Meet the Robinsons
(2007) – I know that I’m an unrepentant Disney shill, but when I say that Meet the Robinsons is essentially
Disney/Pixar’s version of Doctor Who,
I mean that in the best, most wibbly-wobbly way I can: Meet
the Robinsons combines Doctor Who’s
timey-wimey mechanics and sense of wonder with the classic Disney
sentimentalism and compelling storytelling, to great effect. Loosely adapted from William Joyce’s A Day with Wilbur Robinson (a favorite
of mine as a young boy), this film weaves a time-travel narrative while
layering on a rich subplot about finding your place in the world amid a cast of
kooky characters whose madcap personalities mean they share a house, a surname,
and little else. The Robinsons are
oddball supporting characters, each quirky without excess, though Adam West’s
turn as the spandex-clad pizza deliveryman uncle is a surprising treat. The real delight in Meet the Robinsons, though, is how surprisingly profound it is; a
Disney movie usually doesn’t include heavy meditations on the future
consequences of the present, nor has the “best friends” relationship been
explored in as much satisfying depth.
What’s more, the time travel element of the film allows for a few neat
third-act surprises that even caught me off-guard. Truly, the influence of John Lasseter looms
large over Meet the Robinsons,
because the film mixes high concept sci-fi designs with moving character arcs
that sucker-punch an earnest tear right into the corner of your eye. Come for the gee-whiz marveling at a great
big beautiful tomorrow, stay for the feelings.
The Three Stooges
(2012) – The words I’d like to use to describe this film are unsuitable for
general consumption, so I’ll simply begin with a three-letter word: Why?
Why make a movie that wears its unoriginality on its sleeve and pretends
to be an homage? Why steal three classic
characters and recycle them with lesser performers who are little more than
impersonators? (In fact, I don’t need to
tell you who’s in it, because it doesn’t matter.) Why shoehorn the Three Stooges into a
halfhearted and instantly recognizable “Save the Catholic Orphanage” knockoff
of The Blues Brothers? Why watch this mess of a movie when there are
dozens of funnier shorts starring the real Three Stooges? Why did I even sit through this whole thing,
when the episodic nature of the film makes it easy to stop partway through? The world may never know the answers to these
questions, because this is one of those “Abandon all hope” kinds of movies,
where there are only weak chuckles, at best, to be had. The film imitates the Stooges’ style with so
little invention that you’re left wondering what the whole point was –
especially when the film concludes with the film’s directors reminding you that
the stage violence, the real heart of a Stooges short, was all fake and should
not be replicated at home. It’s this
kind of lifeless balloon deflating that reminds us the Stooges need not be
redone; even the attempt at relevance by having Moe poke Snooki in the eyes
fails to garner a smile.
That does it for this week’s edition of “Monday at the Movies.” We’ll see you here next week!
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