My sweet dh and I were out last night getting some errands done, and since we finished early we decided to see if any movies were playing. At the theater, we saw the poster for the new Disney movie, Meet the Robinsons. We decided to give it a try.
Wow. Not only was it a great movie, it was unashamed to be wholesome, positive, encouraging, uplifting, and family- friendly. And by family- friendly, I mean the animation was beautiful, but also from an era gone by. It wasn’t hard, or shock, or edgy, or cool (although I thought it was cool) or any of those things that modern stuff for kids tries to be these days – as if anything appropriate for six- year- olds was something to be ashamed of, and everything for six- year- olds has to seem like it is really for twelve- year- olds instead. Know what I mean? The movie was not ashamed to be appropriate for six- year- olds, in the old fashioned sense. There was no bathroom “humor” anywhere. How refreshing!
The story was enjoyable, I thought, even for adults (we enjoyed it) and it wasn’t a preachy movie by any means, but like the best literature, the story did contain a positive, biblical universal truth. I won’t spoil it for you and tell you what it was, but I remember leaving the theater feeling surprised – surprised that Walt Disney Pictures, instead of being ashamed of Walt Disney’s wholesome idealism, as it seems had been the case under that other CEO they got rid of, embraced it so thoroughly in such an entertaining way. It was like seeing something from your childhood that you hadn’t seen in twenty or thirty years, so it was a surprise, but an awfully welcome one. Disney seems to be undergoing a positive transformation. For example, I note that the absolutely wonderful True Life Adventures have come to DVD for the first time. !!!
If you haven’t seen Meet the Robinsons yet with your kids, do – I think you might be pleasantly surprised. (Here are some reviews. I note that the New York Times hated it. I couldn’t think of a better mark in the movie’s favor.)
Leave a Reply