Meet the Robinsons — Please!

[tealin]

First, read Syd's post.

Now, go see it.




Seen it yet?
Well, if you can't be persuaded ...
ANIMATION WOW. I wasn't overly won over by it at the beginning... some of it was the stiff rigs of the characters as we don't meet any of the 'main' ones (besides Louis) right off the bat, but WOW did it ever get good. And Dick Zondag needs an Annie for that Bowler Hat Guy. Holy smokes. He wins. I think I might have to join Syd's church.
The story ... well, the story is good. It's rather frenetic and I kind of lost track of where I was once or twice, but it kept me so entertained I didn't notice. And it was genuinely entertaining, not just gag-to-gag-to-gag ... I mean, it was that too, but somehow it worked, just like it was totally random and absurd but worked. How did it work? Why does this not work in other movies? They try, but it fails! But the Robinsons can do it! How?! I don't know! But I do know that the Piñata directors need to watch it because THAT is zany yet fulfilling entertainment, dangit.

And: 2DBB203 ... is this a secret code? 2D Be Back..... what? Am I totally off track? What else can 2D stand for?
AND AND AND: THE NEW DISNEY ANIMATION TITLE CARD THINGY ... YES. YES. omg yes. Together with the quote at the end... I love you, Lasseter. It might not have looked like it for a while but you win. Along with Dick Zondag.

Ok, I'm crashing. Uhhh... yeah. Roughly 15 pages of sketchbook today, but not scanning them tonight, oh no.

Comments

[sparrowofjack.livejournal.com]

I saw it last night! I was blown away too! It was so... gah! Incredible! The bowler hat guy was the coolest bad guy in the universe! And the random picture of the actor in place of Wilbur's dad... I totally know what you mean! Why did it work!? I got totally confused at the part where they were looking for the garage... but it was, yes, definitely entertaining enough that I didn't care that I had no idea what was going on.

Although, my friends and I called all the shots from the beginning, like, "Oh the Bowler-Hat Guy is really [name]." "And oh, I think the mom is [name]." "Oh, I totally get why they don't want to adopt him!" Got 'em every time. *bows deeply*

One of my favourite scenes:

Kid 1: Hey cool binder!
Kid 2: Wanna come over to my house?
BHG:...They all hated me...

I DIED. Then resurrected myself to watch the rest of it, and died again.

And Ratatouille looks rather good as well! Beautiful animation on it too. Hooray for Pixar/Disney merger!

[sydpad.livejournal.com]

OMG that was my favorite too!! Although tight competition from, "Dude, I just can't take you seriously in that hat." *whisk!*

[sydpad.livejournal.com]

>It's rather frenetic and I kind of lost track of where I was once or twice

Yeah, there was a patch in the middle I was thinking, "Movie, I love you, but slow down you're going to give yourself a heart attack." They should have cut a Robinson or two (probably the hand-puppet guy; I mean, he seemed less 'lovably eccentric from a Jimmy Stewart movie' and more 'will be found in the basement one of these days covered with blood and burying the rest of the Robinsons mumbling 'Auntie.. auntie told me to do it.. /digression). Anyways it was flawed and yet somehow still lovable.


>I mean, it was that too, but somehow it worked, just like it was totally random and absurd but worked. How did it work?

I'm trying to figure this out... maybe it was the pacing, that the beginning was so relatively sedate-- it starts with those two long scenes that are very, VERY low key, so you don't feel assulted as soon as you sit down. The other thing was the mystery structure-- I mean, a lot of the stuff that seemed random fell into place and that was a really pleasing feeling.

The other thing was that no matter how zany it got it was never vulgar, which seems a prudish thing to say but it made a gigantic difference. There were not fart gags, or lame pop-culture stuff, or stuff where they make fun of the characters in a condescending way. The London Times compared it to Monty Python which made me nod; it had that college-dorm giggliness, you know? Maybe that's obnoxious for some people, I dunno. I can't get over the weak reviews.

A particularily annoying thing about the reviews, by the way, is the way they keep saying "Yeah, seven credited screenwriters that's why it's weak'. Uh, five of those guys were the story artists, dude. Which is why so many of the gags were visual and uniquely animationy.

I'm worried now that maybe it's an 'animator's film', like Sword in the Stone! I'm going back with my husband as a test case... for me the sheer charisma of the animation is what lifted it to the next level, and if most people just totally don't care about that, that would be kind of depressing, even though I've lecutred myself before about laypeople just not caring about animation!

[sparrowofjack.livejournal.com]

Hmm. It could be an animator's film at that, although I hope it's not, too. My friend and I both want to do animation after high school, so we too were oogling at the animation, especially of the Bowler-Hat Man. The Monty Python comparison makes me smile - it's oddly true.

By the way, did your movie have an old-school Mickey Mouse short before it too? I found that pleasantly bizarre.

[sydpad.livejournal.com]

It was even more bizarre than that-- if you see it in 3D you get a surreal 1950's Chip n' Dale short in 'stereoscopic 3D', like looking at a Vuemaster, if anyone remembers those.

[tannhaeuser.livejournal.com]

[twirlynoodle.livejournal.com]

Sword in the Stone: The animation. And design. And the way it's the Milt Kahl/Bill Peet double act. See? An animator's movie. We're not talking authentic adaptations here.

Hmm, perhaps you should wait a bit to see Robinsons ... nothing worse than having a movie oversold to you, because then you go in thinking 'okay, prove yourself' rather than 'let's see how little you can suck.'

[tannhaeuser.livejournal.com]

Too late — I saw it last night. (Besides, I always go in thinking, “Okay, prove yourself.”) I am pleased to say, I was not disappointed (except, a bit, in Bowler Hat Guy, who really was built way up in my expectations), though I still think I would give The Incredibles a slight preference. I also fear that Robinsons is not a movie that the general public will appreciate. (I had the whole theater to myself.) Like Iron Giant, too subtle. Wilbur is an awesome character. (He reminds me oddly of Bruce Campbell.) I want a son or best friend like that. (Have you ever had the random hope that God will bring the really likeable fictional characters to life in Heaven? I wanna meet Wilbur there.)

Definitely one I will look for on DVD.

[twirlynoodle.livejournal.com]

(picking the small nugget to gnaw on)

You call Carl's pyrotechnic KEEP MOVING FORWARD song-and-dance routine subtle?

[tannhaeuser.livejournal.com]

[morbid-bunny.livejournal.com]

The 2D department at Disney is back, dear. Haven't you heard about the new Princess movie?

[twirlynoodle.livejournal.com]

Oh, no, I know that, goodness yes... I'm just wondering about the specific meaning for the 'BB203' part of the license plate. Assuming I've correctly deciphered the '2D' part. I mean, gee, look at the new Walt Disney Animation Studios title card, that positively screams '2D!! WE LOVE 2D! THAT IS WHAT WE ARE ABOUT!'

[fennel7.livejournal.com]

Hello! I really like seeing your sketches, so have friended you. Hope that's alright!

[niteflite.livejournal.com]

OMGUH! I died. And I had to come back from the dead so I could say how awesome this movie was! (I am definitely going to join the Church of the Bowler Hat Guy, and I am so going to marry Wilbur Robinson as well, as there is polygamy in the future. I say so.)

Seriously, I've been pimping it out to every single person I talked to. REALLY. But I had so much trouble finding parts of it that were spoiler-free that I would just end up saying, "See it! If only because I want to talk about the movie with you!"

[truetitipudlian.livejournal.com]

I havn't even seen it, but I think I'll have to join that church. I must see that movie and, if posiable get a little plush BHG.

[azvolrien.livejournal.com]

I want to go and see that film. Should provide a good break from revision.

[thefordmustang.livejournal.com]

I saw it yesterday.

It was really fun- it kind of reminded of the Loony Tunes cartoon about the Dodo crossed with Lewis Carroll's poetry. I LOVED the crazy montage in the Looking for the Garage sequence.

I agree about the Steamboat Willy "Disney Animation" intro and the words at the end- That sent chills up my spine. I really look forward to seeing what Lassiter will do for Disney.

The songs were great, too, especially the ones sung by Rufus Wainwright. I had been hearing "Motional Waltz" on our local alternative radio station for some time but had idea it was connected with this movie.

[thefordmustang.livejournal.com]

The Warner Brothers cartoon I had in mind... I just remember the name now... "Porky Pig in Wacky Land".