Release Date: March 30, 2007
Director: Stephen J. Anderson
Starring: Jordan Fry, Angela Bassett, Daniel Hansen, Matthew Josten, Nicole Sullivan, Dara McGarry, Laurie Metcalf, Wesley Singerman, Steve Anderson
Favorite quote: “If my parents figured out I brought you from the past, they’ll bury me alive and dance on my grave!” – Wilbur
I had planned to write about The Emperor’s New Groove in this entry. The reason was simple: Cousin Jose hasn’t seen it; I think it’s a great movie. I wanted to shame him into watching it like I shamed Punisher into watching Serenity in my first Have You Seen…? However, The Emperor’s New Groove is not a good candidate for this series. It’s a fun movie despite starring David Spade, lots of people love it, and Cousin Jose is a terrible person for not watching it.
So that’s it. The Emperor’s New Groove is great. Cousin Jose, stop being a lazy fatass and watch it! There. Shaming over. On to Meet the Robinsons!
During the torrent of quality movies that Pixar unleashed in the 2000s, there were other Disney animated movies that seemed to fall through the cracks. Coincidentally, The Emperor’s New Groove was not one of them. (Seriously, Jose, watch the fucking movie!) Meet the Robinsons, however, seems to have. It was released three months before Pixar’s Ratatouille, which garnered much more acclaim. During its opening weekend, it was beaten out by Blades of Glory. Rotten Tomatoes, for what it’s worth, has it at 66% on its Tomatometer. Let’s just say that the movie wasn’t beloved on release.
It’s an absolute shame, because Meet the Robinsons is a very charming, if mostly formulaic, Disney animated feature.
The story centers on Lewis (Jordan Fry / Daniel Hansen), an orphaned 12-year-old child with a hankering for science and invention. His love for invention is so great that it keeps scaring off adoptive parents, who just want a regular kid. This pushes him to create a mind scanner that he hopes he can use to help him see his biological mother, who he feels is the only person who truly loves him.
When his mind scanner malfunctions during his school’s science fair, Lewis abandons his scanner and leaves in anger. However, Wilbur Robinson (Wesley Singerman) confronts Lewis, tells him he’s from the future, and that the mind scanner is actually very important for his future. When Lewis scoffs, Wilbur produces a time machine and jets him forward to his time. The rest of the movie concerns their quest to retrieve the mind scanner, which was taken by a Bowler Hat Guy (Stephen J. Anderson), and save the future.
As I said above, the movie is quite formulaic. The plot threads are mundane and the twists are all easily spotted beforehand. Some of the gags fall short as well. For the most part, this could be yet another forgettable animated movie. The biggest problem with this movie, though, is that it’s utterly forgettable. I watched the movie again prior to writing because I remembered very little about it.
So why do I enjoy it so much? Because the movie has so much charm it’s disgusting. And the biggest chunk of charm can be found with the eponymous Robinsons. The future family Lewis meets is absolutely bonkers, and they are wonderfully so. Every single one of them, from Grandpa Bud (Steve Anderson) and Lucille (Laurie Metcalf) right on down to Franny (Nicole Sullivan) and her singing frog Frankie (Aurian Redson), is crazy as hell and ultra-charming in the process. (Frankie is not crazy; he’s like an amphibian take on a young Frank Sinatra.) I love watching this nutty troupe go about their lives in their house, which doubles as a parlor house full of tricks.
Other characters show similar charm, including orphanage matron Mildred (Angela Bassett) and Lewis’s perennially tortured roommate “Goob” Yagoobian (Matthew Josten). While many of their lines and motivations are cookie-cutter as hell, you find yourself feeling for many of these characters. At least I did.
Like Blind Date, I classify Meet the Robinsons as one of those “guilty pleasure” movies that many people dislike but I enjoy. It’s far from a classic – 2007’s Ratatouille is much closer to that – but it’s charming as hell. It’s currently on my youngest great-nephew’s movie rotation, and I think it’s a movie worth watching at least once.
