Animated feature takes bright look at future

By Noelani Torre Inquirer MEET the Robinsons: fast-talking 13-year-old Wilbur, molar-deficient Grandpa Bud, perky Lucille, flower-pot-dwelling Uncle Spike and Uncle Dmitri, the bespectacled dog, the purple octopus butler, the snappily-dressed singing frogs -- and around a dozen more characters. Yes, the Robinsons are one strange family, but though they're mentioned in the title of Disney's newest animated CGI feature, "Meet the Robinsons," they’re not exactly what this movie's about. The focus is more on 12-year-old Lewis, an orphan kid inventor with big, round glasses, and a shock of blond hair. Despite his irresistible cuteness -- or more likely, because of it -- you won’t find him a very sympathetic character at first. Lewis, however, is a believably earnest little kid. A foundling living in an orphanage, he has been waiting a long time for a family to adopt him. After his 124th disappointing interview, Lewis decides to look for his real mom and ask her to take him back. Unfortunately, he was just a baby the last time he saw her, so this leads him to invent a memory scanner. When he enters his invention in the science fair, his showing ends in disaster after a stringy villain in a bowler hat sabotages it, and before he knows it, he finds himself catapulted into the future to meet the Robinsons! Confused? Further plot developments explain everything, including the whys and wherefores of the bowler hat. The story is bewildering, but you don't really notice until after everything is over because the movie proceeds at such a madcap pace. As for the visuals, they're one of the animated feature's strongest points. In the director’s vision, the future is bright, colorful, and filled with zany people and buildings that are all curves. There are no angles there, and everything is on the clean and wacky side. It's very 1950s -- and very charming, indeed. Though "Meet the Robinsons" doesn't have a lot of belly-laugh moments, it will leave you feeling warm and fuzzy. It’s not as good as Pixar's best, but it's a step in the right direction.