Meet The Robinsons Keeps Its Pathos Moving Forward

The extremely underrated Disney animation, Meet the Robinsons, uses music to bring an emotional response in viewers. Meet the Robinsons takes you through the story of a young orphan boy who creates an invention called The Memory Scanner, in hopes to find his biological mother. As the story goes on, Lewis travels to the future and unknowingly meets his future family. The overarching theme of this movie is centered around the quote, “Keep moving forward.” 

It summarizes the idea that Lewis needs to keep moving forward so he can have a bright future. During most of the movie, there are soft orchestral pieces to cue the audience in on the mood of each scene, but there are also two prominent original songs. The heart-warming story of Lewis is more powerful because of the two songs, “Little Wonders” by Rob Thomas, and “Another Believer” by Rufus Wainwright.  

Disney uses, “Another Believer” in the scene showing Lewis inventing the Memory Scanner. The most repeated lines in the song are “You’ve been on my mind,” and “So give me just one more chance, one more glace.” These lyrics enforce the scenes of Lewis inventing a mind scanner, and his determination and hope to see his mother’s face from his own memory. This scene is more than just an invention, it is the invention that is giving him hope for a future and a family. The upbeat and bouncy rhythm mirrors the hopeful attitude of Lewis during this part of his journey.  

By the end of the film, Disney uses the song “Little Wonders” to resolve Lewis’ unfortunate situation as an orphan. He finally gets the family he needs and perseveres inventing as his career. “Little Wonders” is played in the final scene at full volume while viewers watch scenes of Lewis’ resolution. This song is another form of pathos, creating an emotional response of hope. “Let it in, let your clarity define you, in the end, we will only just remember how it feels” communicates Lewis’ future becoming a reality, and the relief to finally have a future in sight. The lyric “Let your troubles fall behind you” specifically refers to Lewis leaving the orphanage. Part of the pre-chorus has a line about twists and turns of fate, which correlates with the storyline of the movie: that future Lewis thinks he wants is not the one he chooses in the end. The ending lyric “All of my regrets will wash away somehow, but I cannot forget the way I feel right now” is sang while Lewis is “moving forward” so to speak, by persevering his passion of inventing.  

Meet the Robinsons uses two songs that fit the theme and reflects the emotion the audience is expected to feel. Disney’s choice of music does not affect the casting of the movie, primarily because it is an animation, but the music reinforces the characters. The original soundtrack helps this story be unique and unmistakable because fans of the movie will relate the songs back to the story. A production wants its soundtrack to be successful so the music can attract new fans to the movie. The storyline of Meet the Robinsons is reinforced by its emotionally-driven music.