I've Met The Robinsons

A few weeks ago I was Disney's latest movie, Meet the Robinsons. I thought it was a good, but not great movie. With so many horror movies showing up in theaters, with each one trying to be more evil and more gory than the last, it is nice to be able to see movie that I, my wife and young son can all enjoy together. Looking at it from that perspective, it was a great movie!

A real treat and surprise for me is that there was an actual classic Disney short that preceded the movie. Apparently the short you see depends on where you see it. The one we had was the 1938 classic, Boat Builders. The cartoon is about Mickey, Donald, and Goofy assembling a boat from a kit that is so easy, "even a child can do it!" Mishaps ensure, of course...

The feature presentation was also very entertaining. I won't rehash the storyline since you can learn about that at many many other Web sites. My own perspective is that is the best non-Pixar Disney animated movie since Lilo & Stitch. This isn't exactly the strongest compliment, but it is a huge step in the right direction after the horrific Chicken Little, Treasure Planet, and Atlantis.

The film has heart warming and heart-breaking segments that work very well. The biggest problem I had was the segment where Lewis (the main protagonist) meets the futuristic family. The pace is so frenetic that only people with severe attention-deficit disorder could follow it. I don't understand why Disney feels its necessary to have such a chaotic and breakneck pace. It really took me out of the movie!

Also, a word of warning if you are bringing a little one with you to this movie. The attack of the Tyrannosaurus Rex is very intense. Also, an alternate future filled with zombies and dark industrialized cities can be very scary.

The movie does provide some good moral messages of caring for others, not letting the fear of failure overpower you, and forgiveness. The movie has a surprising but low key ending that will tug at the heartstrings of any die-hard Disney fan.

All in all, it is a fine family film that is worth seeing, but not necessarily owning on DVD.