| Meet the Robinsons | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Stephen Anderson |
| Screenplay by |
|
| Based on | A Day with Wilbur Robinson byWilliam Joyce |
| Produced by | Dorothy McKim |
| Starring |
|
| Edited by | Ellen Keneshea |
| Music by | Danny Elfman |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Buena Vista Pictures Distribution[a] |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 95 minutes[1][2] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $150 million[3] |
| Box office | $170.5 million[4] |
Meet the Robinsons is a 2007 American animatedscience fiction comedy film produced byWalt Disney Animation Studios, based on the 1990 children's bookA Day with Wilbur Robinson byWilliam Joyce. The film was directed byStephen Anderson, and written by Anderson,Don Hall,Nathan Greno, Joe Mateo, Jon Bernstein, Michelle Spitz, and Aurian Redson, and stars the voices of Daniel Hansen, Jordan Fry,Wesley Singerman,Angela Bassett,Tom Selleck,Harland Williams,Laurie Metcalf,Nicole Sullivan,Adam West,Ethan Sandler,Tom Kenny, and Anderson. It follows an orphaned 12-year-old inventor, Lewis, who is desperate to be adopted. He meets Wilbur Robinson, a young time-traveler who takes him to the year 2037 to visit his eccentric family. They must prevent a mysteriousbowler-hatted man from changing Lewis's fate, and, by proxy, the future.
Development began in 2002, with production starting in 2004 under the working titleA Day with Wilbur Robinson, with a release initially slated for 2006. Anderson developed a personal connection to the main character, Lewis, as he himself grew up an orphan and was later adopted. Disney originally planned to adopt Joyce's style, but it was decided to slightly rework the style due to his involvement stylistically inBlue Sky Studios'Robots. The animation crew had the challenge to animate CG humans, being inspired byPixar'sThe Incredibles. Inspiration for the film came from Disney animated classics, such asAlice in Wonderland,Cinderella, andPeter Pan, as well asWarner Bros. Cartoons, to capture a 1950s aesthetic. Disney's acquisition of Pixar in early 2006 led to nearly 60% of the film, including the villain and the ending, being scrapped and reworked.Danny Elfman composed the film's score, while artists such asRufus Wainwright,Rob Thomas,The All-American Rejects, andThey Might Be Giants contributed to its soundtrack.
Meet the Robinsons premiered at theEl Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles on March 25, 2007, and was released in the United States on March 30. The film received generally positive reviews from critics but was abox office disappointment, grossing $170.5 million against a budget of $150 million.
In 2007, Lewis, an orphaned 12-year-old boy who is an aspiring scientist and inventor, wants to get adopted. However, his energetic behavior and malfunctioning inventions frequently scare off prospective parents, so he embarks on a mission to locate his birth mother, who left him at the orphanage when he was an infant. To do so, he conceives an invention that will scan his memories and help him identify her.
Lewis takes his Memory Scanner to his school'sscience fair, where he meets Wilbur Robinson, a mysterious boy who claims to be from the future, warning him about a tall man wearing a sentient roboticbowler hat (nicknamed the "Bowler Hat Guy") who stole a time machine. During Lewis' presentation, the Bowler Hat Guy's hat robot, Doris, secretly causes the Memory Scanner to malfunction, throwing the science fair into chaos. After Lewis leaves the fair, the Bowler Hat Guy steals the Memory Scanner, intending to pitch it as his own to an invention company called InventCo. Labs, but fails when he doesn't know how it works.
Back at the orphanage, Wilbur attempts to motivate Lewis into fixing the Memory Scanner by taking him in a second time machine to 2037, which is highly advanced technologically. Lewis, however, theorizes that he can simply use the time machine to go back and prevent his mother from giving him up; an ensuing argument between the boys leads to the time machine crashing. Wilbur asks Lewis to fix the time machine, and Lewis agrees on the condition that Wilbur take him to see his mother afterwards.
At the Robinsons' house, Lewis meets the rest of the family, except for Cornelius, Wilbur's father and the inventor of the time's technologies, who is on a business trip. Throughout the visit, the Robinsons emphasize the "Keep Moving Forward" motto, encouraging Lewis to learn from his mistakes. Meanwhile, the Bowler Hat Guy, having followed Lewis, tries to kidnap him by bringing a dinosaur from the past, but it is foiled by the Robinsons. The family later offers to adopt Lewis, but change their mind when they learn that he is from the past. Wilbur admits lying to Lewis about taking him back to see his mother, causing Lewis to run off in disgust.
Lewis meets the Bowler Hat Guy, who offers to take him to his mother. Shortly after, the Bowler Hat Guy reveals that Lewis is Wilbur's father, and that he himself is the adult version of Lewis' roommate, Goob, who developed a grudge against Lewis after his constant work on the Memory Scanner indirectly caused a tired Goob to lose aLittle League Baseball game. Eventually, Goob met Doris, who was a failed and abandoned Robinson invention, and the two decided to team up and ruin Lewis' life.
Leaving Lewis in the future, they return to the past and enact their plan, successfully pitching the Memory Scanner and mass-producing Helping Hats. However, Doris disposes of Goob and uses the Helping Hats to enslave humanity, erasing Wilbur from existence and turning the future into a dystopia. Lewis repairs the second time machine and confronts Goob and Doris in the past, invalidating her existence by vowing never to invent her, which restores the future and Wilbur. Lewis and Wilbur try to offer Goob to join the family but he leaves in shame for his actions.
In Wilbur's time, Lewis finally meets Cornelius, who explains how the Memory Scanner started their successful career and persuades Lewis to return to the science fair. Wilbur takes Lewis in the time machine but surprises him by taking him back to the night when his mother left him at the orphanage. Lewis attempts to interact with her, but ultimately decides against it, content with the knowledge of his future family.
Back in his own time, Lewis heads to the baseball field to wake Goob up just in time for him to make the winning catch, averting his future. At the science fair, Lewis demonstrates the Memory Scanner again, which succeeds this time. He is adopted by Dr. Lucille Krunklehorn, one of the science fair judges and a scientist from InventCo. Labs, and her husband, Bud Robinson, who nicknames him "Cornelius". Emboldened by his future family's credo of "Keep Moving Forward," Lewis moves in with his new parents and begins his inventing career.
In addition, Joe Robinson is Wilbur's obese uncle, Billie's husband, and Bud and Fritz's brother, who rides in an easy chair; an uncredited actor provides his whimpers. Also in the Robinson family is their dog, Buster, who wears glasses.
In 1990, prior to the original publication ofA Day With Wilbur Robinson,William Joyce became acquainted with film producer Bill Borden, who was in the middle of shootingThe Man in the Moon in Joyce's nativeShreveport, Louisiana. Upon seeing the proofs for the book, Borden was convinced that the book would make for a great Disney movie. He convinced Joyce to write a treatment for a film adaptation, and within a week, the project was optioned byWalt Disney Pictures as a potential live-action film. Over the next couple of years, William Joyce wrote several drafts for the film, as Disney considered several directors, includingSteven Spielberg,George Miller,Peter Jackson,Francis Ford Coppola, andDiane Keaton. Having difficulty securing a director, in addition to potential budgetary issues, the film would soon enterturnaround at the studio for a couple of years. However, Leo Chu, an executive atWalt Disney Feature Animation took interest in the project, and convinced Joyce to bring the project over there to develop it as an animated film.[5]
Pre-production of the film was first unveiled duringSIGGRAPH 2001, where a character resembling Lewis was showcased in atech demo for "Project Gemini".[6] Originally titledA Day with Wilbur Robinson, production began in June 2004 and was scheduled for a 2006 release.[7][8] During the film's production,Walt Disney Animation Studios' storyboard artistStephen Anderson decided to direct the film due to his connection to Lewis, since they both grew up adopted.[9][10]
The studio planned to adapt Joyce's style to the film, but the style was slightly reworked due to his stylistic involvement inBlue Sky Studios'Robots. While still taking cues from his retro style, influenced by everything fromTechnicolor films to '40s architectural design, the crew also took inspiration from the companyApple.[9] Unlike their previous film,Chicken Little, which starred CG animals, the animation crew had the challenge of animating CG humans. They took inspiration fromPixar'sThe Incredibles when animating the characters. They also took inspiration from Disney animated classics, such asAlice in Wonderland,Cinderella, andPeter Pan, and fromWarner Bros. Cartoons to capture the 1950s aesthetic.[9]
While the film was in production,The Walt Disney Company announced on January 24, 2006, that it would be acquiring Pixar, and as a result,John Lasseter became the chief creative officer of both Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios. When he saw an early film screening, he told Anderson that he did not find the villain scary or threatening enough and suggested he make some changes. Almost 60% of the film had been scrapped and redone ten months later. The villain had improved and was given a new sidekick, a dinosaur chase had been added, and the ending was changed.[11]
Jim Carrey was initially offered the role of Bowler Hat Guy, but he turned it down to star inThe Number 23.[12]
Over 600REAL D Cinema digital 3D-equipped theaters presented theDisney Digital 3-D version of the film.[13] In all theatrical showings, the standard version of the film was preceded by the 1938Mickey Mouse short filmBoat Builders, and the 3D version was preceded by the 1953Donald Duck 3D short filmWorking for Peanuts.[14] The final credits of the 3D version were left two-dimensional, except for the names of those who converted the film to 3D. This is also the first Walt Disney animated film to display theWalt Disney Animation Studios logo at the beginning; previous animated films from Walt Disney Animation Studios had only displayed theWalt Disney Pictures logo.
TheDVD andBlu-ray versions were both released on October 23, 2007.[15] Both versions feature a 1.78widescreen aspect ratio andDolby Digital 5.1surround sound, music videos, the "Family Function 5000" game,deleted scenes, and other bonus features. The DVD'saudio commentary contains Anderson's narration, occasionally interrupted by himself as the Bowler Hat Guy. The Blu-ray also includes uncompressed 5.1 audio and aBD-J game,Bowler Hat Barrage!. ABlu-ray 3D was released on November 8, 2011.[16]
As of January 2008, the DVD had sold approximately 4 million copies.[17]
On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, 68% of 143 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.4/10. The website's consensus reads: "Meet the Robinsons is a visually impressive children's animated film marked by a story of considerable depth."[18]Metacritic reported the film had a weighted average score of 61 out of 100 based on 27 critic reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[19] Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A–" on an A+ to F scale.[20]
Real Movie News stated it has "a snappy plot that demands close attention as it whizzes back and forth in the space-time continuum, touching on serious ideas and proposing some rather disturbing alternate realities. And the witty story twists are handled with rare subtlety and intelligence. In the end, it may get a little weepy and inspirational. But it's so charming that we don't mind at all".[21] Danny Minton of theBeaumont Journal said that "The Robinsons might not be a family you want to hang out with, but they sure were fun to meet in this imaginative and beautiful 3-D experience".[22] Andrew L. Urban ofAustralian Urban Cinefile said, "Walt Disney stood for fantasy on screen and this is a loving tribute to his legacy".[23]Kyle Smith of theNew York Post named it the 10th best film of 2007.[24]
Conversely,A. O. Scott ofThe New York Times wrote: "Meet the Robinsons is surely one of the worst theatrically released animated features issued under the Disney label in quite some time".[25] At the same time, Lisa Schwarzbaum ofEntertainment Weekly gave the film a "C" and said, "This is one bumpy ride".[26] Sandie Angulo Chen ofCommon Sense Media gave the film a rating of three stars out of five, saying "The multi-generational relationships, especially in the future, are endearing." She also said that the main characters, Lewis and Wilbur, are "perfect protagonists in children's adventures," she called them "ultimate underdogs, and only the most hardened heart could root against them." She noted that Lewis describing as "not the typical orphan suffering under the rule of cruel-hearted adults."[27]
Meet the Robinsons grossed $25,123,781 on its opening weekend, ranking second place behindBlades of Glory.[28] Over its theatrical run, it grossed $97,822,171 in the United States of America and $72,730,548 in other territories, grossing $170,552,719 worldwide.[4]
| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipients | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annie Awards | February 8, 2008 | Storyboarding in a Feature Production | Don Hall | Nominated |
| Music in a Feature Production | Danny Elfman,Rufus Wainwright, andRob Thomas | Nominated | ||
| Young Artist Award | March 30, 2008 | Best Family Feature Film - Animation | Meet the Robinsons | Nominated |
| Best Performance in a Voice-Over Role – Young Actor | Paul Butcher | Won | ||
| Jordan Fry | Nominated | |||
| Golden Reel Award | 2008 | Golden Reel Award for Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Sound Effects, Foley, Dialogue and ADR for Animated Feature Film | Todd Toon(supervising sound editor/sound designer); David Kern(supervising Foley editor); G.W. Brown(supervising dialogue/ADR editor); Adam Kopald, Donald J. Malouf, Chuck Michael(sound effects editors); Charles W. Ritter(dialogue editor); Earl Ghaffari, Bill Abbott(music editors); Dan O'Connell, John T. Cucci(Foley artists) | Nominated |
| Saturn Awards | June 24, 2008 | Best Animated Film | Meet the Robinsons | Nominated |
| Chicago Film Critics Association | December 13, 2007 | Best Animated Film | Steve Anderson | Nominated |
| Meet the Robinsons | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by Various artists | ||||
| Released | March 27, 2007 | |||
| Length | 52:46 | |||
| Label | Walt Disney | |||
| Producer | Danny Elfman | |||
| Walt Disney Animation Studios soundtrack chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Meet the Robinsons | ||||
| ||||
The soundtrack album was released byWalt Disney Records on March 27, 2007. It includes four original songs written for the film, performed byRufus Wainwright,Jamie Cullum, andRob Thomas. Contributors to the album beyond theDanny Elfman score include another track by Wainwright ("The Motion Waltz (Emotional Commotion)"),The All-American Rejects ("The Future Has Arrived"),They Might Be Giants ("There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow"), and theJonas Brothers ("Kids of the Future", a parody of "Kids in America"). The track "Little Wonders", recorded by Thomas, reached number 5 on theBillboard AC chart and the top 20 in Australia and Canada.
The song "This Much Fun" byCowboy Mouth, which was featured in the trailer, was not featured in the film or on the soundtrack. The song "There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow" was originally from theDisneyland attraction General Electric'sCarousel of Progress which was located inTomorrowland.
The Japanese version uses "Hitomi Hiraite" byMitsuki Takahata as the theme song.[29]
All music is composed byDanny Elfman, except as noted.
| No. | Title | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Another Believer" | Rufus Wainwright | 4:39 |
| 2. | "Little Wonders" | Rob Thomas | 3:45 |
| 3. | "The Future Has Arrived" | The All-American Rejects | 3:05 |
| 4. | "Where Is Your Heart At?" (written by Rufus Wainwright) | Jamie Cullum | 2:23 |
| 5. | "The Motion Waltz (Emotional Commotion)" | Rufus Wainwright | 2:35 |
| 6. | "Give Me the Simple Life" | Jamie Cullum | 2:04 |
| 7. | "The Prologue" | 1:24 | |
| 8. | "To the Future!" | 1:16 | |
| 9. | "Meeting the Robinsons" | 1:56 | |
| 10. | "The Science Fair" | 2:47 | |
| 11. | "Goob's Story" | 1:01 | |
| 12. | "A Family United" | 1:37 | |
| 13. | "Pop Quiz and the Time Machine Montage" | 3:45 | |
| 14. | "The Evil Plan" | 4:13 | |
| 15. | "Doris Has Her Day" | 4:58 | |
| 16. | "Setting Things Right" | 6:00 | |
| 17. | "There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow" | They Might Be Giants | 2:00 |
| 18. | "Kids of the Future" | Jonas Brothers | 3:18 |
| Total length: | 52:46 | ||
AMeet the Robinsons video game was published byDisney Interactive Studios forPlayStation 2,Xbox 360,Wii,GameCube,Nintendo DS, andMicrosoft Windows. England-basedClimax Group developed their own adaptation for theGame Boy Advance.
Bowler Hat Guy, Franny Robinson, and Carl appear as playable characters in the mobile gameDisney Heroes: Battle Mode.[30]
Disneytoon Studios originally planned to make adirect-to-video sequel to the film, tentatively titledMeet the Robinsons 2: First Date.[31] However, when Lasseter became Walt Disney Animation Studios' new chief creative officer, he cancelled all sequels in development at Disneytoon, includingMeet the Robinsons 2, and ordered the studio to shift its focus towards spin-off films and original productions.[31]
In May 2022, many cast and crew members including the film's director and writer and voice of Bowler Hat Guy,Stephen Anderson, co-writer Michelle Spitz and actors Jordan Fry,Michaela Jill Murphy and Matthew Josten who voiced Lewis while the latter two voiced the younger versions of Franny and Goob respectively, reunited to celebrate the film's 15 year anniversary by participating in a 2-hourlivestream on YouTube onThe Tammy Tuckey Show. The event had been organised ahead of time.[32] A limited editionMagicBand bracelet was also released by the company to commemorate the 15th anniversary.[33]
The characters of Lewis, Wilbur, Bowler Hat Guy, Carl, and Lucille (in her young scientist judge appearance) made cameos appearances in the 2023 short filmOnce Upon a Studio to celebrate Disney's 100th anniversary, in which they were recreated using new CGI models. This was due to the original models not being animated for over a decade, as well as updates made to animation technology since the original film's release, with rigging and rendering being reworked so they could be used with modern technology.[34]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
.svg)
