MEET THE ROBINSONS (2007) - Directed by Stephen J. Anderson

PLOT: Twelve-year old orphan Lewis is a brilliant inventor who has no luck when it comes to his projects, let alone getting adopted. In comes Wilbur Robinson, a self-proclaimed kid from the future, who has a warning for Lewis about an invention. Wilbur ends up taking Lewis back to the future (no pun intended), which apparently is a big time-traveling no-no, and hijinks ensue as we and Lewis..."Meet The Robinsons".

REVIEW: Yes, this is a Disney movie geared towards the kiddies and people who think the commercial with the T. Rex and his small arms are funny. And yes, this movie is predictable. But you know what? It was enjoyable, had very good computer-animation, very good voice actors, and I had a fun time watching it. I will admit that there were plenty of times where the rest of the audience was laughing at the action on the screen and I wasn't, and vice versa, but that just means that there's something in this movie for everybody. Right?

Like I said, "Meet The Robinsons" is a computer-animated movie by Disney, but it's not a Pixar movie. Despite that fact, it was a very colorful and entrancing movie as far as the visuals went. I liked the writer's ideas of the future (people commune via bubbles, robots like C-3PO are wise-cracking servants, and buildings are erected in three seconds flat) as well as the wacky family that Wilbur Robinson had. Kids liked the movie as far as I could tell, and plenty of college-age students were in attendance, too. I think the strongest thing about this movie was the fact that it stayed away from the usual social references like in the "Shrek" movies and stayed within its own story.

Other pros, and a few cons, about this movie include the villian - "Bowler Hat Guy". I liked this dude. He was stupid and funny, yet not too stupid-funny, if that makes any sense. Basically he made me laugh the most. I also liked how the writers made sure that the whole time-space continuum plot didn't get confusing. Well done! On the flip side, the movie was predictable in my mind (saw the plot's main twist about fifteen minutes into the movie), and I also didn't believe that just making Lewis wear a hat as a disguise would keep some of the main players from figuring things out. But that's just me.

Overall, "Robinsons" was a cute, funny Disney movie (especially with a reference to real-life actor Tom Selleck) that sadly will almost be completely forgotten by me by the time Disney's next animated movie, "Ratatouille", comes out. But with that said, it got the job done and I enjoyed watching it.

ACTING: Since this WAS a CG-animated movie, there isn't much to say as far as actual "acting" goes. Makes this review easier though! The voice acting was good. I was thrown by the fact that there were two kids who voiced Lewis (Daniel Hansen and Jordan Fry) but they both did well. I guess. I liked that television's first Batman, Adam West, was the voice of one of the Robinson clan as a pizza delivering uncle, as well as the fact that Tom Selleck actual voices a key character (can't say who, cuz that would ruin something). Oh yeah, and the director did a number of the voices too, including Bowler Hat Guy.

DIRECTING: Um...I really don't know how to critique an animated movie's director, so I'll just give him props based on the fact that it was a sharp looking movie. I'd especially like to see this movie in the way it was meant to be seen - Disney 3D. That's right! It's a 3D movie! But I saw it on a regular screen with a regular projector, so boo that. But good job Mr. Anderson!

RATING REASON: Rated G. Why? Cuz it's a freakin' Disney animated movie, that's why. There's nothing here to garner anything even close to making sure kids as old as 3 don't see it.

THE FINAL WORD: If you enjoy Disney movies then you'll probably like this one. It's not my favorite CG movie of all-time, but I did enjoy it and I laughed/smiled at numerous things. Again, predictable, but that's not a real bad thing. As far as kiddie movies go, I'd give this one THREE STARS (out of four).

TRIVIA:
-- The music for "Robinsons" was done by Tim Burton fave Danny Elfman.
-- One of the characters, Frankie the Frog, is a tribute to Frank Sinatra. Go figure.
-- SPOILER ALERT: Tom Selleck makes a voice cameo as an adult Lewis.