Sometimes I think the best thing about 3-D movies is checking out your fellow audience members once they put those goofy 3-D glasses on.
It's an especially funny experience when you see Disney's new animated feature "Meet the Robinsons" because the 3-D glasses are black plastic jobs like Clark Kent used to wear.
But, I digress.
Is it worth it to put on the 3-D glasses and watch "Meet the Robinsons?"
More or less, yes.
Though Disney has come up with these cool, light glasses and a new digital 3-D process, it still didn't seem to pay off for me.
There just wasn't enough stuff coming out of the screen at me or standing out in a way that made me want to say "wow" throughout the entire film.
Yes, "Meet the Robinsons" has a certain shimmer about it because of the 3-D, but it's not exactly thrilling.
Maybe Disney needs to wait until the main character in "Meet the Robinsons" gets old enough to invent some really effective 3-D effects.
That would be the young orphan Lewis, a 12-year-old geek whose stay at a big city orphanage keeps getting prolonged because his inventions - like the peanut butter and jelly spraying machine - keep malfunctioning in front of prospective parents.
Then Lewis hits on an idea that might solve everything. He wants to invent a device that can scan his brain for memories of his real mother so he can find her and convince her to take him back.
Lewis works day and night on the machine - much to the consternation of his sleep-deprived roommate "Goob," who's having trouble staying awake on his beloved Little League field because of Lewis' work.
On the big day of the science fair, when Lewis is set to debut his brain-scanner, he runs into a strange new boy by the name of Wilbur who keeps babbling about a guy in a bowler hat who's out to do evil.
Sure enough, just before Lewis turns on this invention, this flying bowler hat (with metallic walking legs, to boot) tampers with Lewis' machine.
Of course, it blows up and Lewis is about to give up on his dream of getting back with his mom or getting adopted at all.
And that's when this kid Wilbur shows up and takes Lewis for a little ride - into the future!
It's all got to do with the nefarious bowler hat guy and his plot to ruin Lewis' life.
But all Lewis really cares about is this world of the future which looks just like he pictured it in his dreams.
There are people being transported around in bubbles, instant buildings and much more.
But, it doesn't take Lewis long to care about something more than the cool gadgets of the future - and that's Wilbur's family, the Robinsons.
There's a goofy uncle who wears his clothes on backwards, an intergalactic pizza delivery driver and a mom who teaches genetically altered frogs to play big band music.
But, the past part about the Robinsons is they actually applaud and cheer Lewis when he goofs up on another invention. Mistakes are great, they tell him, because that's the only way you learn to have successes.
Now you know the message of "Meet the Robinsons."
What you don't know is who the bowler hat guy is, why he hates Lewis and where the heck this fantastical bowler hat came from in the first place.
And, it's worth it to find out by seeing "Meet the Robinsons.
" It's a fun, inventive movie with a message that couldn't hurt these days - it's cool to use your brain.
However, I have my own personal qualms about brain-power right now.
The latest in computer animation is what brings "Meet the Robinsons" to life.
But, when it comes to Disney, this film isn't exactly progress.
For all it's talk about "keep moving forward," "Meet the Robinsons" is such an average film that it doesn't really advance the Disney animation business one inch.
1 hour, 36 minutes
Craig Kopp can be seen on Fox19.
Drop him a note at life@communitypress.com.
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