Lewis enters his creation in the science fair and it is here that he meets a mysterious stranger named Wilbur Robinson. Wilbur insists that Lewis beware of the Man in the Bowler Hat, as he means Lewis harm. Sure enough, the Man in the Bowler Hat sends his bowler hat minion, Doris, to sabotage Lewis' invention, and it explodes, humiliating him and frightening everyone. When Lewis gives up on science, it is up to Wilbur to whisk him to the future to get him back on track. Once we get to the future, a bright and magical place with fabulous buildings and interesting creations at every turn, its hard not to notice that everything screams "Robinson." Wilbur's dad, Cornelius Robinson (Tom Selleck), is responsible for all of the fabulous inventions of the future, and Wilbur is dead set on Lewis fixing that memory scanner as it somehow affects Wilbur's future and whether or not he will exist. Wilbur promises Lewis that if he will only fix the time machine that got damaged in transit, he'll take Lewis back to meet his mom.
Along the way, we'll be a host of kooky characters, all Robinsons of course, including Grandpa Bud, Grandma Lucille, Wilbur's mom, Franny, twins Dmitri and Laszlo, a pizza-delivering, superhero uncle (Adam West), an uptight robot, a huge purple monster who serves as the butler, and so on. Lewis has such a great time with the Robinsons that they ask him to stay and be a part of the family - that is, until they realize who he is...
Special Features include deleted scenes, which were nice to see, several featurettes including one on innovators and the inventions that shape our world, the Family Function 5000 Game which is a matching game that tests your knowledge of characters from the film, and two music videos. By watching the featurettes, you'll find out interesting things such as the voice of the Man in the Bowler Hat was done by the director, Stephen Anderson. Talk about dedication! You'll also see how the book by William Joyce (which was loosely based on Joyce's childhood) was transformed into the feature film. All good stuff.
Meet the Robinsons has a few nice twists and turns which parents will probably pick up on immediately, but will be a nice surprise for kiddies. The overall story is based on looking towards the future and, in fact, Cornelius Robinsons' motto is "Keep Moving Forward" and once you get to the end of the film, you'll see that was actually a quote from another genius in innovation. The entire film wraps the moral of letting go of a hurtful past and looking towards a bright future into an adorable movie that truly is quite clever and funny. Lewis even gets the opportunity to help the bad guy, the Man in the Bowler Hat, make things right at the end. This movie is terrific on all accounts and is a must see for Disney fans of all ages. Don't rent, just buy. The kids will want to watch it over and over.
