Meet the Robinsons is a 2007 American animated science fiction comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. Based on the 1990 children's book A Day with Wilbur Robinson by William Joyce, the film was directed by Stephen Anderson, and written by Anderson, Don Hall, Nathan Greno, Joe Mateo, Jon Bernstein, Michelle Spitz, and Aurian Redson, and stars the voices of Daniel Hansen and Jordan Fry, Wesley Singerman, Angela Bassett, Tom Selleck, Harland Williams, Laurie Metcalf, Nicole Sullivan, Adam West, Ethan Sandler, Tom Kenny, and Anderson. In the film, Lewis, an orphaned 12-year-old inventor, meets Wilbur Robinson, a young time-traveler who takes him to the future, before an incident wrecks Wilbur's time machine. Lewis agrees to help him fix the machine and ends up acquainted with Wilbur's eccentric family. Meanwhile, a mysterious man with a sentient bowler hat aims to sabotage Lewis' fate, and, by proxy, the future.
Development began in 2002, with production starting in 2004 under the working title A Day with Wilbur Robinson, with a release initially slated for 2006. Anderson developed a personal connection to the main character, Lewis, as he himself grew up as an orphan with no parents and was later adopted. Disney originally planned to adopt Joyce's style, but it was decided to slightly rework the style due to his involvement stylistically in Blue Sky Studios' Robots. The animation crew had the challenge to animate CG humans, being inspired by Pixar's The Incredibles. Inspiration for the film came from Disney animated classics, such as Alice in Wonderland, Cinderella, and Peter Pan, as well as Warner Bros. Cartoons, to capture a 1950s aesthetic. Disney's acquisition of Pixar in early 2006 led to nearly 60% of the film, including the villain and the ending, being scrapped and reworked. Danny Elfman composed the film's score, while artists such as Rufus Wainwright, Rob Thomas, The All-American Rejects, and They Might Be Giants contributed to its soundtrack.
Meet the Robinsons premiered at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles on March 25, 2007, and was released in the United States on March 30, 2007. The film received generally positive reviews from critics and audiences but was a box office disappointment, grossing $170.5 million against a budget of $150 million.
Plot Lewis, an orphaned 12-year-old boy who is an aspiring scientist and inventor, wants to get adopted, but his energetic behavior and malfunctioning inventions frequently scare off prospective parents, so he works on the Memory Scanner; a machine that scans your brain to retrieve and replay memories, to locate his birth mother, who left him at the orphanage when he was an infant.
At his school's science fair, Lewis, while taking his scanner, meets Wilbur Robinson, a mysterious boy who claims to be from the future, warning him about a tall, lanky man wearing a bowler hat (nicknamed the "Bowler Hat Guy") who stole a time machine. During Lewis' presentation, the Bowler Hat Guy's hat robot, Doris, secretly sabotages the Memory Scanner, causing it to malfunction and throw the science fair into chaos. After Lewis leaves the fair, the Bowler Hat Guy steals the Memory Scanner, intending to pitch it as his own to an invention company called InventCo. Labs, but fails as he does not know how it works, causing a humiliating presentation.
Back at the orphanage, Wilbur attempts to motivate Lewis into fixing the Memory Scanner by taking him in a second time machine to the future, which is highly technologically advanced. Lewis, however, theorizes that he can simply use the time machine to go back and prevent his mother from giving him up; an ensuing argument between the boys leads to the time machine crashing. Wilbur asks Lewis to fix the time machine, and Lewis agrees on the condition that Wilbur take him to see his mother afterwards.
At the Robinsons' house, Lewis meets the rest of the family along with seeing their bizarre inventions and behaviors, except for Cornelius, Wilbur's father and the inventor of the time's technologies, who is on a business trip. Throughout the visit, the Robinsons emphasize the "Keep Moving Forward" motto, encouraging Lewis to learn from his mistakes. Meanwhile, having followed Lewis, the Bowler Hat Guy tries to kidnap him using one of Franny's (Wilbur's mom) frogs, then a Tyrannosaurus from the past, but is foiled by the Robinsons, they later adopt the T-Rex and name it "Tiny". The family later offers to adopt Lewis, but change their mind after learning that he is from the past. Wilbur admits lying to Lewis about taking him back to see his mother, causing Lewis to run off in disgust.
Lewis then meets the Bowler Hat Guy, who offers to take him to his mother in exchange for showing him how the Memory Scanner works. Shortly after, the Bowler Hat Guy takes Lewis hostage, revealing to Lewis that Lewis is Wilbur's father, and that he himself is the adult version of Lewis' roommate, Mike 'Goob' Yagoobian, who developed a grudge against Lewis after his constant work on the Memory Scanner indirectly caused a tired Goob to lose a Little League Baseball game. Eventually, Goob met Doris, who was a failed and abandoned Robinson invention who wanted to go rogue, and the two decided to team up and ruin Lewis' life.
Leaving Lewis in the future, they return to the past and enact their plan, successfully pitching the Memory Scanner and mass-producing Helping Hats. However, Doris manipulated Goob and uses the Helping Hats to enslave humanity, erasing Wilbur from existence and turning the future into a dystopia. Lewis repairs the second time machine and confronts Doris in the past, invalidating her existence by vowing never to invent her, restoring the future and Wilbur. Lewis and Wilbur try to offer Goob to join the family but he leaves in shame for his actions.
In Wilbur's time, Lewis finally meets Cornelius, who explains how the Memory Scanner started their successful career and persuades Lewis to return to the science fair. Wilbur surprises Lewis by taking him back to the night when his mother left him at the orphanage with the time machine. Lewis attempts to interact with her, but ultimately decides against it, content with the knowledge of his future family.
Back in his own time, Lewis heads to the baseball field to wake Goob up just in time for him to make the winning catch, averting his future. At the science fair, Lewis demonstrates the Memory Scanner again, which succeeds this time. He is adopted by Dr. Lucille Krunklehorn, one of the science fair judges and a scientist from InventCo. Labs, and her husband, Bud Robinson, who nicknames him "Cornelius". Emboldened by his future family's motto of "Keep Moving Forward," Lewis moves in with his new parents and begins his inventing career.
Voice cast
Jordan Fry and Daniel Hansen as Lewis, a 12-year-old orphaned boy genius who struggles to be adopted. Tom Selleck as Cornelius Robinson, Lewis' older self, Franny's husband, and Wilbur's father. Wesley Singerman as Wilbur Robinson, the fast-talking 13-year-old son of Franny and Cornelius Robinson. Stephen Anderson as: The Bowler Hat Guy, a sinister but clumsy man from the future who seeks revenge on Lewis. Matthew Josten as Mike "Goob" Yagoobian, the Bowler Hat Guy's younger self and Lewis' roommate. Bud Robinson, Cornelius' adoptive father, Fritz and Joe's older brother, and Wilbur's grandfather. Cousin Tallulah, Fritz and Petunia Robinson's daughter and Laszlo's sister. Harland Williams as Carl, the Robinson family's neurotic but loyal robot. Nicole Sullivan as Franny Robinson, Cornelius's wife, Wilbur's mother, and Gaston and Art Robinson's sister. She trains her frogs to sing in a band and is in charge of the family when Cornelius is not around. Michaela Jill Murphy as young Franny Angela Bassett as Mildred Duffy, the motherly head of the Sixth Street Orphanage. Adam West as Art, a pizza delivery man with a superhero persona. He is Gaston and Franny's brother and Wilbur's uncle. Laurie Metcalf as Dr. Lucille Krunklehorn-Robinson, a hyper scientist at InventCo. Labs. She is Lewis' adoptive mother, Bud's wife, and Wilbur's grandmother. Tom Kenny as Mr. Willerstein, Lewis' science teacher. Ethan Sandler as: Doris, a malicious robotic bowler hat designed by Cornelius Robinson to be a helping hat but expanded beyond its intelligence and now seeks revenge. Fritz Robinson, Petunia Robinson's husband, Bud and Joe Robinson's brother, and Laszlo and Tallulah Robinson's father. Aunt Petunia, a hand puppet who is Fritz Robinson's wife and Laszlo and Tallulah Robinson's mother. Cousin Laszlo, Fritz and Petunia Robinson's son and Tallulah's brother. Uncle Spike and Uncle Dimitri, twins who sit in potted plants in front of the Robinson household, arguing over whose doorbell visitors should ring. It is unknown who they are related to. The unnamed CEO of InventCo Don Hall as: Gaston, a stunt performer who is Franny and Art Robinson's brother and Wilbur's uncle. Gym Coach Kelly Hoover as Aunt Billie, Joe Robinson's wife who likes trains. Tracey Miller-Zarneke as Lizzy, a gothic student from Lewis’ school who presents her fire ants at the science fair. Joe Mateo as Tiny, a Tyrannosaurus brought to the future by the Bowler Hat Guy who later becomes the Robinson family's pet dinosaur. Aurian Redson as Frankie the Frog, the lead singer of Franny's musical band of frogs. Jamie Cullum as the singing voice of Frankie the Frog Paul Butcher as Stanley, a student from Lewis’ school who presents a Mount Vesuvius project at the science fair. Dara McGarry as: InventCo Receptionist Mrs. Harrington John H. H. Ford as Mr. Harrington Nathan Greno as Lefty, a one-eyed octopus and the Robinson family's butler. Joe Whyte as a reporter who interviews Lewis.
In addition, Joe Robinson is Wilbur's obese, silent uncle, Billie's husband, and Bud and Fritz's brother, who rides in an easy chair; an uncredited actor provides his whimpers. Also in the Robinson family is their dog, Buster, who wears glasses due to his insurance not covering contacts.
Production
In 1990, prior to the original publication of A Day with Wilbur Robinson, William Joyce became acquainted with film producer Bill Borden, who was in the middle of shooting The Man in the Moon in Joyce's native Shreveport, Louisiana. Upon seeing the proofs for the book, Borden was convinced that the book would make for a great Disney movie. He convinced Joyce to write a treatment for a film adaptation, and within a week, the project was optioned by Walt Disney Pictures as a potential live-action film. Over the next couple of years, William Joyce wrote several drafts for the film, as Disney considered several directors, including Steven Spielberg, George Miller, Peter Jackson, Francis Ford Coppola, and Diane Keaton. Having difficulty securing a director, in addition to potential budgetary issues, the film would soon enter turnaround at the studio for a couple of years. However, Leo Chu, an executive at Walt Disney Feature Animation took interest in the project, and convinced Joyce to bring the project over there to develop it as an animated film.
Pre-production of the film was first unveiled during SIGGRAPH 2001, where a character resembling Lewis was showcased in a tech demo for "Project Gemini". Originally titled A Day with Wilbur Robinson, production began in June 2004 and was scheduled for a 2006 release. During the film's production, Walt Disney Animation Studios' storyboard artist Stephen Anderson decided to direct the film due to his connection to Lewis, since they both grew up adopted.