10th April, 2007

DAVID ADAMS

Meet the Robinsons (G)

In a word: Quirky

MEET THE ROBINSONS: Aunt Petunia & Uncle Fritz, Cousin Tallulah, Cousin Lazsio, Uncle Art, Uncle Gaston, Uncle Joe (seated), Aunt Billy, Grandma Lucille, Grandpa Bud, Lewis, Franny, Wilbur Robinson, Uncle Spike & Uncle Dimitri (back, in planter), and Carl.

This is certainly not your average animated tale. While it starts off in a familiar pattern - orphaned boy trying to find his way in the world and answer questions about his past,

Meet the Robinsons quickly takes some strange turns. And while this may leave the viewer momentarily wondering where on earth the film is going, perseverance is ultimately rewarded.

Disney’s Meet the Robinsons is a curiosity of a film, filled with strange characters which nonetheless bring a vague sense of something familiar to the screen (maybe it’s that Disney influence).

Set largely in a futuristic world, this fast-paced film follows the story of Lewis (voiced by Daniel Hansen and Jordan Fry), a 12-year-old boy genius who invents a memory-scanner that he hopes will help him to find his mother.

But he is soon sought out by a time-travelling boy called Wilbur Robinson (Wesley Singerman) who has come back from the future to warn him that his invention is being sought by the malignant “Bowler Hat Guy” (voiced by the film’s director, Stephen J. Anderson) and his nasty sidekick, Doris the Bowler Hat, for dark purposes. Thus the scene is set for a time-traveling adventure that will leave you spinning.

Breaking with the current trend, the movie doesn’t rely on star voices to draw the crowds (at least not stars that are readily recognise by us, the masses). Nor is it generally a guffaw-out-loud type of flick (although there are certainly some funny moments). Instead, a big part of its appeal - and part of the reason why the film had garnered such good reviews generally - lies in the fact that it’s available in 3D (though sadly not at my local cinema), representing what a new technological breakthrough.

But even if you can’t see it in 3D, Meet the Robinsons is nonetheless an enjoyable and whimsical film filled with bright and zany characters that will entertain keep the kids entertained and has enough plot oomph for adults to enjoy it as well.