Despite the appalling failure of Chicken Little, Disney stuck to their plan to develop only computer animated films, continuing in 2007 with Meet the Robinsons. Though Disney had not yet mastered computer animation and was still unsure of how to reconcile their old style with the attitudes of the new millennium, the film does benefit from the fact that John Lasseter had recently become chief creative officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios, bringing with him his experience in computer animated films and a sense of creativity that Disney desperately needed. Consequently, Meet the Robinsons is a shaky movie of ups and downs, but at the end of the day, it’s hard to dislike it.
The computer animation is a definite step-up from Chicken Little, but of course, that’s not really saying much. The character designs are more in line with Disney’s style, much rounder and softer than the jagged, awkward ones of Chicken Little and the textures and backgrounds in particular are much more detailed. Initially, the animation still feels stilted and lifeless in comparison to Disney’s traditionally animated movies, but once the movie makes the move to the future, things get a lot crazier and, as a result, the animation is allowed to be a lot more exaggerated and energised. The overall design of the future has a kind of 50’s, retro-futuristic look to it that is really cool and suits the film’s tone well; as I said, the animation of the characters is better here, particularly non-human characters such as Carl, the robot, who are allowed to move in very imaginative ways. This creates a distinct difference between the past and future settings, which actually serves the film quite well in the long run, as the rather drab and weakly animated opening gives way to a much better animated second and third act, similar to the shift to anamorphic widescreen and brighter colours that appears in Brother Bear. The film is still lacking in the quality of Disney’s 2D animation, but it does manage to recreate some of its joy and charm.
Froggy Valli and the Four Seasons
Similarly, the film opens with a weak plot, a simple story about a misunderstood orphan who simply wants a family and decides to seek out his long-lost mother; the dialogue is incredibly weak and sappy and any attempts at humour are equally poor, resulting in a very boring first act. However, the story, like the animation, gets a lot better once the main characters travel to the future, due to the fact that things just kind of take a back-seat to the Robinson family and all the jokes one can squeeze out of them. The second act is basically just a lot of goofing around, with the third act bringing back the plot as our hero, Lewis, has to defeat the villain, fix the timeline and save his newfound family; it never returns to the dullness of the first act, however and when things do become emotional again, they no longer feel too sappy. Despite these emotional moments, the film is essentially a comedy and a very wacky one at that; it’s constantly throwing all different kinds of jokes at you, from visual gags, to physical humour, to adult jokes, to character based stuff, to weirdly specific references and while admittedly, many of them miss the mark, some of them really are funny and even the misses never flop too bad. Though not as funny as it wants to be, you have to admire the film’s almost constant efforts to get you to laugh, as they feel honest, rather than the cynical, phoned-in attempts at humour scattered throughout Chicken Little and Home on the Range.
Robinson P.I.
The characters are mostly shallow, one-note personalities, but intentionally so, for the sake of comedy, so you can cut the film some slack for not really having a very well developed cast. Lewis is a fairly typical Disney kid hero, he lost his family and feels like an outcast, searching for a place to belong, he has great ideas, but they are considered unconventional and ignored by others, he is a nice, ordinary guy who is capable of greater things than he expected yada yada it’s the same old stuff. He can be a bit bratty at times, but isn’t too bad and despite being a bit of a cliché, you do feel for him when it counts. Wilbur is cocky, mischievous and reckless, but isn’t quite as fun as he should be, he’s just a little too obnoxious and doesn’t always gel well with the rest of the cast; still, he never gets too irritating or anything and he definitely takes a step back in the second act to let the rest of his family shine. Bowler Hat Guy is a comically pathetic villain, but he works a lot better than recent examples such as Alameda Slim from Home on the Range. He has foundations in characters like Captain Hook, constantly scheming from the shadows and thinking highly of himself, but being outwitted by the heroes without even any visible effort, but I personally find him more enjoyable. Though he can at times be a little too much, I do think he’s pretty funny; he has a great design which looks like Dick Dastardly on meth and his movements are so gangly and awkward that it makes for some good visual humour. He actually has a back story too and while it is a simple one, it’s nice to see the actual reason a villain does what he does, rather than just because he’s evil and to have him redeemed in the end; his motivations and back story tie in well with the film’s message and central themes as well, strengthening his antagonistic role and relationship with the hero.
Sick Dastardly and Hattley
Doris is a good villainous sidekick and one of the type we don’t see very often from Disney: the much more competent partner who has no choice but to put up with their bumbling “leader”.Though she never talks and doesn’t have any facial expressions, the animators still manage to project a lot of personality through Doris, allowing for some impressive silent, physical humour and good interactions with Bowler Hat Guy; they make a good team. Carl is anxious, neurotic and a little sarcastic, kind of like a slightly more positive C-3PO; he doesn’t do that much and is a bit too loud, but is mostly a lot of fun when he’s on screen. As for the rest of the titular Robinsons, there’s a few too many for me to really go into them all in detail, so I’ll just say that they all have very distinct designs and personalities, with their own little quirks and comic attributes; they are shallow as individuals, but work well as a group of wacky, fun characters to bounce different jokes off of and the film’s energy jumps 100% when they’re around. Overall, not an especially interesting cast, but an enjoyable one.
Subtlety
Meet the Robinsons is hardly a great film and it stumbles a lot along the way, particularly in its tedious opening act, but it is much more likeable than the last couple of cynical, effortless pieces of drivel Disney had put out at the time. Unlike the soulless Home on the Range and the mean-spirited Chicken Little, Meet the Robinsons is positive, optimistic and eccentric, throwing out a lot of jokes that are overly wacky, but with some real gems hidden in there, alongside a moral that can at times be a bit too obvious and sentimental, but ultimately feels earned and even a little touching; even through all the weaker parts, I truly feel that the film believes in its own message - “Keep Moving Forward”. It’s nothing all that special, but overall I find it very sweet, good-natured and thankfully, entertaining.
5.5/10
Next Week: Bolt!
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Twitter: @JSChilds
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