Meet the Robinsons

Some meetings are better when they don’t happen. Here’s an example. This movie’s hyperkinetic ridiculousness is undoubtedly meant to play as tons of fun, but in reality it simply comes across as messy and tedious. The whole tone of the film makes it difficult for the viewer to feel at all invested in the story or protagonist, even where it presents what should be a sympathetic character. (Reassuring to know, by the way, that Disney’s tradition of dead and or missing parents survived well into the 21st century.) The animation, seen from this point in time, looks crude and plastic, something little better than your average Nickelodeon cartoon and not up to the standard of the studio’s earlier or later works. And then add on top of all that the rank predictability of the tale and it’s downright impossible to find any real appeal in these proceedings. Kids may dig it, given their lack of standards and predilection for enjoying the madcap and meaningless, but any viewer of discernment should not give this family the time of day.