It surprised me how with its goodness. I mean, it wasn't GREAT, but it was beyond my expectations.

I watched this movie literally just so I could tell people what I thought about it. And honestly, I wasn't expecting to be able to give it anything more than 2 stars. I was wrong.

The characters had depth and were dynamic, and the basic story was quite enjoyable. There is a myriad of people who will very much entertain you, and also some that will get you thinking about what you have been doing with your emotions, if only for an hour and a half.

Now, the bad news.

The animation was simply not up to caliber. This was something that I did expect. The animation for just Disney without Pixar looks literally like fondant (if you have ever seen it or tasted it, it is very smooth and unnatural-looking and it also makes you want to retch as soon as it enters your mouth.) It's far too perfect-looking - sort of like plastic times people.

The story felt very rushed. They were trying to cram far too much into too small a period of time. (Man, just reminds you of how people's attention spans are shortening.) As a result, by the time the climax arrives you are still thinking, "Didn't this movie just start?" It makes things feel unnatural - and that is the kind of thing that reminds me that the last movie they made was Chicken Little, which was rushed all the way through to the point in which they had NO story.

Good, but not great. Good for one watch, no more than two.

Enjoy!

Having the honor of following up Chicken Little, the movie that abandoned Disney traditional animation in favor of CG, was Meet the Robinsons. From the trailers, Robinsons looked like a wacky, zany, and wholly unfunny movie, complete with a breakdancing T-Rex... Fortunately, that estimation was not completely accurate, after all, Robinsons was not wholly unfunny, and though there was a T-Rex, he did not actually break dance.

The movie opens by introducing Lewis, an orphan boy that likes to invent things. On the day of the big Science Fair, a guy with a bowler hat sabotages Lewis' rememberator device, hoping to ruin Lewis's day. Another kid, Wilbur, having failed to stop the hijinx, tries to convince Lewis to "keep moving forward" and to not give up on inventing. As it turns out Wilbur is from the future, and the two boys end up there where all hell breaks lose. At this point in the movie we are introduced to the whole Robinsons clan which is a troupe of way too many wacky people who enjoy food fights and other wacky interactions. There really is just too much new character overload to follow. Anyways, after this point, the movie does get a little better as we learn more about the bowler hat guys motivations. There were a couple of interesting twists in the movie as well that kept the story interesting, and I do not want to give them away. Needless to say, the tale wraps up nice and cheery like.

Now, this movie was not all bad. Along with the zany characters, the future sequences also had some pretty nice designs and colorful depictions of the world of tomorrow. In addition, we were treated to a dark and twisted alternate future where the Bowler Hat Guy had taken over the world. And like I mentioned before, the story was actually interesting. My main complaint is that all of the characters seemed to have ADD (one of them actually bragged about her hyper caffeine stimulation). There were also some singing frogs that showed up for no real good reason, along with about 100 other images and characters that all seemed thrown in for extra stimulation.

All I know is that this was a big step up from Chicken Little, and in spite of its flaws, I did enjoy watching it. The problem is that Disney doesn't seem to have an identity anymore. This movie lacked the heart and soul of traditional Disney films, it lacked the all ages appeal and endearing characters of Pixar, and even lacked the irreverence of Dreamworks. Without any of those elements, the movie just seemed a little bland. Lets hope Disney finds a way to stand out in the oversaturated animation market, preferably by going back to its roots. As for Lewis and his crew, they earn an unremarkable B-.

Meet the Robinsons, Disney Feature Animation's latest CGI animated movie, is a big step up from their last endeavor: Chicken Little which wasn't a disaster but failed to meet expectations.

Based on the book A Day With Wilbur Robinson by William Joyce, Meet the Robinsons, while not a masterpeice, is one of the better animated films to come out this year.

Summary from IMDB:

"When an orphaned child genius named Lewis has his science fair project ruined by forces from the future he must join with a strange boy who claims to be from the future to steal his invention back, fix it and save a new found family from a bleak future where mind control devices enslave the masses. "

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Meet the Robinsons is a feast for the eyes. The animation is wonderful and there is so much detail in every shot it's mind blowing. I especially liked the animation on the Bowler Hat Guy.

The story is solid. There were quite a few interesting plot twists. The story should keep adults as well as children entertained.
I've heard complaints that the story is "confusing". I don't know where that came from. I found the story quite easy to follow.

So, in conclusion, Meet the Robinsons is a solid Disney movie. It has it's flaws for sure. While not as good as great Surf's Up or the masterpiece Ratatouille it still manages to beat the crap, visually and story wise, out of both Shrek the Third and Bee Movie.

I give Meet the Robinsons an 88 B+.

I've complained before that since 3D came on the scene, most cartoons seemed to be going for nothing but laughs, with no emotional depth or character development.

Meet the Robinsons manages to be funny and touching, and though a few characters aren't very far from stock fare, they were good enough. The movie is a delight for the eyes and a pleasure to watch--this was the first time in a long while I was tempted to watch a movie twice in a row. I especially liked Lewis's roommate Goob, and enjoyed his storyline very much. For a change, it's not ALL about the hero.

The early trailers for this film made it look extraordinarily stupid and juvenile. I'm glad I heard enough good things about it to watch it anyway.

On the down side: Disney attempted to replicate some old-fashioned 2D squash-and-stretch in 3D. It doesn't stop the characters from looking like plastic dolls, it just gives the impression that they are covered by a thin rubber skin over a filling of jelly or slime or some other goo...kudos for experimenting, though. The worst flaw in my opinion was that Disney stuck a message on the ending of the movie, claiming that 'keep moving forward' was the Disney motto, etc., etc. As someone who was annoyed that they quit 2D in favor of 3D, I found that message both defensive and arrogant. If I knew nothing about Disney's inner politics and layoffs, I would still wonder at the idea of putting a self-congratulatory blurb at the end of an excellent film. Don't you guys have enough room to pat yourselves on the back in the Extra Features? If every studio follows suit, I would gag. Can you imagine? "MGM has always felt that there was no place like home. Also, we deplore leash laws and make a point of supporting torado victims. Bully for us." When it was Walt Disney personally adding little notes to the films, it was endearing. When it's a super-powerful faceless corporation, it's just a commercial. Walt's dead--get over it.

I give Meet the Robinsons two thumbs up and a nose slightly out of joint.

Meet the Robinsons - Disney's 2nd CG animated flick, I feel deserves a certain degree of importance. This is because it is evident that our favourite animation studio is back on track.

Watching this film is a celebration of energy and imagination. The film-makers have pulled all the stops in making sure that this motion picture is indeed something special. Boasting snappy story-telling, the time-continuum element may confuse some people, especially children, but the film's rich plotting and subtle setimentality somewhat counter that undesirable effect.

Some critics have remarked that the movie's middle act is its Achilles' heel, especially as we are meeting the many Robinsons. They have got a point, as this segment does detract somewhat from the main objective of the narrative, and slows the fast pacing. I suppose the way it's presented makes it feel like it's not meant to be there, like it should have been omitted or modified. This, however, is a minor quibble in what is undeniably a heartfelt story.

I have to say that the CG animation is some of the most glorious I have ever set eyes on. I saw the 2D version of this film (in my country - Malta - there are no 3D theatres), and although people will be most impressed with the 3D version, the 2D screening is not to be sniffed at. The animation is absolutely luscious and exhibits the element of "squash and stretch" of 2D animation in a believable fashion. Probably some of the finest CG animation to grace the silver screen. The quality of the animation here is certainly on par with that of Pixar, albeit much more stylized. Since Pixar seems to be considered the pioneer of CG animation, then if that of Meet the Robinsons lives up to their standards, it's most certainly good. Truth be told, I enjoyed this style of animation more than Pixar's, and I'm really making an effort to refain from saying that I think that what is on show here actually goes beyond what Pixar have ever made.

Overall, this movie is one of a universal appeal. It is refreshing and intoxicatingly creative, and does not fall for the modern cliches of animated films (i.e. animal buddy comedies, flatulence jokes etc.).

In a nutshell, a magnificent movie! Certainly one that Disney's animation department should be proud of!