Lewis Robinson: “KEEP MOVING FORWARD” (Meet The Robinsons - 2007)

Let me tell you a very personal story about an animated film that, years ago, touched my heart and still holds a special place in my life. It's one of those stories that leaves a mark, that hits you hard, and somehow stays with you forever. The film I'm talking about is Meet the Robinsons. Yes, that one some people remember for its quirky characters and wild plot twists, but for me, it’s always been so much more than that; it’s a piece of my childhood, one of those films that become like a friend, that keeps you company and teaches you life lessons without you even realising it. While another favourite of mine is BOLT, today I just want to focus on Meet the Robinsons. And let me warn you, this isn’t some super in-depth analysis. In fact, I’m writing this with tears in my eyes. I might not end up writing much, but it’ll be something.

Back in 2008, Disney Channel was booming, putting out loads of animated films and a few live-action ones, like Enchanted—one of the only musicals I actually like—which had come out a year earlier. I was a little girl, shy and quiet, who didn’t need much to be happy. Back then, my family wasn’t doing too well financially, and we had this tiny telly that, if we were lucky, had colour and decent sound. If not, well, we’d watch it in black and white, like we were in another era. So there I was, the quiet little girl who didn’t cry, or shout, or say much at all. But I’d spend hours in front of that telly, watching films and series—not just from Disney—that became my safe haven while my mum and grandparents were off working.

I remember so clearly the day I watched Meet the Robinsons. I came home from school absolutely knackered but with my usual little bit of cheer: my mug of hot chocolate in one hand and the remote in the other, a remote that was well past its prime after all the use it had seen. I switched on the telly, having no clue what was about to come on, and suddenly, there it was, that film that appeared out of nowhere, as if it had been made just for me.

The film opens with a scene that’s still burned into my mind: a rainy night. The raindrops fall with a sadness you can almost feel. Amidst that storm, a woman in a dark raincoat appears, covering nearly her entire body. You can’t see her face, which gives her an air of mystery. When I saw her leaving a baby at the doorstep and ringing the bell, I felt something strange, a lump in my throat. There I was, standing in front of the telly, chocolate in hand, starting to wonder: Who was that woman? Why was she leaving her child all alone in the rain? After a moment, the woman who runs the orphanage comes out and opens the door. At that moment, something broke inside me. Even though I was young, I understood that something sad was happening. Couldn’t she keep him? Or did she just not want to? That mixture of feelings threw me off. I felt sadness and a kind of tenderness for that baby. Every scene seemed to hold something deeper, something you couldn’t see but could feel. I was glued to that flickering screen because something in that story was speaking to me without saying a word.

As the plot unfolds, showing Lewis, the little boy who’d been left at the orphanage, I was overwhelmed with a deep sadness. He was a kid without a family, without a mother’s hug, without the warmth of a home. And though my family didn’t have much, I knew my mum and grandparents were there, working hard for me every day. But Lewis, on the other hand, had no one. He only had the hope that one day someone would adopt him and give him the love he so desperately wanted. Throughout the film, Lewis’s longing to find his mum grows stronger and stronger. He wants to know who she is, why she left him, and above all, to find the woman who abandoned him in the rain. That ongoing search made me think about how important it is to have a story, something that tells you who you are and where you come from. And even though I was a girl who didn’t fully understand these things, I felt that Lewis’s questions were, in a way, my questions too. The film has moments of laughter, adventure, and the Robinsons are quite amusing, but beyond all that, I felt Lewis’s loneliness, his emptiness. I could see in his eyes that desire to belong to something, to be loved. And in some way, I think I felt like that too. Because even though my family loved me, there were times when life felt lonely, and you wonder if you truly have a place in the world.

There’s one particular moment where, as a viewer, you’re left a bit stunned and feel even more empathy, and that’s when Lewis, frustrated, gives up and feels like nothing’s worth it. That moment hit me hard because we all feel like that sometimes, like the world is against us. But then, the film gives us a lesson that’s stuck with me. A simple but powerful phrase: “Keep Moving Forward.” That phrase stayed with me. No matter how many times you fall, no matter how hard the road gets, what matters is to keep going. To get up and keep going. Lewis takes that phrase and makes it his own; he decides not to give up. That’s the strongest lesson in Meet the Robinsons, and it’s what moved me the most. Life is about that, falling and getting back up, and you need courage to try again. And that idea of “Keep Moving Forward” wasn’t something new; it came from Walt Disney himself. A man who, like Lewis, went through loads of struggles, failures, family problems, but he never stopped trying. Walt would say, “We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things because we’re curious, and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.” That curiosity, that drive to see what’s out there, was what made life worth living.

In the film, we see how Lewis meets his grown-up self, who’s always caught up in wild ideas, just like him. Yet, he still makes time for his beloved, big family. Lewis is my forever animated hero. When I was young, like him, I found his character frustrating at times, but later I understood him. He wanted to belong, just like me. He wanted to feel loved, just like me. I know that, like him, I’ll have a big, beautiful family someday. You’ve got to cherish the moments, make the most of them. Life is a fleeting wonder that changes us.

Looking back, I think that afternoon in 2008 wasn’t just about discovering a film and then moving on as if nothing happened; it was about learning a kind of philosophy—even though I didn’t really know what philosophy was, but you get it. Meet the Robinsons taught me that life isn’t easy, but if you have the courage to keep going, there’s always a new adventure waiting. That lesson, so simple and so deep, is the best thing childhood and that old telly, which barely worked, showed me about the world. That film saved me more than once.

I don’t go around telling people this, but when my husband passed away in late 2021, I watched it again and cried like never before. We’d watched it together a few years earlier because I asked him, and he agreed. He wasn’t much into animated films, but he watched that one because I asked him to. Now, whenever I see it on Disney+, it’s not just to have a cry. It reminds me of those moments we shared, and it brings me a mix of emotions, but nowadays, it’s usually more joy than sadness.

Before I wrap up, I just want to say: watch the film. It’s not long, and it’s fantastic. Every time the final scene arrives, when Lewis is finally adopted, I can’t help but get emotional. Since I watched it in Latin American Spanish, the lines and songs in Spanish are what stayed with me. I love the final song because the lyrics touch the deepest part of my heart. Right now, as I write this last bit, I’m listening to it. Please, watch it.

I'll leave you with a little bit of the English lyrics from the Latin American Spanish version of "Little Wonders."

Stop now
Carrying that weight
You'll see
The bad moment is over
Let it come in
Let being clear define you
And in the end
Only what we feel will last

Life is
It's an instant
Of wonder
That makes us change
And time goes by
In two moments
Two moments
They won't go away

Let go now
The problems that depress us
Shine more
And make everything light up
It doesn't matter what
I have to be your support
It's okay
What you feel is the only truth

Life is
It's an instant
Of wonder
That makes us change
And time goes by
In two moments
Two moments
They won't go away

You can find the full version of the lyrics here: https://disney.fandom.com/es/wiki/Little_Wonders

I know that thirty years from now, I’ll watch it again and be moved in the same way. In that moment, I’ll feel like a little girl all over again, 'cause time flies by so fast.

What I do wrong
Can be corrected
But I won't forget
What I felt