MEET THE ROBINSONS **

Based on A Day with Wilbur Robinson by William Joyce, this animated feature is being strongly sold in TV commercials as a 3D feature. While 3D digital projection is closer than you might think for Wichita, it isn't here yet which means you'll see it on local screens projected from film and in glorious 2D.

The story is about an orphan who desperately wants to belong to a family and who also possesses a real skill for inventing. Virtually all of his inventions are failures, however, and he becomes very discouraged. It's at this point that he's visited by two strangers from the future, one who wants to help and encourage him and one who's trying to steal one of his inventions.

Most of us are conditioned to think of animated features as funny. Unfortunately, that's not true in this case. The film does have a message that's true for everyone, but you're not going to be laughing while hearing it. Children should be entertained but adults are going to be hard pressed to stay awake through the entire feature. Fortunately, the pace of the story is fast so time doesn't drag as much as it could. I understand the 3D effect adds a lot to the film but you'll have to go elsewhere to see it. The film is shown with a vintage Disney cartoon from 1948 which stars Mickey, Goofy and Donald. Unfortunately, it isn't funny either.