Line #61 Headscratchers/MeetTheRobinsons


1	[[foldercontrol]]
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3	[[folder: Time travel issues]]
4	* An alternate version of one scene, included on the DVD, has Bowler Hat Guy be the one to wake up his younger self at the baseball game. He then dissolves away into the aether, just as Wilbur did when the past was altered so that he would never be born. So what does this mean for Goob/Bowler Hat Guy? Surely he wouldn't literally cease to exist just because he didn't become a bitter, twisted, and extremely unhygienic Main/DastardlyWhiplash character? Shouldn't he just transform to reflect the adulthood he would have achieved without the grudge against Lewis?
5	** Maybe this "aether dissolution" isn't of the same kind, meaning only that he wouldn't be there, as he wouldn't be trying to foil Lewis' life since his life wasn't ruined after all (DORIS, on the other hand, probably would).
6	** He probably turned into the new future's Goob and, as a result, was pulled into the future. The only reason he went to the present was to get revenge, something the new future Goob wouldn't need.
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8	* From the first appearance of Wilbur onward, the entire film happened because Bowler Hat Guy stole the time machine at Doris' suggestion. By undoing both Doris' and Bowler Hat Guy's existence (presumably Goob grows up to be a completely different person as a result of Lewis waking him up in time for the winning catch), Lewis should have undone the entire plot of the film. Of course, the only reason Lewis thought to wake Goob up was because of Bowler Hat Guy's StartOfDarkness, so the logical conclusion is a paradox: because of Lewis' actions, Bowler Hat Guy never existed, therefore the whole plot of the film never happened, therefore
9	*** Lewis did NOT undo the villains' existences, therefore
10	*** Bowler Hat Guy DID exist, therefore
11	*** The plot of the film DID happen, and thus the paradoxial cycle starts all over again
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13	* Why does Cornelius need reminding who's at fault for the time machines being gone? He lived the reason. He KNEW Wilbur lost one and wrecked the other.
14	** Theory 1: It's been 30 years and he's forgotten his young self's adventure. Cornelius realized the reason once he saw Lewis.
15	** Theory 2: Cornelius told Lewis that what he had seen of the future he could only achieve if he made the right decisions, suggesting maybe a fluid timeline or even timeline crossover. Therefore, the Cornelius we see isn't the same Lewis we've been following through the movie, but rather a similar one further down a neighboring timeline and might not have undergone the events of the movie.
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17	* How come the Robinsons still had that Dinosaur (as a pet presumably) at the end, even though it was Doris and Bowler Hat Guy that went to get it, which of course didn't happen as Lewis uninvented Doris and Bowler Hat Guy never sought revenge?
18	** Given Bowler Hat Guy still also exists, it might be that people who traveled in time have some sort of immunity to TheRippleEffect.
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20	* Why did Wilbur need to go back in time over a decade-and-a-half to stop Bowler Hat Guy when he could have just as easily gone back an hour and ''locked the garage?!'' He had a ''time machine''.
21	** It probably wouldn't have worked anyway. The time-machine exists outside of time. Because there was/is a timeline where it was stolen, there is likely a copy of Bowler Hat Guy that is traveling back in time even if Wilbur subsequently locked the door.
22	** Alternately, Bowler Hat Guy isn't the only one who doesn't think things through.
23	** Perhaps it was because Goob's future needed to be saved and fate made sure it was.
24	** Could have been a paradox. If he went back in time to close the door, why would he need to go back in time in the new timeline?
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26	* What's with the MeanwhileInTheFuture plot? Lewis has to do something before Bowler Hat Guy can sign, but he fails, and due to this the future spontaneously switches halfway through, leading you to wonder how Bowler Hat Guy got in a position to sign in the first place.
27	** It seems to switch to a past, the signing period, that has the seemingly uncaused(?) Doris in it, as well as a time-transplanted Bowler Hat Guy. Doris brings about the bad future.
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29	* When Lewis first sees the time machine, he says something like: "I never thought time travel could be possible in my lifetime!" Only, he doesn't know that Wilbur is from his lifetime, and if a time machine is invented in ''anyone's'' lifetime, it can travel to yours, making the point moot.
30	** A time machine is quite literally the only invention where that sentence wouldn't hold up, so one can hardly blame him for saying the wrong thing. Lewis is essentially just saying "I never thought I would get to experience time-travel". It's basically the same as anyone getting to experience something they never thought they would.
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32	* How does Lewis's/Cornelius's ''own wife'' not recognize him just because he's 12, even though she knew him at that age?
33	** Even if she thought he reminded her of Cornelius, it would probably never occur to her that her 12-year-old son had traveled to the future. It's too implausible. Note also that Wilbur was literally wrist-locked and stared down by his mother when she was a child, and he didn't notice.
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35	* When the Robinsons finally realize who Lewis is, Mrs. Robinson kicks him out. Why doesn't she just tell him the truth?
36	** She didn't kick him out, per se. She just said he had to go back to his own time. If she had told him any more, it might've screwed up the timestream.
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38	* So the reason the Robinsons reject Lewis without explanation is because, unbeknownst to him, he's actually the younger self of the family's patriarch. But then he finds out anyway, and nothing changes. He even gets to meet his future self, without any repercussions. And...everybody's ''okay'' with this?
39	** The Robinsons were operating on a 'need to know' basis, keeping Lewis out of the loop for the exact reason of avoiding paradoxes or any other complications, but in the end, Lewis knew everything already so they figured they might as well drop the act since there's no point keeping it a secret anymore.
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41	* So, Bowler Hat Guy and Doris need the memory enhancer to present to Inventco, and then they give the idea for the Helping Hat...But why don't they just present Doris as the Helping Hat in the first place? Why do they need the memory enhancer?
42	** Bowler Hat Guy wanted revenge and wouldn't help Doris otherwise, so she's forced to cooperate with him until then since mind-controlling him would be suspicious.
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44	* If Bowler Hat Guy's explanation of the whole story is correct, then when he was stealing the first time machine, all that Wilbur saw was, well, him stealing the time machine. If so, then how did Wilbur come to the conclusion that the thief went back in time to steal Lewis' invention and pass it as their own?
45	** Bowler Hat Guy was egging the Robinsons' house before the time machine fiasco. It's reasonable to assume then he's going to travel back in time to get Lewis, but there's no indication he knew Bowler Hat Guy's entire plan.
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47	* So Bowler Hat Guy goes off into Lewis's dorm to capture him, only to find Goob, AKA his past self. As we know, Bowler Hat Guy is a Goob who didn't learn to let things go. However, when meeting up with his past self, past Goob ''is'' learning to let things go. When Bowler Hat Guy rambles on telling him otherwise, Goob puts on a FlatWhat. With this Goob clearly willing to move on, but Bowler Hat Guy being the version of him who hadn't, how would this timeline work?
48	** Perhaps in the original timeline (without any time travel) what tipped Goob over the edge was that Lewis got adopted on the same day he lost the game, which was where got the idea that if he'd only caught the ball it would've been him that got adopted instead of Lewis. But with Wilbur interfering Lewis was never there so Goob didn't experience anger that Lewis 'robbed' his adoption.
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50	* Regarding Cornelius showing Lewis the room full of inventions towards the end: Doesn't that kind of "spoil" everything for Lewis?
51	** Lewis never see what those inventions really do and how they work; he knows he will one day invent them, but beyond basic shapes it's still all up to him.
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53	* Near the end of the film, Doris tries to kill Lewis. [[GrandfatherParadox Wouldn't that have resulted in herself being erased, since Lewis would not grow up to invent her?]] As smart as she'd already proven herself to be, that wasn't the brightest move.
54	** All her plans had just been foiled; she likely wasn't interested in "living" and just wanted Lewis dead in a sort of TakingYouWithMe type of deal.
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56	* So what happened to the second working time machine at the end, since we don't see it anymore? Is it just forever stuck in the present time?
57	** Cornelius could have taken the first time machine back to get it.
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59	* How does Wilbur know when Lewis was abandoned by his Birth Mom?
60	** He is Lewis' son and it's possible that the orphanage recorded the date he was found and the family knew that info.
61	*** Lewis himself knows that information, so it's likely what Mildred just made his birthday since she'd have no way of knowing what it really was. Presumably, Cornelius has talked about the first use of the Memory Scanner to his son, and about the first memory he saw with it. As long as Wilbur knows A) how old his dad is and B) his dad's birthday, he has all the information he needs.
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63	* When Wilbur is roped into helping young Franny into gathering her frogs up, he is obviously annoyed with her, even pulling a NotNowKiddo...[[LittleMissBadass or rather]] [[IKnowKungFu trying to]]. However when we see Wilbur next to the adult Franny, it becomes clear that [[GenerationXerox he looks]] [[DistaffCounterpart like a male version of her]]. Why did he not realize that the girl he was helping looked a lot like his mom?...to say nothing of her having a bunch of ''frogs'' and the fact that he was there in the first place to find the younger version of ''his dad''.
64	** The same reason you have no idea where (insert item here) is until seeing it for the third time when looking, and change blindness. The former is because you forget certain things when you do them by muscle memory, and the latter is because if it's similar enough to what you remember, your brain ignores it. His brain was on "power-saver" and he was focused on the task "Find Dad".
65	** Either that, or he does know who she is but decides to ignore her since he was there to find Lewis/Cornelius.
66	** [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/disney/images/2/21/Crazy.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20190314034141 Young Franny]] looks much different from her adult self--no cowlick, for one, and her voice is obviously completely different. Both Wilbur and his mom have oval faces, but young Franny has a very round face (accentuated by her side pigtails). In short, there was nothing that could tip off Wilbur to the fact that the girl was his mom, especially while he was just meeting her in passing.
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68	* If Doris had succeeded in her plan to sabotage Lewis's invention at the science fair, he might have given up being an inventor. Which means that he would have never invented her. She was inadvertently arranging her own non-existence.
69	** Except we know it didn't, since we see the future she desired- she was simply able to slip time just like Goob did.
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72	[[folder: The Robinsons]]
73	* Where does the last name "Robinson" come from? His adoptive mother is named "Krunklehorn"...
74	** What seems to be the generally accepted {{Fanon}} goes as follows: Lucile uses her maiden name, Krunklehorn, in her business life since she became known under it before her marriage (which is common in the sciences to avoid confusion when a female scientist marries) but uses her married name, Robinson, in most other aspects (Lewis' friends knowing her as Mrs. Robinson for example), meaning Lewis' new name is Cornelius Robinson. Franny's maiden name, and therefore the last name of her brothers, is Framagucchi; Franny, for whatever reason (though likely because she's famous in the arts rather than the sciences), performs under her married name.
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76	* Why would Lewis change his name so easily?
77	** It's the start of Lewis' new life, that's a perfectly good reason to change your name - it's very symbolic.
78	** Not everyone likes or feels particularly attached to their birth name. There are plenty of kids (and adults) who would change theirs to something completely different given the chance.
79	** Also, Lewis knows that "Cornelius" is his name in the future, and he connects it to his positive memories of his future family. That would likely smooth over the transition.
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81	* "No hats at the dinner table"...except for Lazlo and Tallulah. And Billie. And Gaston. I know they needed Franny to almost discover Lewis' hair for plot reasons, but surely there was a better way for them to set it up?
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83	* Aunt Petunia is a hand puppet. Uncle Fritz is human. How the heck could they have children?!
84	** Fritz marries a woman called Petunia, who has children with him. But, a few years later, she dies. Fritz, unable to deal with the death of his wife, begins to project his understanding of her personality into a hand puppet. The others probably just play along because, hey, he's hurting no-one.
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86	* What's up with that one-eyed purple octo-butler?
87	** Quite possibly robotic, or maybe gene spliced.
88	** Animals just seemed to tame down quickly (and get AmplifiedAnimalAptitude) on the Robinson estate. Once Tiny the Tyrannosaur's mind-control hat was knocked off, for example, he fell into line almost immediately, rather then, well, continuing the sort of rampage you'd expect of a wild tyrannosaur. It would also nicely explain Franny's frogs.
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90	* If Bud, Joe, and Fritz are brothers, why do Joe and Fritz look middle aged when Bud is an old man?
91	** Maybe he was born almost a decade before they were. It's rare, but it does happen.
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93	* How did Lewis find out Bud, Fritz and Joe are brothers, Gaston and Art are Franny's brothers and Billie is Joe's wife?
94	[[/folder]]
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96	[[folder: Other]]
97	* Why does Lewis refuse to change his own past by not preventing his mother abandoning him, but just minutes later he changes Goob’s past?
98	** Lewis and Goob have very different futures. Lewis saw his perfect future and he knows how to get there (repair the mind-scanner and get adopted by Lucille Krunklehorn). Changing twelve years of his past would jeopardize this future. Bowler Hat Guy, on the other hand, has spent most of his life hating Lewis and has not done anything with himself. When Lewis tries to give him a better future with the Robinsons, BHG refuses because he believes it’s too late for him. Thus changing his past is a better option.
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100	* Out of all the failed adoption interviews Lewis has, why has Goob not had a go at the couples who don't want Lewis? Particularly the couple that asks Lewis what his favorite sport is since Goob is into baseball?
101	** He actually does have a go at that couple, but it's after he's become embittered by missing the catch, so it puts them off. Lewis might be prioritized in terms of scheduling if he's older, since as pointed out he's going to only have a harder time getting adopted with each passing year.
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103	* In the first ten minutes of the film, Goob can be heard saying that his little league team has "lost every game." Yet, missing ''one catch'' has somehow cost the Dinos the championship and turned Goob bitter. Seriously?
104	** Maybe the Dinos managed to start winning after that line of Goob's.
105	** Goob is a bit of an UnreliableNarrator. Granted the kids got mad at him for falling asleep during a game, but there's no reason to believe they genuinely hated him, especially after the following line, and his non-sequiturs when he grows up.
106	----> '''Kid One:''' Hi Goob, what up?
107	---->'''Kid Two:''' Hey Goob, you wanna hang out? Cool binder.
108	----> '''Older Goob:''' They all hated me.
109	** He actually says "we've been doing better recently" or something to that effect... thus, they'd improved enough to get into the cup...?
110	** Did anyone pay attention to the movie? In his first appearance Goob had bags under his eyes. Then there is the invention montage. Goob has most likely been kept up every single night since he was bunked with Lewis. He misses the baseball catch; but it's on the same day that Lewis patents an invention that makes him rich '''and gets adopted'''.
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112	* How come the adults during Goob's baseball match didn't do anything to prevent the other kids beating up Goob for falling asleep?
113	** The adults can't be around 24/7; it likely took place in the changing room after the game (precisely because there'd be no adults around).
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115	* How did Bowler Hat Guy get that huge dinosaur in his comparatively small time machine?
116	** Some feature on the machine that allows for expansion of the bubble the machine generates to travel the timestream?
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118	* If Doris could control people's minds, why didn't she just take over Goob and do everything herself?
119	** Animals and people act like zombies under Doris' control which would have raised suspicions. And what if the executives had requested Bowler Hat Guy take his hat off, a common courtesy?
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121	* Why did Lewis join Bowler Hat Guy anyway? He had the same story as Wilbur (I'll take you to your mom), and uh, I don't know, he's an obvious DastardlyWhiplash! He fell into the same trap twice! Nice going, Future Albert Einstein...
122	** At that time, he's very angry, upset, and not thinking clearly. He's only...what, 12? They're notorious for making bad decisions when they're that angry. Consider this: He spent the whole movie believing that Wilbur would take him to see his mother, only to have Wilbur casually shoot the promise dead on the spot. No doubt Lewis is feeling betrayed and used. Not to mention that the family, mere seconds after accepting him into the family, tell him to go.
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124	* During the "Another Believer" sequence, we keep seeing Lewis take home wagonloads of invention parts from that shop. Where does a ward of the state get the pocket money to buy all that stuff?
125	** Kids can do errands for money. He might have done kid work (like cleaning and organizing) at the school for spare cash. If he had a habit of saving up, he could have a nice little stash for when he needed spare parts. And the parts could have been cheap or discounted.
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127	* Why was Lewis not adopted almost as soon as he became available? Infants are almost always adopted out in a matter of days.
128	** For every baby that gets adopted, another one gets left behind. Lewis was just picked after all the other babies, that's all. It's dumb, bad luck.
129	** Maybe his sciency (and somewhat chaotic) personality came through early (after all, he's clearly a TeenGenius with a long track record when the movie starts), so he was passed over in favor of more "normal" babies?
130	** Adoption is also not an easy process. You don't just show up and just get a kid within days, there's a process. More on the "bad luck" idea, it's possible any parents who tried to adopt Lewis wound up with complications, like a job loss, job change/moving, failed background checks, a death in the family that made them cancel, divorce, no stable home, no home at all suddenly, parents wanted a girl, the process becoming too expensive, the woman falling pregnant... there could be dozens of reasons. My best bet is honestly on the last two being the frequent problems with the others sprinkled in. It's also possible that at the time, the 30th Street Orphanage wasn't seeing a lot of people looking to adopt/adopt a boy.
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132	* Why was Doris so angry that Goob/Bowler Hat Guy brought a T-rex?
133	** Doris told Bowler Hat Guy to stay put but he disobeyed her. And to demonstrate why, Bowler Hat Guy doesn't think things through - what exactly did bringing the T-rex do? If he hadn't done so Doris would've been able to carry on with her own plan, but now she has to come up with a new one.
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135	* How the heck is Goob allowed to keep living in the orphanage after it closed down?
136	** He could sneak back into the building after it been abandoned.
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138	* About the abovementioned headscratcher, how Goob didn't die of starvation if he remained on the orphanage well into his adulthood after his failure to get adopted? How did he get food to eat?
139	** Stole it, maybe? It's highly unlikely he literally stayed in that one room for 30 years straight without ever leaving even ''once''.
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141	* When the science fair gets ruined due the interference of Bowler Hat Guy and Doris, why does Mr. Willerstein refuse to hear Lewis's apologies?
142	** The guy was in charge of a situation that could very easily have resulted in many people getting injured or even killed, and it's not the first time Lewis had given a demonstration of his inventions that had ended in a potentially dangerous way. His tone was of a "I know you didn't mean it, but I have more important things to deal with right now" (he even explicitly says "not now"); Lewis takes the rejection to heart simply because he's faced a lifetime of it and he had hoped that this was the day it would turn around.
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144	* When Bowler Hat Guy meets Goob, why Goob didn't scream or alert Mildred that a stranger had sneaked into the orphanage?
145	** Goob was still severely sleep-deprived and had been beaten up, and the man clearly had no interest in him and was instead looking for Lewis whom Goob wasn't exactly on "best friends" terms with and quite possibly was already starting to blame for making him fall asleep and miss the catch. Either that, or his living in an orphanage means that Goob is used to seeing random unknowns around and is less concerned of the "stranger danger" that typical kids get drilled into.
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147	* Why... didn't Bud and Lucille go to Mildred a long time ago? Lucille ''knows'' Mildred, she was one of her bridesmaids.
148	** To prevent a time paradox?
149	** They may not have planned to adopt until they met Lewis. They may have been perfectly fine with just the two of them, especially since they have such wacky personalities they would need just the right fit for a kid. Lucille in particular mentions near the beginning that she "doesn't get out of that lab much", so her job likely took up a lot of her attention. But Lewis made such a good impression on the two of them, and has a similar scientific mind to Lucille, so they decided to reconsider and start the adoption process. Heck, the fact that they know Mildred might have sped the process along more.
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151	* Why did Lewis wait until the day of the science fair to test out his invention? If he was sure it would work, wouldn't it make more sense to test it on himself, find his mom, and either not worry about the fair or show up with an invention he know will work? Then, when it malfunctioned, he wouldn't have had such a meltdown thinking it was a failure.

Context Headscratchers / MeetTheRobinsons