Herald rating: * * *
Verdict: The story and humour don't live up to the fantastic visuals, wacky characters and creative 3D effect.
This is an animated feature film about belonging, hope, and appreciating individuality. Walt Disney was a fan of moving forward creatively, and Meet the Robinsons, based on the book by William Joyce, is innovative and creative, and practises what he preached.
It showcases a revitalised Disney animation department
that has created a snazzy looking film by creating a 3D computer animation. You have the choice of watching the film in 3D and doing so makes the experience more of a novelty and gives the film the kick it needs. Unfortunately only one cinema in Auckland is showing the 3D version, so most will have to settle for viewing it normally in 2D. The film looks great either way - it's fresh and dreamlike and the characters seem to float on the screen.
Meet the Robinsons is a sci-fi tale filled with wacky characters, time travel, and cool spaceships. But while a lot of effort has gone into how the film looks, the story lacks the pizazz of the visuals.
Young hero Lewis is a brilliant and geeky orphan whose obsession with inventing strange contraptions hasn't worked in his favour when it comes to impressing couples looking to adopt.
After 124 interviews, and no luck finding a family, Lewis creates a Memory Scanner which should help him identify what his mother looks like so he can go and track her down.
While demonstrating the machine at his school science fair, Lewis meets a boy called Wilbur who claims to be from the future.
He has come to save Lewis' invention from a man in a bowler hat who plans to steal it. Wilbur ends up whisking Lewis off on an adventure into the future.
Although the film-makers have tried to present this story in a fresh way, they have sacrificed a clear and concise plot for high-energy madcap scenarios that will keep kids entertained but might have parents looking at their watches.
Cast: Angela Bassett, Spencer Fox, Jordan Fry, Tom Kenny, Harland Williams
Director: Stephen J. Anderson
Running Time: 94 mins
Rating: G
Screening: SkyCity, Hoyts and Berkeley (3D at Hoyts Sylvia Park only)
