Meet the Robinsons (2007)
The 2000s might just hold the title as being the roughest decade of releases for Disney, at least outside of when the studio literally didn't have resources during times of war causing drastic changes in their filmography during the period. While there are a handful of highlights, the vast majority of the releases during the early 2000s saw confused and failed efforts by the studio to find a new direction and speak to new audiences. As the decade progressed, the studio found bigger and bigger successes on this path with arguably their biggest being Meet the Robinsons. Following a child inventor named Lewis (Jordan Fry and Daniel Hansen) who gets his science fair project sabotaged and find himself in a confusing time traveling adventure as a result alongside another kid named Wilbur (Wesley Singerman), Meet the Robinsons is one of the rare times in Disney's filmography where hyper absurdist humor almost consistently lands leading to a genuinely powerful final statement.
If there is one style of comedy that Disney struggles with, it is chaos. Throwing everything at the wall with a rapid pace, Disney has created some truly unbearable segments and characters that rely on absurdist lines to excuse a true lack of craft or cleverness. On paper, one might fear Meet the Robinsons would fall into this category. Especially as Lewis travels to the future to meet Wilbur's titular family, there is an absolute slurry of ideas and randomness present. Including frog musicians, giant squids, talking heads in flower pots, and even meatball food fight action sequences, the film presents wild antics but is one of the few examples of it being done well. The writing is consistently entertaining and the sequence feels perfect in length. It is also important to recognize that the film is not using this technique to hide anything or cover up a fatal flaw. The characters, writing, drama, and purpose within the feature all remains present and strong with this humor being used to lighten up the world, not distract audiences or be the actual substance of the film.
The comedy outside of this segment is also wildly entertaining. Specifically the villain who is known as Bowler Hat Guy (Stephen J. Anderson) is astoundingly hilarious. Both due to the performance and writing given to his character, this might just be the most underrated Disney villain when it comes to entertainment value. Small side characters such as Lewis' roommate, a baseball obsessed kid nicknamed Goob (Matthew Josten) are also simply perfect for the roles they are meant to play. These characters are distinctive and inspired with precise comedic timing that makes Meet the Robinsons easily one of the funniest films of Disney's entire filmography which isn't a light thing to say.
While the comedy alone would be enough to make the feature a success, there is actually a rather layered conflict within the feature. Using time travel in very clever ways to build possibly the best twists of any Disney feature, for both younger audiences and older viewers there is something quite engaging and rewarding within Meet the Robinsons which is far from being something present in even most Disney projects. It feels like thought was given to the film, like there is narrative substance. Characters go against expectations and develop. There is layers to what is being produced and everything is contained beautifully within the film's 95-minute runtime.
This leads to a real sense of poignancy. Throughout the film, there is a reoccurring mention of the idea that it is important to keep moving forward. While one might face setbacks and failures, the film proudly states that individuals also need to be picking themselves up and continuing to push towards their goals. While this is a naturally inspiring idea, and the weight from the characters and narrative regarding this concept is beautiful on their own, the film adds a final cherry on top at the very end with an additional quote absolutely worth experiencing unspoiled. Without giving too much away, it is ironic that Meet the Robinsons, a random 2007 Disney film, does a way better job celebrating and highlighting the unique spirit of the studio than 2023's Wish, a film quite literally designed to accomplish the same task for Disney's 100th anniversary.
Out of every film within Disney's filmography, few feel as under-appreciated as Meet the Robinsons. While some groups have started to argue for the film to gain more attention, it feels like even these voices are not quite loud enough about just how special the film is. Both one of Disney's most moving and entertaining efforts, the film is one of the rare near-flawless outings for the studio and tragically released at the worst possible moment when Disney was sliding in the public eye and the attention was simply not there to give the film its due.
If there is one style of comedy that Disney struggles with, it is chaos. Throwing everything at the wall with a rapid pace, Disney has created some truly unbearable segments and characters that rely on absurdist lines to excuse a true lack of craft or cleverness. On paper, one might fear Meet the Robinsons would fall into this category. Especially as Lewis travels to the future to meet Wilbur's titular family, there is an absolute slurry of ideas and randomness present. Including frog musicians, giant squids, talking heads in flower pots, and even meatball food fight action sequences, the film presents wild antics but is one of the few examples of it being done well. The writing is consistently entertaining and the sequence feels perfect in length. It is also important to recognize that the film is not using this technique to hide anything or cover up a fatal flaw. The characters, writing, drama, and purpose within the feature all remains present and strong with this humor being used to lighten up the world, not distract audiences or be the actual substance of the film.
The comedy outside of this segment is also wildly entertaining. Specifically the villain who is known as Bowler Hat Guy (Stephen J. Anderson) is astoundingly hilarious. Both due to the performance and writing given to his character, this might just be the most underrated Disney villain when it comes to entertainment value. Small side characters such as Lewis' roommate, a baseball obsessed kid nicknamed Goob (Matthew Josten) are also simply perfect for the roles they are meant to play. These characters are distinctive and inspired with precise comedic timing that makes Meet the Robinsons easily one of the funniest films of Disney's entire filmography which isn't a light thing to say.
While the comedy alone would be enough to make the feature a success, there is actually a rather layered conflict within the feature. Using time travel in very clever ways to build possibly the best twists of any Disney feature, for both younger audiences and older viewers there is something quite engaging and rewarding within Meet the Robinsons which is far from being something present in even most Disney projects. It feels like thought was given to the film, like there is narrative substance. Characters go against expectations and develop. There is layers to what is being produced and everything is contained beautifully within the film's 95-minute runtime.
This leads to a real sense of poignancy. Throughout the film, there is a reoccurring mention of the idea that it is important to keep moving forward. While one might face setbacks and failures, the film proudly states that individuals also need to be picking themselves up and continuing to push towards their goals. While this is a naturally inspiring idea, and the weight from the characters and narrative regarding this concept is beautiful on their own, the film adds a final cherry on top at the very end with an additional quote absolutely worth experiencing unspoiled. Without giving too much away, it is ironic that Meet the Robinsons, a random 2007 Disney film, does a way better job celebrating and highlighting the unique spirit of the studio than 2023's Wish, a film quite literally designed to accomplish the same task for Disney's 100th anniversary.
Out of every film within Disney's filmography, few feel as under-appreciated as Meet the Robinsons. While some groups have started to argue for the film to gain more attention, it feels like even these voices are not quite loud enough about just how special the film is. Both one of Disney's most moving and entertaining efforts, the film is one of the rare near-flawless outings for the studio and tragically released at the worst possible moment when Disney was sliding in the public eye and the attention was simply not there to give the film its due.