Disney's 2007 animation Meet the Robinsons is a science-fiction adventure comedy-drama. It follows the exploits of tween inventor and orphan Lewis, who builds a memory scanner and meets a time-traveling kid named Wilbur from the future, sent to the past to stop the nefarious antics of the Bowler Hat Guy and his robot sidekick.
Through the action-packed adventure to restore time to its proper state with plenty of twists along the way, Lewis comes to realize the importance of not living with regrets of what could have been, and instead focussing on a better tomorrow. Here are 10 hidden details in the movie relating to the main characters.
Famous Daddy
At one point, Lewis asks Wilbur what his dad looks like. This prompts Wilbur to say that his father Cornelius looks like Tom Selleck. When we finally get to see Cornelius, he looks nothing like the famous actor.
However, observant viewers will recognize that the voice actor for Cornelius was Selleck himself. The scene was actually written first, and it prompted the production to contact Selleck to play the role of Cornelius, which he was happy to do.
Artman
Uncle Art is a pizza delivery man who can be seen at different points in the background of the movie using his ship to make intergalactic deliveries. Art has a striking appearance, with his buff build, bouffant hairstyle, and a commanding jawline. So impressive is his appearance that Lewis initially mistakes Art for a real superhero, before discovering his actual job.
This was a deliberate plot point once again prompted by the actor voicing the character. Adam West, best known as the lead of the 60's Batman and Robin series, voices the character of Art, and the personality and appearance of Art is a tribute to West's caped crusader role in his youth.
Famous Faces
The orphanage that Lewis lives in is a big part of the background for his character. It is what makes him yearn for a better place, and a family to call his own. It is also the place that bred Lewis's main nemesis, in the form of his roommate Goob. The orphanage has a few other famous faces that viewers would have to pay close attention to detect.
On the walls of the orphanage, you can see photos of Walt Disney and Nikola Tesla. Both these real-life people serve as inspirations for Lewis, being creators and entrepreneurs who changed the world through their inventions. Lewis later follows in their footsteps to become a world-famous inventor.
Anti-Gravity Boots
Near the end of the movie, we see Lewis going back to his lab to continue work on his inventions that would in the future make him one of the most successful men in the world.
One of the inventions that we see in the background is a pair of anti-gravity boots. While these boots are just a part of the general scene, in a deleted scene Lewis was to use the boots to battle the robot called Dolores. We never got to see the boots in action in the movie.
Wheels Within Wheels
Moviemaking is a complicated process, especially while storyboarding an animation. Lots of bits and pieces need to be considered while plotting the narrative. In one scene in the film, we see Lewis taking the wheel off his time machine.
This is what causes the machine to crash land and is a crucial part of the plot which raises the stakes for the audience. But then a few scenes later we see that the wheel is back on the time machine with no explanation as to how that happened.
Hidden Mickeys
One thing common to the majority of Disney animations is a sneaky appearance by Mickey Mouse even when the character has nothing to do with the story. In Meet the Robinsons, Mickey shows up in two places. The watch that Gaston is holding in the scene above is shaped to resemble Mickey's head and distinctive shape of ears.
Also, the garden that we see in the future with the hedges shaped like giant teacups has circles cut into the grass to resemble Mickey's round head and smaller round ears. Even the giant teacups might be a reference to Mrs. Potts from Beauty and the Beast.
Disney Ads
The movie literally acts as an advertisement for other Disney movies. In the scene with Goob at his important baseball match, we see a couple of posters sticking to the fence at the far edge of the field.
One of the posters shows Mowgli and Baloo from The Jungle Book. The other poster features the character of Jesse from Toy Story who was a part of the toyline from which Woody was created.
Todayland
The theme park known as Todayland is a nod to another Disney property known as Tomorrowland. We can also see a shape in the park that closely resembles the Space Mountain attraction at the real-life Disneyland.
Finally, Lewis time travels thirty years into the future to meet his future self and his future family. A similar time jump took place in Tomorrowland, which was set in 1955, to explore what the future would look like in 1985.
Wilbur The Superhero?
At one point, after Wilbur reveals to Lewis that he is a time traveler, the latter mockingly calls Wilbur 'Captain Time Travel'. The character of Captain Time Travel is apparently a real person in Lewis's time since he carries a lunchbox with the character's likeness emblazoned across it.
Interestingly, Captain Time Travel bears a striking resemblance to a grown-up Wilbur with a muscular physique. Does that mean an older version of Wilbur will someday become Captain Time Travel?
Nod To The Author
The school that Lewis attends is called Joyce Williams Elementary School. This name was chosen as a tribute to the novelist William Joyce, who created the 1990 children's picture book A day with Wilbur Robinson, of which the movie is an adaptation.
However, the film uses the character from the book to tell a completely different story based on time travel, which finds no mention in the original book.