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Description
Show: Disney Animated Canon
Episode: N/A
Year: 2007

Writer(s): John Bernstein, Michelle Bochner, Don Hall, Nathan Greno, Aurian Redson, Joseph Mateo, Stephen J. Anderson, Robert L. Baird, Daniel Gerson, Shirley Pierce

Ok, before I begin this review, I will admit I mainly heard about this film through the vine of Mr. Enter like with things such as The Gregory Horror Show. Now despite this, I assure you I am not doing this movie to beat him to something; that's never been the case. It's… ok, maybe it's influenced by him, but I am NOT a copycat! When I saw this movie for myself the first time on Blu-Ray, I KNEW I had to do a review of this beauty! It's easily the most underrated film they've ever made!

Time travel is easily one of my favorite sci-fi tools of all, well, TIME! No matter what it's used in, be it good or bad, expect the outcome to be creative and unique for what's using it. Granted, I've never seen time travel done perfectly ever, even in the best things like Mr. Peabody and Sherman (one of my favorite DreamWorks movies; I actually like that movie more than this but that's for another review) or even when done in video games like Chrono Trigger (another future review). This is mainly in part to setting the various rules and conditions of time travel so that it don't come off as stupid or nonsensical. You see, even when dealing with a fictional trope, you have to set rules for them to make them have SOME form of logic. Even Dragon Ball Z wasn't completely clear with time travel, and that may have done it the best out of most of what I've ever seen.

Speaking of which, without rules, things tend to be overpowered as fuck. Take the Dragon Balls as a prime example of how this can be very bad. They have a very clearly defined set of rules: they cannot grant a wish more than once, at least in the same way; this includes reviving somebody from the dead only once. And on that front, they cannot bring somebody back to life if they've died of natural causes, including not just old age but diseases as well. When reviving multiple people from the dead, they MUST have died under similar circumstances and CANNOT have been dead longer than a year of each other; this year limit doesn't apply to singular revivals. They cannot grant any wish that is beyond the power of the being who created them, be they Earth or Namekian, but they can be upgraded if the creator has the proper skill needed like a computer. This is why in the Buu Saga the upgrade made Porunga overpowered for plot convenience, with the upgrades they never imply if he has ANY drawbacks like Shenron, and as such, he comes off as overpowered. Say what you will about Dragon Ball GT, but its idea of a time limit for wishes and negative buildup makes sense!

Now that all that gobbledygook is out of the way, let's get into why this movie is so awesome! I see this movie as a much better Dexter's Laboratory movie than Ego Trip was, and that's mainly due to its ending being a time paradox. While we do kind of get that here, it isn't as blatant or confusing. Lewis is a very lovable protagonist even for an orphan without the whole "FEEL SORRY FOR ME" thing going overboard like many of them tend to do. I absolutely admire his dedication and desire to improve technology and create all sorts of awesome inventions. He's like a more practical Jimmy Neutron in that regard without the ego. And his idea of a machine to unlock the secrets of the hippocampus to restore lost memories is absolutely BRILLIANT! He actually kind of reminds me of me when I was a kid: I still have that drive to help others and improve the world, but unfortunately not the confidence or motivation.

Pretty much every single character in this movie is very lovable and relatable in some way, be they major or minor, even the villain! Ah yes, the Bowler Hat guy! He is one of my favorite Disney villains, top 10 easily! Not quite Jafar or Hades, but he's the most likable of all of them next to Hades himself. It helps we actually see how he got to be where he was and how he ended up such a mess. He isn't so much evil as he is confused and jealous. And he actually comes to realize what he did was a horrible mistake and makes up for it! I don't want to say anymore at the risk of major spoilers, but you'll see what I mean with him when you watch it. Also, he's a Brony; it isn't even subtle whatsoever! They really did get an all-star cast for this film with actors such as Tom Kenny, Harland Williams and even Adam West, and they weren't even blatant about it for once!

While the visuals aren't the most stunning thing I've ever seen from Disney in terms of CGI (that would be Wreck-It Ralph), they're definitely some of the better looking I've seen compared to things like Dinosaur and Chicken Little, especially in the world of the future. I kind of feel like this is what the world of Cubix: Robots for Everyone SHOULD'VE looked like if it had a bigger budget. Each one of the objects in the future is a visual delight; there's always something interesting that catches your eye, be it a crazy invention or a neat character. And this is where the movie hits some problems, not ones that make it bad or an animated atrocity but a minor gripe, and it isn't even that. This movie does so much, has so many characters and has such a warped sense of pacing that the story itself tends to either slog or move too fast at various points, tending to leave out certain details; almost like this movie was meant more as an experiment in and of itself.

With all of that said, in spite of its flaws and certain logical lapses, I feel this movie is the best representation of what Walt Disney Studios has always stood for since its inception almost a century ago. Even in its darkest periods, Disney always strived to experiment and try new things whenever possible, and like Lewis, inspite of their efforts they met with near constant failure for a good chunk of the 2000s decade, but they never gave up. This movies message of perseverance is definitely something everybody needs to learn, even Disney was still relearning this at the time it came out! Inspite of their failures, they kept improving and developing new techniques and whatnot. I actually feel this movie was intended to be the pilot of a TV series of sorts, and yes, I would really love to see a TV spinoff of this movie! Please do that soon! If that was the case, a lot of the problems this movie has can kind of be overlooked if it was intended to be a TV pilot, albeit rushed akin to MLP: Friendship Is Magic's pilot. And the very arc words that this movie uses are the best message Disney has ever done: “Keep Moving Forward”; yeah, it ain't subtle but it actually WORKS!

On a final note, does anybody know if the Meet the Robinsons video game is any good? I really want to play it! I've heard most video game spinoffs of Disney movies tend to be very hit or miss, but with a movie like this I expect great things, even if it fails. Remember everybody: Keep moving forward!

Meet the Robinson's is owned by Disney.

1001 Animations is from

Regulas314

Description
Show: Disney Animated Canon
Episode: N/A
Year: 2007

Writer(s): John Bernstein, Michelle Bochner, Don Hall, Nathan Greno, Aurian Redson, Joseph Mateo, Stephen J. Anderson, Robert L. Baird, Daniel Gerson, Shirley Pierce

Ok, before I begin this review, I will admit I mainly heard about this film through the vine of Mr. Enter like with things such as The Gregory Horror Show. Now despite this, I assure you I am not doing this movie to beat him to something; that's never been the case. It's… ok, maybe it's influenced by him, but I am NOT a copycat! When I saw this movie for myself the first time on Blu-Ray, I KNEW I had to do a review of this beauty! It's easily the most underrated film they've ever made!

Time travel is easily one of my favorite sci-fi tools of all, well, TIME! No matter what it's used in, be it good or bad, expect the outcome to be creative and unique for what's using it. Granted, I've never seen time travel done perfectly ever, even in the best things like Mr. Peabody and Sherman (one of my favorite DreamWorks movies; I actually like that movie more than this but that's for another review) or even when done in video games like Chrono Trigger (another future review). This is mainly in part to setting the various rules and conditions of time travel so that it don't come off as stupid or nonsensical. You see, even when dealing with a fictional trope, you have to set rules for them to make them have SOME form of logic. Even Dragon Ball Z wasn't completely clear with time travel, and that may have done it the best out of most of what I've ever seen.

Speaking of which, without rules, things tend to be overpowered as fuck. Take the Dragon Balls as a prime example of how this can be very bad. They have a very clearly defined set of rules: they cannot grant a wish more than once, at least in the same way; this includes reviving somebody from the dead only once. And on that front, they cannot bring somebody back to life if they've died of natural causes, including not just old age but diseases as well. When reviving multiple people from the dead, they MUST have died under similar circumstances and CANNOT have been dead longer than a year of each other; this year limit doesn't apply to singular revivals. They cannot grant any wish that is beyond the power of the being who created them, be they Earth or Namekian, but they can be upgraded if the creator has the proper skill needed like a computer. This is why in the Buu Saga the upgrade made Porunga overpowered for plot convenience, with the upgrades they never imply if he has ANY drawbacks like Shenron, and as such, he comes off as overpowered. Say what you will about Dragon Ball GT, but its idea of a time limit for wishes and negative buildup makes sense!

Now that all that gobbledygook is out of the way, let's get into why this movie is so awesome! I see this movie as a much better Dexter's Laboratory movie than Ego Trip was, and that's mainly due to its ending being a time paradox. While we do kind of get that here, it isn't as blatant or confusing. Lewis is a very lovable protagonist even for an orphan without the whole "FEEL SORRY FOR ME" thing going overboard like many of them tend to do. I absolutely admire his dedication and desire to improve technology and create all sorts of awesome inventions. He's like a more practical Jimmy Neutron in that regard without the ego. And his idea of a machine to unlock the secrets of the hippocampus to restore lost memories is absolutely BRILLIANT! He actually kind of reminds me of me when I was a kid: I still have that drive to help others and improve the world, but unfortunately not the confidence or motivation.

Pretty much every single character in this movie is very lovable and relatable in some way, be they major or minor, even the villain! Ah yes, the Bowler Hat guy! He is one of my favorite Disney villains, top 10 easily! Not quite Jafar or Hades, but he's the most likable of all of them next to Hades himself. It helps we actually see how he got to be where he was and how he ended up such a mess. He isn't so much evil as he is confused and jealous. And he actually comes to realize what he did was a horrible mistake and makes up for it! I don't want to say anymore at the risk of major spoilers, but you'll see what I mean with him when you watch it. Also, he's a Brony; it isn't even subtle whatsoever! They really did get an all-star cast for this film with actors such as Tom Kenny, Harland Williams and even Adam West, and they weren't even blatant about it for once!

While the visuals aren't the most stunning thing I've ever seen from Disney in terms of CGI (that would be Wreck-It Ralph), they're definitely some of the better looking I've seen compared to things like Dinosaur and Chicken Little, especially in the world of the future. I kind of feel like this is what the world of Cubix: Robots for Everyone SHOULD'VE looked like if it had a bigger budget. Each one of the objects in the future is a visual delight; there's always something interesting that catches your eye, be it a crazy invention or a neat character. And this is where the movie hits some problems, not ones that make it bad or an animated atrocity but a minor gripe, and it isn't even that. This movie does so much, has so many characters and has such a warped sense of pacing that the story itself tends to either slog or move too fast at various points, tending to leave out certain details; almost like this movie was meant more as an experiment in and of itself.

With all of that said, in spite of its flaws and certain logical lapses, I feel this movie is the best representation of what Walt Disney Studios has always stood for since its inception almost a century ago. Even in its darkest periods, Disney always strived to experiment and try new things whenever possible, and like Lewis, inspite of their efforts they met with near constant failure for a good chunk of the 2000s decade, but they never gave up. This movies message of perseverance is definitely something everybody needs to learn, even Disney was still relearning this at the time it came out! Inspite of their failures, they kept improving and developing new techniques and whatnot. I actually feel this movie was intended to be the pilot of a TV series of sorts, and yes, I would really love to see a TV spinoff of this movie! Please do that soon! If that was the case, a lot of the problems this movie has can kind of be overlooked if it was intended to be a TV pilot, albeit rushed akin to MLP: Friendship Is Magic's pilot. And the very arc words that this movie uses are the best message Disney has ever done: “Keep Moving Forward”; yeah, it ain't subtle but it actually WORKS!

On a final note, does anybody know if the Meet the Robinsons video game is any good? I really want to play it! I've heard most video game spinoffs of Disney movies tend to be very hit or miss, but with a movie like this I expect great things, even if it fails. Remember everybody: Keep moving forward!

Meet the Robinson's is owned by Disney.

1001 Animations is from

Regulas314