Meet the Robinsons [Blu-ray]

beautiful movie HELLO always makes me cry v bittersweet especially for anyone who has been through state care/foster care. I'd say this is the best family movie for an adoptee parent wanting to show their new addition what a big difference they can truly make as well as a sweet lesson about family not always being "blood relation" impactful little movie. ALWAYS watch for yourself first to determine if this is right or not though.

“Meet the Robinsons” the 47th Disney animated feature, is based off of the book “A Day with Wilbur Robinson”. It was the fourth highest grossing animated film in 2007 after Ratatouille, Shrek the Third, and The Simpsons Movie, and was the first film in the new Walt Disney Animation Studios after the agreement with Pixar expired. Since I have never read “A Day with Wilbur Robinson”, I don’t know if it is authentic to the book. Usually books made into movies aren’t always authentic to the book, but that mostly doesn’t take the enjoyment away. Now let’s make with the reviewing!First let’s talk about the characters. Lewis is the main protagonist in the movie voiced by Tom Selleck, Daniel Hansen, and Jordan Fry. He is genius inventor with a sad past. His mom gave him up when he was a baby and the orphanage has been his only home for almost 13 years. He doesn’t sit around and mope about not having a mom. In fact, he invents a machine to retrieve a memory of her to find her. He is easily crushed when he fails and is definitely a perfectionist. That makes him a very admirable character for me. He comes out of the movie with a new family, and a new way of dealing with fails. He learns to keep moving forward and learn from his mistakes.Wilbur is Lewis’ future son. He is very interesting contrast to the rest of his crazy family, and acts very much like a typical teenage boy. Throughout the movie Wilbur seems to always be hiding something. Wilbur at first glance in the movie seems a bit strange and jumpy. He guides Lewis along from the present to the future to make sure he makes the right choices to get to the same future he has right now. His best friend is a humanoid robot named Carl. Carl is very much like the Jiminy Cricket for Wilbur and is very whimsical.Mike “Goob” Yagoobian/ Bowler Hat Guy is the villain of the movie. But he isn’t evil for the sake of being evil. He was an adorable little kid who I thought was going to be the comic relief. He actually talked like a kid. He was driven by bitterness at Lewis for keeping him up all night the night before a big baseball game. As a result he fell asleep in the ninth inning, and missed the winning catch. He grew up then believing that it was his fault until one day he realized it was Lewis’ fault. He had a plan to “destroy” Robinson Industries but a helping hat named Doris gave him another more destructive plan.Doris is the mastermind behind the conflict. She is also driven by bitterness against Lewis when he didn’t see her true potential which was not the greatest thing for mankind. And when one villain works with another villain, one will most likely double cross. That is what Doris planned on doing until she literally faded out of existence thanks to Lewis deciding not to invent her.Now that we have gotten our main characters out of the way, let’s talk about the plot. The story hooks you right in at the beginning and keeps you craving for more. This is one of the only Disney movies I have seen that doesn’t have exposition being heaped out through narration. The idea of time travel is cool and it was carried out well The climax had squealing “Awesome!”, and it was tied up nicely when everyone learns a lesson and everyone gets what they want. Including the villain (Goob not Doris).But there are a few things that bug me. Why couldn’t Lewis be told he was Cornelius? Just telling him that he was the creator of that future would have cleared up so many misunderstandings from the very beginning. I guess then there wouldn’t be a movie but still. How in the world does the space time continuum work? If it always stays the same like many other interpretations of it, why was Cornelius so surprised when he saw his past self after he came back from his business trip? And how did everything work out the same if future Lewis did the same thing as past Lewis? Have I confused you yet? Regardless, these are just minor nitpicks and don’t take any enjoyment away from the movie.The final thing I want to talk about is the art style. Being the art nerd I am, this is the part of each animated move that really sells it for me. If it doesn’t have good animation, I will most likely lose interest. So what is unique about this style? It is CGI animation but has the same Disney 2-D flare to it with exaggerated facial features, small bodies, big heads, and massive hair! The contrast between the present and future was amazing! The future mostly has bright colors, is more round, and has a sort of theme park feel to it. The present is a tad darker, is more angular, and feels more like real life.Overall, I think this movie is just fantastic. Sure there are a few things that confuse me but when discussing the space time continuum is always going to be confusing. These problems don’t take away from the overall story. The characters are authentic and relatable. The story is smooth and enjoyable. The humor is there and makes me laugh every time. And the art and animation are AMAZING! This is Jojo. Signing out.

Most of you are about to realize what a very special timethis is for 3D enthusiasts. Up until recently, studios havebeen rather sporadic in releasing quality 3D films to storeshelves. However, it took one studio's firm commitment toreleasing quality content to a starving market to really turnthings around. That studio, of course, is none other thanWalt Disney.Over the next two weeks Walt Disney will be releasing some ofthe best 3D titles that I have had the pleasure of watching includingthe Toy Story, Toy Story 2, Toy Story 3 and Bolt. These films areexceptional demo-worthy material for your newly-invested displayand represent the very best of what this format has to offer to homeaudiences. Today, I am going to add one more title to that list:Meet The Robinsons.12 year old orphan boy, Lewis (Daniel Hansen), a buddinggenius in science and technology, is frustrated over not beingadopted or being accepted for who he is. Lewis spends hisdays working on a memory device, much to the disgruntlementof his brooding roommate, "Goob" (Matthew Josten).Things suddenly turn upside down upon meeting a young teenagernamed Wilbur Robinson (Wesley Singerman), who has traveledfrom the future to protect Lewis from an evil guy wearing a bowler hat(Stephen J Anderson). At first, Lewis doesn't believe Wilbur's story,that is, until they embark on hovercraft ride into the future. It is in thisforthcoming timeline that he meets The Robinsons, perhaps thezaniest cast of madcap characters ever assembled in a Disney filmall at once. With Bowler Hat Guy in hot pursuit, Lewis now mustrepair an alteration in the space-time continuum and save his newlyfound family from being perished forever.Meet The Robinsons was one of the last computer animated filmsproduced by Walt Disney Studios prior to its acquisition of Pixar. Madeentirely within the digital 3D format, Disney animators have once againbreathed life into their animated characters providing their audience withan appealing, heartwarming story filled with a plethora of pop culturalreferences and spoofs of movies and television that will keep everyonein the family smiling.Meet The Robinsons looks spectacular on 3D Blu-ray. It's bright,ultra-colorful and has a wonderful sheen that lends to the wideningof eyes upon taking it all in. Really, I cannot overemphasize enoughhow brilliant a transfer this is. I rarely have the opportunity to witnessimages so stunningly beautiful, enhanced in 3D, where everythingseems so life-like. Black levels are excellent. This is about ascrystal-clear a transfer can get. Just wait until you watch the film'sopening sepia-toned flashback. You'll marvel at its clarity, Not a blemishnor artifact to be found anywhere. In short, this is demo-worthy material.The inclusion of 3D makes this film even more of an eye-poppingexperience for the viewer. There is a heightened sense of virtualspacing created by the separation and sizing of foreground andbackground objects. The filmmakers take ample opportunities tothrow objects out towards the audience, though unfortunately, theeffect is not as extended as I would have hoped. Still, there is nocause to be unhappy here. The film still manages to dazzle theviewer with some really cool 3D effects that include flying sparks,spraying water, spouting lava, spewing peanut butter and kicked-updirt. Once in a while we get treated to objects that project themselvesoutward such as the wing of a hovercraft, the head of a robot or thechin, fingers and shoes of the Bowler Hat Guy.There is a minor problem with ghosting whose severity will probablydiffer with each display. It's not a major concern, mind you, but Idid notice a lot of double-imaging that traced characters in many ofthe darker scenes. The first time we see Doris, the bowler caphurtling in the air, or when fingers point themselves outwards, thereis a slight amount of crosstalk present.The film's 5.1 DTS-MA track is exceptionally engaging. Audio isquite hefty, well pronounced, and the rears provide enough effectusage (including Bowler Hat Guy's menacing laugher) that the listeningenvironment remains perfectly balanced and well-rounded. Thereis a generous amount of LFE activity that underlines the movementof the hovercraft or the arrival of a stomping Tyrannosaurus.Meet The Robinsons arrives as a 3-Disc Blu-ray combo package(Blu-ray 3D+Blu-ray+DVD) in lenticular cardboard casing. Bonusfeatures include audio commentary, deleted scenes, Inventing TheRobinsons featurette, games and music videos.It was just this past week that I was touting the upcoming 3Drelease of Toy Story 3 to be one of the best Blu-ray offerings ofthe year. Now I am wondering if I spoke too soon. Meet TheRobinsons is equally as impressive, if not better. It standsas the perfect example of why people should be rushing out toupgrade their equipment for this new technology. If you don'town a 3D display, you just can't savor presentations as enjoyableas this one. Don't you feel left out?

I loved this movie