MPAA Rating: G
Genre: Computer Animated/Childrens
Age range: Ages 3 and up
Runtime: 101 minutes (including a 7 minute short)
Starring: Angela Bassett, Tom Selleck, Harland Williams, Laurie Metcalf, Adam West, Ethan Sandler, Tom Kenny
Studio: Walt Disney Pictures
Release Date: March 30, 2007
Meet the Robinsons - Guide Review
Abandoned by his mother as a baby, and rejected by 124 families and counting, Lewis feels unwanted. On top of that, the soon-to-be 13 year old inventor thinks he's a big failure. One thought gives him a last chance at hope - inventing a machine that can help him find his biological mother.
Lewis perfects this new invention just in time to enter it into the school science fair. He is sure his memory machine will win first place and help him remember what his mother looks like. But, his prized invention blows up thanks to the help of an evil mechanical hat, taking all of his hopes and dreams with it.
It is just then that a strange boy named Wilbur Robinson, who claims to be from the future, enters the scene. He claims that a man in a bowler hat is after Lewis, and he begs Lewis to go back to school and fix his science project. In order to prove he is telling the truth, Wilbur takes Lewis to the future in a time machine.
After accidentally meeting most of the members of Wilbur's eccentric family, Lewis starts to feel at home in the future. In fact, Wilbur's family asks Lewis to stay with them, until they find he's from the past and suddenly change their mind.
Meanwhile, Bowler Hat Guy is trying to pass Lewis' invention off as his own. He can't quite figure out how it works, though, so he too heads back to the future to get Lewis.
If Wilbur can't help Lewis realize his true potential and get him back to that science fair, the future could be a very different place one day.
In many theaters, Meet the Robinsons will be shown in 3D, which is always an entertaining experience for kids. Although, the best part of the 3D version of Meet the Robinsons was the introduction, when the robot shows everyone how to use their glasses. Kids will get a big kick out of this part, as it appears that the robot gets right in your face.
Meet the Robinsons may not tell the most conceivable story, but its version of the future - based on the zany drawings in A Day with Wilbur Robinson, by William Joyce - is imaginative, nonsensical, and funny. The charming animation becomes even more magical in 3D.
As Lewis journys to the wacky future and back, Kids will identify with his struggle of self-doubt, and they will watch as he learns a valuable lesson that, if followed, will ensure his own future will be bright.
Meet the Robinsons - Note to Parents
Some scenes in Meet the Robinsons could be scary or unsettling to small children. During one part of the movie, moments of peril occur in darkly animated scenes. Also, the antagonists in these scenes may be slightly eerie or otherwise frightening to very young children. Of course, the movie is rated G, and everything turns out OK in the end.
Coffee is referenced a couple of times in the movie. At one point, Lewis grabs a cup of coffee from his guardian and takes a sip remarking that it is "a good cup of jo."
Meet the Robinsons (2007) - Content Overview
The following lists some of the most prominent examples of possibly offensive content in the movie (Contains Spoilers):Violence (Mild)
- Lewis' science fair project is sabotaged, causing an explosion. In the resulting commotion, a fire ant farm is broken and fire ants attack a coach.
- Lewis' roomate, Mike, comes back from a baseball game with two black eyes and reports that his team members beat him up when he missed a catch.
- A dinosaur chases Lewis and tries to take him.
- A hat with funny scissor-type legs tries to capture Lewis. At one point, the hat reproduces itself and the hats viciously take over the people who are wearing them. (No injury is shown, but it looks unpleasant.)
Sex/Nudity (None)
Profanity (None)
- No profanity is used, but a few expressions such as "puke face" are used.
Alcohol/Drugs (Moderate)
- A woman proclaims that she is wearing 15 caffine patches that equal 12 cups of coffee each.
- A boy drinks from a cup of coffee, calling it a "good cup of Joe."
- Frogs are shown sitting at a bar.
Bad/Disrespectful Behavior (Moderate)
- A mechanical hat sabotages a science fair project, and that hat's owner steals the project in order to pass it off as his own.
- A boy takes his father's time machine, brings someone back to the future, and tries to hide everything from his family.
- A villain tells a young boy that he should not forgive another, but that he should let his hatred fester.
Scary Scenes (Moderate)
- The scenes listed under "Violence" may be scary or unsettling to children.
- Like most time travel movies, and alternate future is shown. This darker version of the future may be scary for young kids.
Sad/Unsettling Scenes (Moderate)
- In a flashback, Lewis' mother is shown taking Lewis to the orphanage and abandoning him. We do not see her face, but it is obvious that she is sad.
- Lewis feels unwanted after a lifetime of being rejected by possible adoptive parents.
- Lewis feels sad because every invention he tries seems to fail.
Meet the Robinsons (2007) - Topics to Discuss
- Kids may have questions about the following concepts from the movie: time travel, the future, changing the future, adoption and orphans.
- What would have happened if Lewis had given up on his dream of being an inventor? Why is it important to keep trying, even when we fail?
