Meet the Robinsons

Meet the Robinsons was obviously made for children, small children, with no appreciation for a good storyline and with the attention span of ferrets. Since I do not have children nor am I a child (despite what my ex-girlfriends might say), I found it to be quite boring and inane. Lacking the clever wit of other cartoon CGI fare (mostly Pixar's) and having a shallow story, the movie just sinks to a shotgun blast of jokes directed towards the lowest common denominator.

Now I don't necessarily dislike rapid-fire comedy (I did used to like Robin Williams after all), but the jokes in Meet the Robinsons mostly fall flat. I found Lewis, the main character, to be rather annoying and not endearing at all, and at times I just wanted to smack him (as non-PC as that may sound).

The story is predictable and the characters' behaviors and reactions are your standard fare. Director Stephen J. Anderson's resume is thin at best, and his and fellow screenwriter Michelle Bochner's previous writing experience consist of one episode of "Will and Grace." I think the movie would have tremendously benefited from the addition of a Jack and Karen and some adult gay humor. Oh well, perhaps in the next Disney flick... ;)

Your kids will probably enjoy it, but then again, they would probably enjoy an hour long episode of monkeys jumping up and down to The Wiggles (as I know I would). There are so many better offerings of children's fare, however, so why bother? There *is* the positive message of "We can make the world a better place through creativity, hard work, and uppers!" So at least it has that going for it. The CGI's not bad either, but it's nothing new or great.


Meet the Robinsons (2007)
Starring: Various
Directed by: Stephen J. Anderson

(3 out of 7 skinks)