Meet the Robinsons is an adventurous and goofy movie that the kids will love. So, what does this have to do with adoption anyway?
I must admit that I wasn’t that impressed with the movie itself. I found it a little – no extremely goofy, filled with a lot of nonsense. I am glad I watched it, though, and even more happy that my adopted children watched it. Here’s why:
Louis is an orphan boy who loves inventing things; unfortunately they usually have one major flaw- they explode! Louis also wants a family. However, after 124 adoption interviews and subsequent rejections, he loses hope. He determines that the only ways he will ever have a family is to invent a machine that will help him find his mother, and then convince her to keep him.
One day a kid from the future takes Louis, through a series of events, into the future. There, Louis finds acceptance in the Robinson family. He does finally get to go back in time and see his mother. Once there, Louis realizes that his real family is his adoptive family, and once he discovers this he is able to go on with his life and find happiness.
There is much more with lots of twists and turns in the movie, but I was touched by the way adoption was portrayed. My 11 year old adopted son has struggled with many of the same feelings and thoughts that Louis struggled with in the movie. In fact, most adopted children will deal with these kinds of thoughts and emotions at some point in their life.
In my opinion, watching this movie is a fun and non-threatening way of helping adopted children understand that their feelings are perfectly normal. We spent some time afterward discussing how Louis was feeling and gave my son the opportunity to share his thoughts about adoption. I think it was a very positive experience for us all.
