Angela
Bassett as Mildred. Ruben A. Aquino served as the supervising animator for
Mildred.
- Matthew
Josten as Michael "Goob" Yagoobian
- Laurie
Metcalf as Lucille Krunklehorn
- Ethan
Sandler as:
- DOR-15
(Doris). Jay N. Davis served as the supervising animator for Doris.
- Uncle
Fritz and Aunt Petunia. Randy Haycock served as the supervising animator
for Fritz and Petunia.
- Uncle
Dimitri and Uncle Spike
- Cousin
Laszlo. Randy Haycock served as the supervising animator for Laszlo.
- The CEO
of InventCo.
- Don Hall
as Uncle Gaston. Jason Anastas served as the supervising animator for
Gaston.
- Hall
also provided the voice of the Gym Coach.
- Kelly Hoover
as Aunt Billie
- Adam West
as Uncle Art
- Tom Kenny
as Mr. Willerstein. Ruben A. Aquino served as the supervising animator for
Mr. Willerstein.
- Tracey
Miller-Zarneke as Lizzy
- Joe Mateo
as Tiny
- Aurian
Redson as Frankie the Frog
- Jamie
Cullum as Frankie the Frog (singing voice)
- Tom
Selleck as Cornelius
- Paul
Butcher as Stanley
- Dara
McGarry as InventCo Receptionist, Mrs. Harrington
- John H.
H. Ford as Mr. Harrington
- Nathan
Greno as Lefty
Additional Voices by Cameron Covell, Cooper Cowgill,
David Cowgill, Makeena Cowgill, Terri Douglas, Jackie Gonneau, Mick Hazen,
Shannon O'Connor, Jordan Del Spina, Lynwood Robinson, Grace Rolek, Greyson
Spann, Krista Swan, and Fred Tatasciore.
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 did not 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.
Release
Over 600 REAL D Cinema digital 3D-equipped theaters
presented Disney Digital 3-D version of the film. The 3D version was preceded
by the 1953 Chip ‘n Dale 3D short Working for Peanuts. The final credits of the
3D version were left two-dimensional, except for the names of those who
converted the film to 3D.
Home
video
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. 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 and Blu-ray. 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.
Reception
Critical
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. Metacritic reported the
film had an average score of 61 out of 100, based on 27 reviews.
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". 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". 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". Kyle Smith of the New York Post named it the 10th
best film of 2007.
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", while Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a
"C" and said "This is one bumpy ride".
Box
office
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.
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.
Track list:
All music composed by Danny Elfman, except as noted.
|
No.
|
Title
|
Artist
|
Length
|
|
|
1.
|
"Another
Believer"
|
Rufus Wainwright
|
4:39
|
|
|
2.
|
"Little Wonders"
|
Rob Thomas
|
3:45
|
|
|
3.
|
"The Future
Has Arrived"
|
The All-American
Rejects
|
3:05
|
|
|
4.
|
"Where Is
Your Heart At?" (written by Rufus Wainwright)
|
Jamie Cullum
|
2:23
|
|
|
5.
|
"The Motion
Waltz (Emotional Commotion)"
|
Rufus Wainwright
|
2:35
|
|
|
6.
|
"Give Me
the Simple Life"
|
Jamie Cullum
|
2:04
|
|
|
7.
|
"The
Prologue"
|
1:24
|
||
|
8.
|
"To the
Future!"
|
1:16
|
||
|
9.
|
"Meeting
the Robinsons"
|
1:56
|
||
|
10.
|
"The
Science Fair"
|
2:47
|
||
|
11.
|
"Goob's
Story"
|
1:01
|
||
|
12.
|
"A Family
United"
|
1:37
|
||
|
13.
|
"Pop Quiz
and the Time Machine Montage"
|
3:45
|
||
|
14.
|
"The Evil
Plan"
|
4:13
|
||
|
15.
|
"Doris Has
Her Day"
|
4:58
|
||
|
16.
|
"Setting
Things Right"
|
6:00
|
||
|
17.
|
"There’s a
Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow"
|
They Might Be Giants
|
2:00
|
|
|
18.
|
"Kids of
the Future"
|
Jonas Brothers
|
3:18
|
|
|
Total length:
|
52:46
|
|||
The song "This Much Fun" by Cowboy Mouth, which
was featured in the trailer for this movie, was not featured in the movie or on
the soundtrack. The song "There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow" was
originally from the Disneyland attraction General Electric's Carousel of
Progress.
Video
games
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 Game Boy Advance Video.
