Movie Review Meet the Robinsons

Meet the Robinsons (2007) 

Directed by Stephen Anderson 

Written by Jon Bernstein, Don Hall, Nathan Greno, Aurian Redson, Joe Mateo 

Starring Daniel Hansen, Jordan Fry, Wesley Singerman, Angela Bassett, Tom Selleck

Release Date March 30th, 2007

Published March March 29th, 2007 

Walt Disney was a visionary of great imagination and boundless enthusiasm. While many biographers have pointed out his flaws, some very dark flaws that some quite fairly point out. But the wonder of his creations is still undeniable and is recreated with loving care with the release of the new CG cartoon Meet The Robinsons.

This high tech time travel cartoon is so good hearted and sweet, in the great tradition of Pinocchio et al that it's darn near sickening. Thankfully some smart scripting by John Bernstein adapting William Joyce, and strong direction by Stephen J. Anderson, who hasn't worked in animation in nearly a decade, keep Meet The Robinsons pointedly away from treacle.

The story of an orphan taken into the future to chase down a bowler hat wearing villain who intends to change the past to change the future, Meet The Robinsons tells the story of Lewis whose wild imagination and crazy inventions have kept many couples from adopting him. Lewis's inventions tend to blow up as he demonstrates them for potential parents.

Lewis's latest invention is one that he hopes will help him find the mother that gave him up when he was just a baby. It’s a memory retrieval device and eventually; we learn, it’s this invention that will change the world in the future. But first, Lewis has to stop the bowler hat guy and meet the Robinsons, a wacky inventor clan and the owners and inventors of time travel.

The story is actually quite complicated, in the tradition of the space time continuum and the mind bending space and time anomalies at home in classic sci fi prose from Ray Bradbury to Star Trek The Next Generation. The story twists and turns back on itself, teasing what happens in the past and how it plays in the future. However, the story is not so hard to follow that the small children will be confused by it.

Meet The Robinsons is colorful and imaginative with a big heart and a few big laughs, more than enough to keep kids in rapt attention, enjoying every candy coated minute. Meanwhile, mom and dad can marvel at a story that is at once awash in childlike wonder and smart enough to grasp the concept and inherent tragedies of classic sci fi.

Based on the imaginative writing of children's author William Joyce, Meet The Robinsons crafts a wondrous fantasy of the future that is grounded in this loving eccentric family where grandpa wears his clothes backwards, Aunt Billie has a life sized train set, and mom trains frogs to sing like Frank Sinatra. A future where time travel has been conquered but is not prevalent.

It's a utopian future where family is the true utopia. Being loved and accepted for your failures and what they teach is the most valuable currency. A future filled with lessons that hopefully will resonate with young audiences. It's okay to be wrong sometimes, failure teaches.

The movie is dedicated to Walt Disney whose imagination and life force is why movies like Meet The Robinsons exist today. Put aside the various stories of Disney's personal life that may have some dark edge to them and look at his legacy in animation and this dedication rings wonderfully true. The Walt Disney of his prime would have loved Meet The Robinsons; the rare non-Pixar Disney project to deliver on his legacy of wondrous imagination and a big heart.

Movie Review Tangled

Tangled (2010) 

Directed by Nathan Greno, Byron Howard 

Written by Dan Fogelman

Starring Mandy Moore, Zachary Levi, Donna Murphy 

Release Date November 24th, 2010 

Published November 23rd, 2010

In their 50th original animated feature Disney has once again hit a home run. “Tangled” is a joyous musical treat for the ears and the eyes as even in 3D Disney's classic hand drawn style manages to shine. Re-imagining the fairy tale Rapunzel as romantic musical adventure directors Nathan Greno and Byron Howard and writer Dan Fogelman have reinvigorated the tale for a new audience to love.

Mandy Moore offers the voice of Rapunzel. Trapped in a tower by Mother Gothel, the woman she believes is her real mother, Rapunzel spends her days reading, painting and singing with her chameleon pal Pascal, who thankfully cannot duet, he's not a talking chameleon. One day, while indulging her usual pursuits, Rapunzel finds a man in her tower; Flynn Ryder (Zachary Levy, NBC's Chuck) is on the run from the kingdom having stolen a precious royal heirloom.

Rapunzel may have spent the last 18 years trapped in a tower but that doesn't stop her from whipping pretty boy Flynn's butt with her magical long blonde hair. Using her enchanted tresses to toss, trip and tie up Flynn, Rapunzel quickly realizes that what her 'mother' told her about the outside world being dangerous might be true but that she cannot take care of herself is completely false. Once Flynn is subdued Rapunzel decides that the rakish thief would be the perfect guide to the outside world. She will hold his stolen goods until he shows her the kingdom's annual Lantern Festival, up close. If you cannot guess where this is heading, a few songs, romance, more cute animals and eventually a happy ending, you aren't trying.

”Tangled” is not about the preordained outcome thankfully. Rather, it's about a joyous musical journey where the gorgeous music of composer Alan Menken and the perfect Disney Princess voice of Mandy Moore takes hold of you and elevates you to a state of blissful happiness. In all seriousness, “Tangled” is one of the happiest, most joy filled movies ever put to the screen.

Tangled is the rare movie that manages to be happy and joy filled without being cloying or too cute. Mandy Moore and Zachary Levy strike just the perfect chords as the spunky Princess and the suave yet goofball rake. Director's Nathan Greno and Byron Howard create a gorgeous world for these characters to inhabit and while there is darkness on the edges, a pair of twins is known as the Stabbington brothers, the focus is on the warm, the fuzzy, and the fun.

The music of Alan Menken may not hold a standout single, nothing that could become a hit beyond the movie, but he nails the joyful tone and Moore seems born for Menken's spunky lyrics that she delivers with effortless, honest delight without ever becoming excessively sweet or sentimental.

There is a simple, honest excitement that radiates from every inch of “Tangled.” The film is a complete delight, a near overdose of fun. Even in 3D, which I mostly loathe, “Tangled” manages to shine. Great songs, great characters and even a touch of chaste romance combine with classic Disney animation to create arguably the biggest surprise of 2010. “Tangled” may be one of the best movies of the year.