Today’s Prayer Focus
MOVIE REVIEW

Meet the Robinsons

Reviewed by: Sheri McMurray
CONTRIBUTOR

Moral Rating: Better than Average
Moviemaking Quality:
Primary Audience: Kids Family
Genre: Animation Sci-Fi Fantasy Adventure Kids Family Adaptation
Length: 1 hr. 35 min.
Year of Release: 2007
USA Release: March 30, 2007 (wide)
Copyright, Walt Disney Pictures Copyright, Walt Disney Pictures Copyright, Walt Disney Pictures Copyright, Walt Disney Pictures Copyright, Walt Disney Pictures
Relevant Issues
Copyright, Walt Disney Pictures

Adoption in the Bible

Orphans in the Bible

Tyrannosaurus and other dinosaurs

click for Kid Explorers
Adventures in the rainforest! Learn about the Creator of the universe by exploring His marvelous creation. Fun for the whole family with games, activities, stories, answers to children’s questions, color pages, and more! One of the Web’s first and most popular Christian Web sites for children. Nonprofit, evangelical, nondenominational.
Copyright, Walt Disney Pictures Copyright, Walt Disney Pictures Copyright, Walt Disney Pictures Copyright, Walt Disney Pictures
Featuring Angela Bassett, Tom Selleck, Harland Williams, Laurie Metcalf, Adam West, Ethan Sandler, Tom Kenny
Director Stephen J. Anderson
Producer Clark Spencer
Dorothy McKim
Distributor

“If you think your family’s different, wait 'til you meet the family of the future.”

Although I now live in the midwest, I am a California kid. I grew up practically living at Disneyland. Every time we had family or friends in from “out of state” the place of choice to show off to them was The Magic Kingdom. As I grew up in and out of its gilded gates (the first visit was when my folks took me when it was opened less than a year—although I don’t remember it, I have pictures) I knew where, literally, every restroom was and even entertained the thought of being a tour guide when I was in high school.

Mickey Mouse has made a lasting impression on my life. I watched the Mickey Mouse Club, with Annette not the glossy in color version of today, every day after school. Later on, Sunday evening just wasn’t Sunday evening without watching Walt in living color. I believe I chose art as my major in College because I truly believed Disney Studios would hand me a job painstakingly coloring animation cells right then and there.

But it was the original impact of DisneyLand, before there was a Florida or Japanese version, planted into the orange groves of sunny Southern California before smog became an environmental issue, that bestowed upon me that sense of wonder even Disney Movies couldn’t impart. There is something about walking through those turnstiles and strolling down Main Street USA and at the end beholding Sleeping Beauty’s Castle for the very first time. It doesn’t matter if you’re 2 or 62!

Here we “lived” fairy tales, mysteries and the future. Here was “Tomorrowland.” The only place on Earth at the time you could ride a real Monorail, hover over the park in a People Mover or take a Trip to The Moon (which later traded destinations to Mars). Then Monsanto hosted a ride that would shrink you to the size smaller than a living cell …and you believed it!

Disney has always had it in them, and now with “Meet The Robinsons” they have finally returned to the wonder they conjured up in those beginning years. A true “E Ticket” of a film.

We sat in our seats with our kids, our spouses, dates, our grandkids and we took the journey Disney has always intended us to take. A transformational journey of wonder and fascination.

12 year old Lewis (Voiced by both Daniel Hanson and Jordan Fry) has gone through 124 adoption interviews at Miss Mildred’s (Angela Bassett) 6th Street Orphanage and longs to find his real birth mother.

Although a smart and loving child Lewis has an overpowering quirkiness about him that sends “normal” parents running for the door. Lewis loves to invent things. In the inventing, something usually goes wrong which in turn scares off those who don’t know him well enough to understand him.

Miss Mildred loves him and has cared for him since he was mysteriously dropped at her door as a baby. But, although she shows Lewis love and compassion, she knows he needs a family to nurture him and his need to invent. She soothes him with kindness and the wisdom that, although he was left in her care, it may not have been because he wasn’t wanted, but because the young mother wasn’t able to care for him and loved him enough to leave him with those who could. (Note here that you may need to explain to your kids what adoption is and why many young mothers may choose to do this. God has commanded us to care for the “orphaned.”)

So Lewis, on the dubious hope that perhaps his Mom is out there wanting to know who he is too, invents a time traveling device he calls the Memory Scanner to reach back into his past memories and visualize his birth Mom once again, which he tries out at the Invento Science Fair.

As usual, pandemonium breaks out, but not all because of Lewis. There are two forces at work behind the scenes in the form of time travelers who have come to contact Lewis, both for two polar opposite reasons!

Wilbur Robinson (Wesley Singerman) is a mysterious stranger not much older than Lewis, who has come to whisk Lewis away to his future. It seems that Lewis is the secret ingredient the future needs in order to save it!

Then there is the villainous Bowler Hat Guy (Director, Steve Anderson) and his mesmerizing evil “hat,” Doris, who need Lewis’s Memory Scanner invention to re arrange the future into their own selfish will—and the plot does inevitably thicken!

In an attempt to escape from Bowler Hat Guy, Wilbur and Lewis go into Lewis’ future, which is Wilbur’s present, in a time traveling vehicle invented by Wilbur’s Dad, Cornelius Robinson (Tom Selleck). Lewis sees the future as we all would want it to be. Who wouldn’t want to float around in bubbles flying through the air or wear propeller hats or have a family robot, Carl (Harland Williams), who can do all kinds of cool things, including serve dinner?

Lewis is then surrounded by a group of people far more eccentric than he ever imagined himself to be. Yet, he somehow feels drawn to them as there is a quirkiness about them that he definitely relates to. Wilbur’s family is one like no other—a family of mad cap inventors and dreamers who consider having a family robot, singing frogs, an octopus for a doorman, and a dog who wears glasses as completely normal.

The Robinsons believe that if you have a dream, you should go for it no matter how outlandish it may seem. That failure is needed for it leads to success in the future. So, to make those dreams come true, if you feel the need to wear your clothes backwards or invent a thing-a-ma-jig that squirts peanut butter and jelly then go for it!

But, Lewis’ fantastic journey into the world of tomorrow where he meets Wilbur’s family, The Robinsons, is nearly derailed at every turn, from a time traveling Dinosaur brought up from the past to an alternate evil future filled with selfishness, greed and grime by the dastardly Bowler Hat Guy and his spider-like hat sidekick, the evil Doris.

Although the pluses far out weigh the minus points, here are some things which might need attention: One character does have a black eye and refers to being beat up. The scenes which are few but may be dark and scary to some small children occur in the alternate future that Bowler Hat Guy unknowingly concocts. There is some schoolyard language such as when a frog who has had too much pond water blurts out “I gotta pee!” and names kids tend to call one another like fruit-head and booger-butt. There is only mild cartoon peril and no drugs or drinking per say except for a reference to being over-caffeinated.

Although shown as a lovable buffoon at times, Bowler Hat Guy is the pitiful example of a person drawn into evil while in innocence. He develops a twisted view of life and tries to pass it on to everybody. The film is to be commended because it portrays him as more manipulated than truly sinister. We are not meant to take him seriously when he advises Michael “Goob” Yagoobian (voice of Matthew Josten), Lewis’ best friend to “…don’t let it go. Let it [ your hate ] fester and you will be capable of wonderfully horrid things!” A totally stupid response to the more up beat, and obviously true, advise from Cornelius Robinson to “…don’t give up! Keep moving forward!” Even the younger viewer will know which character to believe.

This is pure Disney from start to finish and, as in most all Disney animated features from the past, “Meet The Robinsons” contains a slew of positive messages. Many of which can be related to the teachings of the Bible and to what Jesus instructs all His “little children.” These and many more are: Make the right choices in life and you will not only make your life happy and fulfilling, but the lives of those you touch. Don’t give up your integrity to evil. Treat others as you yourself would want to be treated. Follow your dreams and help others find theirs also. There is no better gift than a friend and to give yourself for their happiness is a most faithful form of love. Family is the basic building block to all life, if not only to true love and comfort in times of need. To clothe and feed the helpless and abandoned is a wonderful, Christ like form of love. Laughter is from The Divine!

For “kids” of all ages, especially 7 years and up, “Meet The Robinsons” is Disney-style family friendly.

“Meet The Robinsons” is based on the book A Day with Wilbur Robinson by William Joyce (whose other works include “Robots”). Steven Anderson explains on the inventive in its own right Web site that the theme truly hit home for him as he was himself adopted as an infant.

On the technical front, “Disney is launching its new digital 3-D format with this film, available today on more than 600 screens debuting “Meet the Robinsons” in theaters across the country. Unlike previous 3-D experiences, this new technique (requiring special glasses) is more naturalistic and really grabs you as you are pulled in—literally!—to the story of young Lewis” (Bill Zwecker of the Sun-Times). “Meet The Robinsons” is the first film in new Disney Digital 3D, a completely new state-of-the-art CG animation that not only enhances the movie going experience, but gives the audience a glimpse into the future of digital entertainment.

I suggest you watch Disney’s classic “Alice In Wonderland” to get a true feel for the mad cap adventures Lewis takes. Fasten your seatbelts and be prepared to take a ride on “Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride” …once again!

If you want to have way too much fun and enjoy some side splitting laughter, high speed hilarity and heart then “Meet The Robinsons” is your time traveling vehicle!

Violence: None / Profanity: None / Sex/Nudity: None

See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.


Viewer CommentsSend your comments
Positive
Positive—By all means see this movie! My kids(5 and 3) loved it, and so did my husband and I. I am adopted, and I felt the message was wonderful. Finally, an orphan without emotionally destructive tendencies. YEAH!!! You will not be disappointed.
My Ratings: Excellent! / 5
Lida Greene, age 38
Positive—This is an excellent movie, I will recommend it to everybody, the only problem is that for children under 10 the complex argument of time travel goes beyond reasonable explanations, so grownups will truly enjoy it a lot. For my wife and me was truly awesome, we couldn’t stand up at the end of the film because we were with a lump in our throats, and kept being like that for a long while. You could get a lot of good talking with your kids after this movie, for instance the meaning of support within the family, the meaning of encouragement and that you will learn more when you fail than when you succeed. We don’t like buying DVD movies that much, but we were so positively shocked by this movie,that we both feel that as soon this movie is released we will buy it.

I was a big fan of the “Back to the future” movie when I was a teenager, but this is like that movie without all the questionable moral issues and with lots of thought-provoking ideas, and that is completely viewable by all the family, except for one scary part that you should be aware of, and be close to the smaller ones to close their eyes, because they could have some problems at night, with nightmares if you know what I mean… I don’t want to give any spoiler, but beware when the light on the hats turn red, it will start the scary part. The end is breathtaking, I’d definitely recommend this movie, and I hope it will become a smashing box office hit.
My Ratings: Good / 4½
Mario Casasola, age 35
Positive—I took my 3 sons (ages 7, 5, and 3) to see “Meet the Robinsons” in 3-D, and we all loved it. The moral of the story is “Keep Moving Forward”—don’t dwell on the negative, don’t hold on to anger when someone has wronged you, don’t have regrets from your past, and learn from your mistakes. The 3-D effects were amazing and fun; we’ll have to see it without to know if it makes a difference in our viewing quality. There are a few scary moments, and the alternate future where the bad character wins is the stuff of nightmares—think zombies meet “I, Robot.” It is brief, though, and good overcomes evil in the end, so a few minutes of covered eyes should do it. There is some violence, but my boys enjoyed it: characters are chased by a dinosaur, the family engages in some play kung-fu spoof food-fighting, and there are, of course, the general cartoon chase-after-the-bad-guy scenes. The only objectionable language, to me, was the use of “stupid” and “idiot” a few times, but these were portrayed in a bad light. At one point a character says, “The truth will set you free, brother,” which may have been intended to poke fun at us Bible-thumpers, but, being the Word, it rings true. Positive moments include the mom grounding her son for not keeping his promise and lying, two loving parents (as opposed to Disney’s frequent parent-slaying, i.e. “Lion King” and “Finding Nemo”), and adoption portrayed in a wonderful light. The sweet ending will bring tears to your eyes—this movie is one we will surely buy for our home library when it becomes available.
My Ratings: Good / 5
S Merritt, age 31
Positive—Cartoons and me. Two things that shouldn’t go together, but for reasons unknown they do. After watching this movie yesterday, I spoke about the film to my friend who commented by saying something about the fact that I was “the cartoon man”—the college-aged male who still had a knack for watching animated films. Call it my inner kid (see “TMNT” review), but for some reason I still flock to the theater when a newly laced animated film hits the box office. Enjoying the recent success of TMNT, I bought a $5 ticket and enjoyed a soon-to-be hit Meet the Robinsons.

Does anyone remember the movie “Shrek 2”? If you recall in the preview it looked to be just another continuation of Shrek’s adventures filled with some crazy and animated charisma. However, what they didn’t tell you was the twist that came in the middle of the movie: when Shrek transformed into a human. I thought this little plot turn actually enhanced the movie and its entertainment. Best of all, I never saw it coming. A similar element rests in the movie “Meet the Robinsons;” a cleverly hidden twist-turn that reminded me of “Back to the Future” and “Deja Vu,” but best of all it wasn’t covered in the preview. I came expecting to see an average film about the future and the past, but what turned out was instead a real treat.

Disney really has their hands in this project. From the opening sequence, which is actually an old classic Mickey Mouse cartoon before the feature film starts rolling, to the end which closes with an inspiring quote from Walt Disney himself; this movie preaches the Disney dream of imagination and the importance of moving forward. For those of you, like myself, who like Disney you’ll certainly appreciate Walt’s shadow throughout this film. In one scene, we see Lewis and Wilbur driving past a building in the future that looks remarkably like Space Mountain with a sign displaying the words “TODAY LAND;” an obvious ploy from Disney to represent how they see their current theme park area “TOMORROW LAND” coming to life for mankind in the future. Some, however, may find the message(s) too preachy at times and view the film as more of a child enhanced propaganda than a entertaining film with good morals. My advice to you would be that you shouldn’t take it too seriously.

This doesn’t have to be a kids-only movie. I watched it, by myself, and still found it enjoyable. I think you limit yourself when you decide not to see animated movies simply because you see them as kids flicks. The content is harmless, resulting in very minor references to adult-related material and mild comic mischief. These minor offenses warranted the film its deserved G-rating. Go on and take yourself or your kids (or younger friends) to this one, I recommend it. …
My Ratings: Good / 4
Zachary A, age 19
Positive—I want to say my 8 year old, 11 year old and I enjoyed this movie!! I am very glad I did not take my 3 year old son, though, as I think the movie would have been far to complicated for him to understand, for example, going back and forth from future to past. The evil that is played out with the “help you hat” would have been very scary for him and the boy/man with his wickedness would have been also. I did find some very interesting things that I particularly didn’t like about the Robinson’s, but it was nice to see them welcome him in to the family. I did love the attitude though of just keep trying with their “keep moving forward” motto, and that failure is an opportunity to learn, something I am continuously instilling in my children. I think this movie has some good values that you can take away and teach your children and maybe while watching give them some insight on researching and studying, using the brain, such as, the scientist in this movie, and, (no offense) not being a “super hero” or a happily ever after movie which is usually the case. I recommend this movie for a 5-6 year old and up.
My Ratings: Excellent! / 5
Mom of 4, age 38
Positive—I was a little nervous about taking my 7 yr old son to see this movie but he handled it just fine. There are a few scary parts in it that I would not allow my younger children to watch but besides that, I think it was fairly decent. An adopted boy learns to not be so infatuated with his past but to look toward the future and what good things he may do. It is not bad. I was a little confused by the uncle or brother or whoever it was that was married to the puppet. How’d they have kids anyways? Yes, I know, it is make believe just like the time travel.
My Ratings: Better than Average / 4½
Shelene, age 29
Positive—I took my 9 year old daughter yesterday to the 3D version. As I agree with the others, this movie is good and she enjoyed it as well. However, do not waste your money on the 3D version. The animation was good, but there just wasn’t enough “3D” effects to pay the additional money. Wish I’d known this info before going; we would have seen it in 2D.
My Ratings: Better than Average / 4
Melissa, age 43
Positive—I found myself amused by the movie, it was quite cute! It’s a pleasant, mindless, kid’s movie. The characters were generally very likable, the animation was good (not so much “accurate,” but “cute”) and I wouldn’t say that this movie was objectionable at all. However, I want disappointed with the messages of the film. One obvious theme was “keep moving forward,” which sounds pretty good, but most everyone wants to do that, but don’t know how. The main character, for example, struggled with trying again because he felt worthless and unloved, and his roommate stuggled with the emotional repercussions of his team beating him up. So people in the movie constantly advised them to “keep moving forward,” without telling them how to overcome what was keeping them from moving forward. The only reason resolution, then, was possible, was because cirsumstances with the two character changed, and they didn’t have to face those challenges anymore.

Also, at the beginning, the movie sets up a problem: This cute, brilliant kid who has no family, and no one who wants to adopt him, and therefore struggles with feelings of inferiority. The movie never solves this dilemma. I kindof expected the movie to try to give some sort of solution for feeling worthless, since it had set up the problem. Now, the movie does end with the boy feeling valuable, but that was because he had a family. The only solution it gave to negative feelings and false beliefs about yourself was to Change The Circumstances.

I thought that this was a very bad messages, because kids need to understand that there is hope, and you can change how you see and deal with things, even if you are stuck in the same situation. It’s the natural thing to do to try to change our circumstances, but the Biblical answer is to change ourselves (become more patient though annoying circumstances) or to find the answer in God (Who made each of us, gave us value, and loves us). This Bibical answer was NOT presented, the opposite answer, (changing circumstances is the only way to fix our problems) was shown as the true answer. So I didn’t really like the film.
My Ratings: Better than Average / 4
Rebekah, age 18
Positive—My husband and I took our children ages 3 and 6 to see this movie, and they loved it!!! They laughed out loud many times! This movie had a great moral message, and was very entertaining for children and adults alike!
My Ratings: Good / 5
A.Kann, age 33
Positive—This is a powerful movie about today and the future. As with most Disney and Pixar movies, there is a moral to the story. Always move forward.
My Ratings: Excellent! / 5
Karen, age 39
Positive—This movie was fun and had a lot of excellent animation and action, but where is the great Disney music of the past with the memorable songs? This music score was bland at best, and no song was a blockbuster. They could have done a great orphan song, robot song, a frog song, even an Italian food song, but “No!,” we got forgettable tunes and lyrics which is very sad when you look back to the hey days! The orphan inventor was cute and loveable, the villain was dopey and anoying and looked like a knock-off Dick Dastardly. I got lost in the middle with the “in the future” weird family and my 12 year old son had to explain who was who with my wife’s help. It was a good strong opening, a weak middle and a strong ending. Overall, I would see it again, and even buy it, but I won’t be singing in the shower! A disappointment for me, but my son loved it!
My Ratings: Better than Average / 4
Christopher Winter, age 52
Positive—An excellent time-travel movie! Reminds me of “Back to the Future.” Very cute!
My Ratings: Good / 4½
Nate
Positive—Thank you Disney for making a film that is pro-adoption. So many “adoption” related films can be very offensive. My 4 year old son was adopted, we are very open with him and his story. This film helped open up a lot of great discussions in our home. I cry every time I see the end of the movie. My only problem with the movie is that the terms “real mom.” A child’s adoptive mother IS his REAL MOM… the mother that gave birth to him and placed him for adoption is his “Birth Mom” I wish that Disney had chosen to use the term birthmom and not real mom. The back to the future part can be a bit over the head for the young but all in all is a great movie and I highly recommend it for anyone who has adopted children… it’s a great conversation starter.
My Ratings: Good / 5
Brandi, age 28
Positive—I was surprised—this movie was actually better than I thought it was going to be. The story is centered around persistence, how important family is, feeling loved and wanted, and adoption. The adoption message (and story) is really strong emotionally at times, so if you have an adopted child this movie may be too painful to watch… they make plenty of mentions of Lewis missing his biological mother, which might pull a few heart strings for adopted kids. Personally, once my adopted brother is old enough, I don’t think I’d let him watch it. The only parts that seemed objectionable are pretty much covered by the reviewer (the dysfuctional future, the dinosaur scene, “baking cookies,” etc.). I might have missed it in the review, but I also caught that the Bowler Hat Guy scribbles symbols that match the same number of letters as a curse next to Lewis’s name, probably implying the d-word… uncalled for, but all-in-all, the inappropriate stuff is really hard to catch, unlike Shrek and other similar movies with potty jokes or not-so-hidden innuendo every other scene. In conclusion: BEAUTIFUL animation, cute little story with more than one important moral, and stays fairly well to its G-rating. Worth it to see.
My Ratings: Better than Average / 4
Allie, age 18
Positive—This movie was cute. It ended up having a good message at the end. I also really love the song by Rob Thomas. HOWEVER, if you’re older than 10, don’t expect to be too well entertained. The villain is not scary at all, or even a threat. In fact, he ends up being good, and the plot is not done as well as I had expected. There is nothing really objectionable in it; it emphasizes hard work and not giving up, and also shows the importance of family. There are actually 2 sets of mom-and-dad-married families in this Disney movie!
My Ratings: Moral rating: Good / Moviemaking quality: 3
Maggie, age 21
Positive—I agree with some comments that this movie is not for young viewers. The story is too complex for anyone under 9 and even then, our 12 year old had to see it a few times before it made a lot of sense. And there are some really frightening scenes, very dark and eerie. But if parents cannot see the incredible teachable moments and message in this film then they need to watch it again! We buy very VERY few DVD’s and see even fewer movies in the theater. Our girls have not seen what most kids their age have. We actually even bought the soundtrack! The music is great. The messages are all over the place about learning from our mistakes, not giving up, not holding onto anger and bitterness (Goob as an adult was such a powerful model of what happens to us when we don’t let go and become bitter—amazing message right there!). And we also used the example that even though Lewis was smart and motivated and overall a good kid, he neglected the needs of his roommate by being too self-absorbed and created a situation that caused great anguish and could have been avoided. Another great teachable moment. We have recommended this movie again and again. We only wish there were more Disney movies with messages like it out there.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Excellent! / Moviemaking quality: 4½
Annemarie, age 44
Neutral
Neutral—As most of the Disney films, this was a great family movie and very funny.
My Ratings: Good / 4½
Debi Karlstein, age 38
Neutral—I took my 7 year old and my 5 year old to see “Meet the Robinsons,” a “G” rated movie. I regret to say I could not find a Christian review before we went. My children picked this movie as a reward for doing several extra chores around the house and asked to go on opening day. Although my children enjoyed this movie I found some scenes objectionable.

It is interesting that a “G” rating can be so open to interpretation by the powers that run Hollywood. I actually believe this movie warrants a “PG” rating. There were some pretty scary scenes and situations.

*SPOILER* When we meet the family we are introduced to “Cousin Tallulah.” Was it me or did she/he seem to have a man’s voice? (According to the credits it is indeed a man’s voice.) This led me to the conclusion that she/he was a transvestite. I found the scene with the frogs and the car trunk too “Sopranos” for my taste. (I personally have never seen the show but whoever created, “Meet the Robinsons,” must be a fan.) Also the whole “mind control” segment towards the end of the movie was disturbing and pretty violent. This movie tries very hard to send the message of 'Different is o.k.,' and “Never give up,” however it comes across as sugary and trite.

Most of us know that Disney movies rarely have a whole family, i.e., mother and father and siblings, this movie is no exception. I did however find it encouraging that the main character was adopted by a couple.

I believe this movie is not appropriate for children younger than 5 years. The dinosaur scene alone would be over the top for most younger children.

In conclusion, I would be hesitant to recommend this movie to others with very young children. Why, oh why, can’t anyone create a morally decent cartoon that is funny and has a WHOLE family unit? Why is this always a repugnant notion for Hollywood?
My Ratings: Average / 4
MariAnne, age 39
Neutral—Ok, here’s the good: very good animation, nothing at all offensive for the young ones, and a great message at the end. The bad? Well, as a mom who ONLY goes to cartoon films to appease my children, this one was torture. I actually fell asleep twice. I was hoping for a Shrek-style adventure, but it was not even in the same league. Disney just can’t compete with Pixar and I don’t think they ever will. The characters were not dynamic, the story was long and confusing, the villain was a throw-back to an old Bullwinkle cartoon I remember from childhood (the guy was scary but stupid), and there was NO soundtrack to keep the story going. I don’t even remember if there was any music! The worst part for me? There were NO LAUGHS in this films. No jokes, nothing funny, no humor, nothing at all that made me chuckle. So my advice is that it’s clean enough for the whole family if you need a diversion, but for your older kids 10 and up, don’t punish them.
My Ratings: Better than Average / 4
Diana O, age 38
Neutral—This is a cute movie. The 3D glasses make it pretty fun (although it hurt my friend’s eyes who had never seen a 3D movie before), too. But I took my 8 year old little sister and she didn’t like it at all… She in fact fell asleep. As for myself… I laughed a good amount, and the storyline was very touching, very sweet, even a few pleasantly surprising twists, but it was definitely a “wait for DVD” kind of movie for me. But it’s a clean, cute movie with positve messages (Oh—the near ending is a bit creepy, watch out for that. And the villan *Bowler Hat Guy* is hilarious—he looks a lot scarier than he actually is. I can see smaller kids being afraid of him though. And the hat’s just creepy as well). Just hope your kids will stay awake!
My Ratings: Better than Average / 5
Ashley, age 19
Comments from young people
Positive—Disney’s best animated film in years. (As a separate entity from Pixar.) I was expecting a pleasant children’s film, but found that I really enjoyed the movie in spite of its target audience. Hopefully, this movie marks the return of the Disney classics that audiences love, with stories and humor that cross every age division. Go see this movie!
My Ratings: Good / 4
Chris Sosa, age 17
Positive—I enjoyed this film. It is about a boy who wants to know about his family. The only spot that might scare younger children is at the end, when an invention takes over the world and makes all the people in the future almost like zombies. And the city is turned dark. It’s message was “keep moving forward,” and don’t give up. It’s nice to see that the Disney studio can still make clean movies.
My Ratings: Good / 4
Adrianne, age 14
Positive—My sister and I took two kids we babysit to see this movie and wow, what a movie it was! It had me laughing and enjoying ever single part of it. I would recommend this movie to anyone who wants to see a clean, funny, and awesome movie. During these days, its hard to find a clean movie, mindless a G-rated movie. So this really was an awesome way to spend my night and I’m even thinking of going to see it again!
My Ratings: Excellent! / 5
Alexis, age 15
Positive—This movie shows that if you think hard then you can do it. Most of the movie is good but in the middle of the movie Wilber Robinson lies to Lewis, and makes him mad. He joins the 'bowler-hat-guy,' and then he lies to him. But end instead of lying, Wiber Robinson does show him his mom the night she left him at the orphanage.
My Ratings: Good / 4½
Richard Mc Fall, age 11
Positive—A very good movie. I read a review of the movie here earlier and told me mom that it looked like a good family movie(which are really hard to come by). So my mom, dad, 12 year old sister, 7 year old sister, and I all went to the movie and enjoyed it. I did not detect any morally offensive parts, or even any double meanings which seem to be in great supply in recent animated films. This has to be the best disney film I can remember, excluding all Pixar films which are always vey good. It was also nice to see a good message too. That being “Keep Moving Forwards” which turned out to be a quote from Walt Disney himself. I also enjoyed the similarity to the “Back to the Future” series, which are movies I enjoy a lot. All in all, a very good movie… morally, and enjoyability. If the movie had been bad (which it definitely was not), it would have made it worth while just to see the T-Rex say, 'I have a big head, and little arms.'…
My Ratings: Good / 4½
Trent S, age 14
Positive—This movie is really, really, really, good!!! It didn’t have any true jokes, but a lot of cute and funny things tied the movie together. My mom thought that there were to many things going on so little kids wouldn’t understand some of it. But I think it would be okay for people 5-65. If you are still unsure about seeing it, it isn’t something to bad to miss out on. But that is my opinion. …
My Ratings: Good / 5
Michelle J., age 12
Positive—Wow! This movie was hilarious! Me and a group of friends went, and although we were the only people above five years old, we still had a great time! It is an amazing family video, and I would recommend it to anyone! We were quoting parts from it for weeks! There were absolutely no offensive scenes languages or images!! All in all, a wonderful movie!
My Ratings: Excellent! / 5
Hannah, age 15
Positive—I think this is a great movie. I loved the way that everyone from the future at the end tied in with the people from the past. This movie is very clever and interesting. I thought the message was wonderful. A kid 4 or under might be a little scared because of one bad person and his creepy hat. In the end though the bad guy is going to be a good guy because he is treated better as a child and doesn’t become the angry adult he is in the beginning of the movie. This was much more interesting than 'Are we done yet?'.
My Ratings: Excellent! / 4½
Anna S., age 9
Positive—I loved this movie!! It was very well made and kept you on the edge of your seat all the way through it! A few spots were a little spooky, but the message was wonderful! I think this is one of my favorite movies ever!
My Ratings: Excellent! / 5
Anna Rose, age 16
Positive—This movie is the best movie I have ever seen; it’s so cute and innocent and shows the true meaning of family. Some parts were a little scary for children under 3, but beside that it was very good. I saw it with my mom and my 4 year old sister, and my sister loved it, and my mom did as well. I can’t wait until it comes out on video; it was excellent.
My Ratings: Excellent! / 5
Carol Miller, age 16
Positive—I saw this with my little brother and Mom and Dad; we all laughed a lot! there may be some scenes that would frighten little children though. (very little like “-3.”) I loved the frogs if you want a comedy this movie would be great for the whole family!
My Ratings: Excellent! / 5
Lizzie, age 12
Positive—I saw this film with my youth group from church, and we were all awed by this movie. It is one of my favorite movies now and I can’t wait for the DVD! Me and my friends loved the message, “Keep Moving Forward.” I felt that was something God wanted us all to do. When things look hopeless for me, I remember that. I loved the movie for a lot of things, and it is very close to my heart because of its innocence, remarkable characters, the story, and that it is totally clean. I would recommend all parnets to take thier kids to see this movie and show them the immportance of family. I loved the different phrases in this movie like, That is an excellent question, I have a Big head and Little arms (very funny), and, of course, Keep Moving Forward. I use them quite often. I also believe it was NOT OFFENSIVE to Christian people or the Bible, at all, and I think that all people in any age group should see this movie, because it teaches people the immportance of family, the strengh of love, and to never give up. God bless!
My Ratings: Excellent! / 5
Cassi Alligood, age 14
Positive—I found this movie to be very entertaining and I enjoyed it. I know my little brother who is 12 enjoyed it too. He was laughing a lot! I was too. My mom found it somewhat weird, but that is why I like it. It has a bunch of colorful characters. It also has a lot of good points for kids. Like the main one being to not give up. So all in all I enjoyed it very much and would definitely reccomend it to others.
My Ratings: Good / 3½
Sarah, age 16
Negative—Am I the only one who found this movie to be a slap in the face to any adopted child seeing it. I personally have family members that are adopted, and I don’t think of them any differently, even though they are of a different race. They are just as much a part of my family as my biological relatives, and I actually get along with the two of them better then most of my other relatives. It saddened me to see a Disney movies show such a lask of respect to anyone, epescially children, who had been adopted. I told them not to watch it, and I will never watch it again, I thought the whole thing was distasteful and just down right rude. Disney is really loosing its touch!
My Ratings: Very Offensive / 4
Quinn, age 16
Positive—This is the best film I’ve seen come out of Disney in a long time, not counting Pixar films of course. Actually, this pretty much sits up there with the Pixar stuff for me. Honestly, I think once people give the movie a chance, most will like it. I think that it’s just a victim of poor promotional stuff. The story wasn’t too strait forward. I was much funnier than I was expecting, and the relationships and theme were heartwarming. Some people are calling it sap, but you know, in a world full of films involving inappropriate themes and bad content, I like a little sweet sap every once in a while. Also, as somebody aspiring for a career in animation, I can really appreciate the effort put into this. The music was beautiful (and is stuck in my head now), the animation WOW, the writing great, great storyboarding too. It felt alive while keeping it’s animated charm. This film is up there with Pixar’s stuff for me, and since I’m pretty much a Pixar fangirl who has a bias against anything non Pixar that Disney makes, that’s saying something. Also, I didn’t find any content really objectionable. In fact, the morals are inspiring. Failure is okay, but learn from it. Keep in mind what you’ve done wrong so you can improve, but don’t let it control you. You are forgiven of yesterday. The future, while something to look forward to, shouldn’t worry you. Just keep moving forward.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Good / Moviemaking quality: 4½
Netbug009, age 16
Positive—Although I wasn’t expecting much, “Meet The Robinsons” was a great movie!! The first part didn’t really draw you in, but after that I just had to see the ending!! The bad guy in it, wasn’t very scary (quite funny actually!), so I think that people of all ages would enjoy it! It was a little confusing; it makes more sense the second time you see it. Overall, this movie was very well done.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Good / Moviemaking quality: 4½
Heather, age 13