Product Description

Have the "time" of your life with Disney's fun-filled comedy MEET THE ROBINSONS, a thrilling adventure that takes you to a whole new world full of imagination and surprises. It's "a masterpiece," raves John Anderson of "Newsday." Join a brilliant young inventor named Lewis as he sets off on a time-traveling journey to find the family he never knew. In the fantastical world of 2037, hip-hoppin' frogs and dogs that wear glasses are as common as talking dinosaurs. In an amazing twist, Lewis discovers that the fate of the future rests in his hands, but he can't save it alone -- he'll need every bit of help he can get from the wonderfully wacky Robinson family, who help him learn to keep moving forward and never stop believing in himself. Blast off with MEET THE ROBINSONS -- complete with never-before-seen bonus features, including an all-new game, deleted scenes and much more. It's an exciting trip your whole family will enjoy!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2729 in DVD
• Brand: Buena Vista Home Video
• Released on: 2007-10-23
• Rating: G (General Audience)
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: Animated, Digital Sound, Dolby, Dubbed, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Dubbed in: French, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 95 minutes

Features

• Have the "time" of your life with Disney's fun-filled comedy MEET THE ROBINSONS, a thrilling adventure that takes you to a whole new world full of imagination and surprises. It's "a masterpiece," raves John Anderson of "Newsday." Join a brilliant young inventor named Lewis as he sets off on a time-traveling journey to find the family he never knew. In the fantastica

Amazon.com
Developing positive self-esteem and persevering in the face of difficulties are fundamental parts of growing up, but when 12-year old orphan Lewis (Daniel Hansen and Jordan Fry) can't seem to get adopted or make his inventions work despite repeated efforts, he begins to seriously doubt himself and his abilities as an inventor. A CGI picture by Disney with great animation and a fresh vision of what the future might look like, Meet The Robinsons follows Lewis from his lonesome days at the orphanage to his crushing failure at the school science fair when his newly invented memory scanner won't work. Then, an odd boy named Wilbur Robinson (Wesley Singerman) shows up to warn Lewis about the mysterious "Bowler Hat Guy" (Stephen J Anderson) lurking around the science fair, an evil man Wilbur claims is from the future. The next thing Lewis knows, he and Wilbur are on route to the future via time machine. Once there, Lewis meets the very quirky, extended Robinson family with whom he feels oddly at home. As the search for the Bowler Hat Man and his constant companion Doris (Ethan Sandler) becomes more and more dangerous, the Robinson family becomes crucial in keeping Lewis safe. In the end, Lewis returns to the present with a whole new inner strength, a sense of his place in the world, the knowledge that his actions directly affect others, and an optimistic determination to "keep moving forward." While comparisons with the Back to the Future films are inevitable, Meet the Robinsons stands apart from its predecessors as its own, thoroughly entertaining family film. (Ages 4 and older)

Included is the seven-minute 1938 short Mickey Mouse's Boat Builder in which Mickey Mouse, Goofy, and Donald Duck order and assemble a do-it-yourself boat kit and launch an impressive ocean liner dubbed the "Queen Minnie." Needless to say, hilarity reigns throughout and following the boat-building process. --Tami Horiuchi

Customer Reviews

An Excellent Disney Film For The Geeky Kid In All of Us!!
We saw "Meet the Robinsons" in the 3-D version at the theater and my kids laughed about it for days. Too bad they couldn't release the DVD in the 3-D version, but it's still an excellent film for children. Personally, I also loved hearing the voice of Adam West in the film.

The film is based loosely on William Joyce's, A Day with Wilbur Robinson. If you haven't read the book, I highly recommend it. William Joyce ALSO was the artist behind Rolie Polie Olie series. The book is quite different from the film, but there are direct parallels. For instance, there is no orphanage theme in the original book and no Bowler Hat Guy. However, many of the other characters are present in both. Stylistically, the book and the movie have a pronounced retro- animation/cartoon feel to them. It is a very refreshing artistic style to watch and makes for a unique animated film.

The DVD contains a fairly extensive set of features, but nothing out of the ordinary. For future releases of children's videos, I'd suggest adding a reading of the original book. In the few DVD's we've purchased with this feature, it's encouraged my children to read the actual book.

I highly recommend this DVD for your child's video library. It's a film enjoyable by both adults and children. The film is funny and presents a very clear message about the need to celebrate our human differences and stresses the importance of family and friends(adopted or otherwise).

Past, Present, and Future Weave Entertaining Flight
Evaluating `Meet the Robinsons' depends on whether you entered the theater offering 3-D glasses. Either way you receive excellent family entertainment, even if there are elements of the film you've seen before. Resembling an animated version of `Back to the Future' or `Peggy Sue Got Married,' `Meet the Robinsons' is a briskly based, nicely woven tale about belonging and achieving.

Starting we find the typical desperate mother leaving her baby on the orphanage steps. Her son Louis becomes a nervous inventor at the orphanage and a nuisance to everyone, especially his long-suffering roommate, Goob. Having an intellectual disposition doesn't help him in adoption interviews, and ingenious inventions that seldom work, don't endear him at school. Add to that a pure villain comes upon his scene, known as "Bowler Hat Man" (Whose hat makes him like a nimble, but less scary nemesis comparable to "Dr. Oct".) his life comes into disarray at science fair he's finally sure he'll win.

Using time travel well and peril and humor that truly entertain, `..Robinsons' message to always persevere and the plot's neat and heart-felt resolution will make every family member smile.

(This being my first 3-D adventure that actually worked certainly gave the movie a lift, too!)

What Makes A Family A Family?
"Meet The Robinsons" is the latest computer-animated Disney fare to hit the big screen. While I found it very enjoyable and full of wonderful moments, I also found it lacking in a number of areas. I'm torn between giving this film three or four stars but, being the Disney fan that I am, I rounded my score up. The film opens with a Disney short featuring Mickey, Goofy, and Donald attempting to put a boat together. It's very funny and my young daughter really enjoyed it. From there, we are given a very somber opening to "Meet The Robinsons" where a woman leaves her son on the steps of a local orphanage. We then jump ahead twelve years to find the youngster, Lewis, attempting to perfect his latest invention. Along for the ride is his roommate, Goob, who is always tired due to Lewis' escapades and his baseball game suffers due to his lack of sleep. Lewis attempts to impress families with his inventions in hopes that it will somehow help him get adopted. The results are usually disastrous.

Knowing that he isn't getting any younger, Lewis creates an invention that he thinks will tap into his memory banks so that he can remember what his mother looks like and then seek her out. He presents his creation at the local school science fair but, as with most of his other inventions, things go awry. At the science fair he runs into a young boy name Wilbur who claims to be from the future and is tracking down the sinister "Bowler Hat Guy" who stole another time machine. From there, Lewis is whisked into the future where he runs into the Robinson family. They're a quirky bunch to say the least, but here's where my first real problem with the film is. None of the Robinsons are fully fleshed out. We are given hints as to who they are but we never really get to know them because there are just too many of them. As the rest of the story unfolds and we find out exactly why "Bowler Hat Guy" is doing what he's doing, we are left without really getting to know any of the characters except for Lewis.

My second problem with this film is that the story seems to be needle-thin and expanded over the complete running time of the film by way of overdone moments of silliness. Had the writers given us a little more depth in a few more of the characters and left out some of the sometimes boring slapstick moments that really didn't relate to the film, "Meet the Robinsons" would have been a better film.

With that said, there are many highlights that make this film worthy of multiple viewings. For one, the relationship between Lewis and the Robinsons has a number of very sentimental moments. His roommate Goob, ever depressed, also steals a few of the scenes that he is in. The T-Rex used so much in the film's trailers actually has a very brief role, but is another bright spot for the movie. The voice casting was excellent as well, with one very special voice appearance near the end of the film. There are also hints at Disneyland, Disney World, and a few inside laughs for fans of Disney. Finally, the conclusion to the film has vintage Walt Disney written (literally) all over it. I just wish the film as a whole could have kept up with its high points.

Overall, this is a very enjoyable movie that suffers from lulls in action, poor character development, and a lack of solid direction. However, it manages to hold your attention for the most part, hits you in the heart perfectly at times, and screams nostalgia at moments. It'll probably make its way to my DVD collection when it finally leaves the big screen, but you might want to check it at the movies before you decide to purchase a private copy later down the road.