Line #260 WesternAnimation/MeetTheRobinsons


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_a05146e5_ff21_4d12_8dc3_c5731935f1db.png]]
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3	->''"Keep Moving Forward."''
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5	''Meet the Robinsons'' is the Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon's 47th animated feature, based loosely on Creator/WilliamJoyce's picture book ''A Day with Wilbur Robinson'' (Joyce served as the film's executive producer). The first film in the Canon to be completed under a recently-installed Creator/JohnLasseter's supervision, a significant volume of production (including a rough animatic) was completed prior to the 2006 Pixar buyout, following which over two-thirds of the film was reworked at Lasseter's insistence.
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7	The story follows a 12-year old orphan/child prodigy Lewis, whose tenacity while building inventions that go awry makes it a struggle to get adopted. He is confronted with fast-talking Wilbur Robinson, who is a boy 30 years from the future who needs Lewis' help. Wilbur is in the pursuit of the do-wrong, overgrown [[ManChild man-child]] Bowler Hat Guy (a possible homage to [[WesternAnimation/DudleyDoRight Snidely Whiplash]]) and his malevolent, cybertronic bowler hat, who is hell bent on taking credit for Lewis' inventions. Now they must travel to the future to stop him, with Lewis getting acquainted with Wilbur's unusual family along the way.
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9	The film had music by Music/DannyElfman. It was released in theaters on March 2007 in standard and Disney Digital 3D. WesternAnimation/ClassicDisneyShorts preceded the film, with standard prints featuring ''Boat Builders'' and 3D prints featuring a 3D conversion of ''Working for Peanuts''. There was also [[VideoGame/MeetTheRobinsons a licensed game]] that served as a prequel to the film's story.
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11	!!''Meet the Robinsons'' provides examples of:
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13	* ActorAllusion:
14	** When Lewis asks Wilbur what his currently-absent father looks like, Wilbur replies "Like Creator/TomSelleck." [[spoiler:When Wilbur's father shows up at the end of the film, he looks nothing like Selleck, but he sure ''sounds'' like him. This is actually a kind of reverse Actor Allusion; the scene was written first, and gave the director the idea to offer Selleck the role.]]
15	*** Played straight with international releases, where the "Tom Selleck" line is replaced by whoever's playing Cornelius (the exceptions being the Portuguese [both Brazilian and European], Dutch and French releases).
16	** Of ''course'' Uncle Art, Creator/AdamWest's character, is [[Series/Batman1966 dressed like a superhero.]]
17	** There's also an Author Allusion, as Goob's baseball team is the Dinos, whose mascot looks an awful lot like [[Creator/WilliamJoyce Dinosaur Bob]].
18	** The Frog girl[=/=][[spoiler:young Franny]], who is voiced by Creator/JessieFlower, is an [[WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender intimidating little girl who knows karate... well... martial arts]].
19	** This is not the [[Series/{{Roseanne}} first time]] Creator/LaurieMetcalf portrayed a relative in a dysfunctional family.
20	* AdamWesting: Art, played by [[Creator/AdamWest the man himself]] applies his trademark [[TheComicallySerious unwavering conviction]] to the role of a [[CaptainSpaceDefenderOfEarth daring, rakishly handsome, spaceship-flying]]...''[[SeriousBusiness pizza delivery man.]]''
21	* AdaptationExpansion: The book is essentially the middle part of the movie with the searching for grandpa's teeth and the dinner. Time travel had no part in the book! A few things actually got cut from the book like several family members, a pillow fight and slumber party. The book itself was expanded shortly before the movie came out with stuff like the dinosaur and some totally new material that didn't even get to the movie like an indoor SnowballFight.
22	* AdoptiveNameChange: [[spoiler:Lewis]] gets his name changed to Cornelius after being adopted, his new dad saying he looks more like a Cornelius.
23	* AdorableEvilMinions: Little Doris. To quote Bowler Hat Guy: "It's so ''cute''!" ...For a spider-like robotic hat that can [[MindControlDevice take control]] of animals' minds, that is.
24	* AdvertisedExtra:
25	** Lizzy, the female goth student in the poster above, only has two lines in the film and appears for only about 10 seconds. She and Stanley Pukowski (the chubby kid at the science fair with the volcano) [[AscendedExtra play more prominent roles in the video game, however]].
26	** The present-day version of Dr. Krunklehorn is also featured on the poster alongside many characters who appear in the future, which is odd because she ends up being [[spoiler: Lewis's adopted mother]]. [[spoiler: However, this may have been an intentional misdirect to not let on that they were the same character.]]
27	** Many of the Robinson family members were featured prominently in the promotional materials, yet are basically background characters with no handle on the story. In particular, the Robinsons' dog Buster (the one who wears glasses) was also prominently shown in advertisements, despite having only one scene. If you've seen the trailer, you've seen the entirety of the dog's screen time.
28	* AllAnimalsAreDogs: Tiny the Tyrannosaur, once the Mini Doris controlling him is removed.
29	* AlternativeForeignThemeSong: The film uses [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfAPeHz3Z3U "Hitomi Hiraite"]] by Mitsuki as the Japanese theme song.
30	* AlwaysChaoticEvil: All the Helping Hats. It is possible that each one is an exact copy of, or under the control of, the evil Doris.
31	* AnachronisticOrphanage: Lewis grows up in an orphanage after being abandoned on the doorstep as a newborn by his birth mother.
32	* ArcWords: "Keep Moving Forward". Shown at the end to be a part [[spoiler:of a quote by Walt Disney, in reference to Imagineering]].
33	* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking:
34	** Carl lists the consequences of Wilbur leaving the garage door ajar -- a time machine got stolen by Bowler Hat Guy, the time stream may now be altered irreparably, and someone took Carl's bike.
35	** Wilbur's reasons for [[spoiler: not adopting]] Bowler Hat Guy: "He stole our time machine, tried to ruin your future, and he smells like he hasn't showered in thirty years!"
36	* AsymmetricDilemma: Bowler Hat Guy gives this example:
37	-->"Oh, I know! I'll turn him into a duck! Yes, it's so evil! Oh... I don't know how to do that... and I don't really need a duck... this may be harder than I thought."
38	* BadFuture: [[spoiler: Doris rewrites her own future: one in which the "helping hats" have [[TakeOverTheWorld taken over the world]] and made all of humankind their [[{{Brainwashed}} mind-controlled slaves]]. Plus, the environment has become [[PollutedWasteland a heavily polluted industrial complex]] with tower-like structures [[{{Egopolis}} in Doris' likeness]].]]
39	* BaitTheDog: The Bowler Hat Guy sees Mike reeling over losing the game, gives him a look of honest sympathy...and [[AntiRoleModel then tells him to keep holding onto that grudge forever]]. [[spoiler: Then it turns out Bowler Hat Guy is Mike's future self]].
40	* BigFatFuture: Averted. Uncle Joe is incredibly fat, but he's the only one in the future we see who is.
41	* BigNo: When Lewis learns of Doris' rise to power.
42	* BlackComedy: The Bowler Hat Guy's DarkAndTroubledPast gets PlayedForLaughs.
43	* BrandX: Bowler Hat Guy's binder features a cute sparkly unicorn with big eyes, which is sure to remind older viewers of [[Franchise/MyLittlePony something]] or [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisa_Frank other]]...
44	* BreakUpMakeUpScenario: Lewis and Wilbur go through one after learning that Wilbur lies about taking Lewis to the past.
45	* BrokenAesop: Zigzagged. [[spoiler: Lewis himself learns to move forward, e.g. not change his orphanage past (thus jeopardizing the perfect future he saw) and instead reach the future the natural way. Lewis does however RetGone Doris by not inventing her in the first place and he retcons Goob so that he never grows into Bowler Hat Guy. In-universe both decisions are justified: Doris is too dangerous to stop once invented. In Goob’s case, Lewis tries to show him the error of his ways and then put him in the care of the Robinsons. Only when that does not work, since Goob spent most of his life hating Lewis, does Lewis change Goob’s past instead.]]
46	* BuffySpeak: From Bowler Hat Guy. "All our hopes and dreams are dashed like the many pieces of a broken machiney thing..."
47	* BuriedAlive: Frankie and the other singing frogs toss the mini-DOR-15 in the back of a car with a shovel, the implication being they're going to bury it alive.
48	--> '''Bowler Hat Guy:''' Oh no! [looks up at DOR-15] Little Doris now sleeps with the fishes.
49	* CarFu: When the T-Rex attacks Lewis, Billie slams it with her (lifesize) "toy train".
50	* CerebusSyndrome: The tone of the movie drastically changes in the third act from being a quirky comedy to a surprisingly dark and heartwarming dramedy. RealLifeWritesThePlot as Lassester ordered a large chunk of the script being rewritten.
51	* CelebrityParadox: To Wilbur, Cornelius looks like Tom Selleck (his voice actor).
52	* CluelessAesop: During the ending, [[spoiler:Lewis waking Goob up is clearly an attempt to give Goob a happy ending. However, Goob is still waking up when he makes the catch and doesn't realize what's even going on, so he can't appreciate his happy ending for what it is. Worse, Lewis waking Goob up is explicitly rewriting history for a happy ending--the exact thing he's ostensibly learned ''not'' to do for himself. Worse still, Lewis rewriting Goob's history undoes the Bowler Hat Guy's DarkAndTroubledPast--so not only will Bowler Hat Guy never learn the Aesop, he's been completely deleted from history. Of course, in-universe the point was to do BHG a good turn, not to teach him an Aesop]].
53	* CompanyCrossReferences:
54	** In the baseball field where Goob is playing, a banner with [[WesternAnimation/TheJungleBook Mowgli and Baloo]] is seen on a sign.
55	** A scene that didn't make it into the film would have had Carl give Wilbur a note with ''Franchise/WinnieThePooh'' characters on it saying "Get out! ♡ Carl".
56	* ConfidenceSabotage: This is what sets off the plot. During the Science Fair, Lewis's Memory Scanner is unknowingly sabotaged by B.H.G and Doris. After the DisastrousDemonstration that results, Lewis's belief in his ability to invent is so shattered that he gives it up. To preserve the future, Wilbur has to restore his self confidence.
57	* ConvenientCranny: When the BigBad brings a T-Rex into the future, it's unable to attack Lewis when he stands in the corner of a building.
58	* CosmicRetcon: [[spoiler: Weaponizing one is how Lewis ends up defeating DOR-15]].
59	* CoversAlwaysLie: The poster at the top of the page gave the impression that Lizzy was a member of the Robinson family in the future when she's actually just a classmate of Lewis in the present who is only on screen for under a minute in total. Also, the T-Rex doesn't become the Robinson family's pet until the movie's ending.
60	* CreateYourOwnVillain: Bowler Hat Guy, [[spoiler:eventually revealed to be Lewis's old roommate Mike Yagoobian]], became this as a result of Lewis's tireless efforts to invent his memory scanner, which ironically results in [[spoiler: Yagoobian falling asleep in the sandlot from insomnia and missing an outfield hit]]:
61	-->'''Lewis:''' How did you end up like this?\
62	'''B.H.G.:''' Well, it's a long and pitiful story, about a young boy with a dream. A dream of [[spoiler:winning a Little League championship]].\
63	''[flashback to a [[spoiler:sandlot baseball stadium where a young Mike Yagoobian is asleep in the outfield; a fly ball lands next to him]]]''\
64	'''B.H.G.:''' [[spoiler:A dream that was ruined in the last inning. We lost by one run because of me.]]
65	:: : Later on in the flashback:
66	--->'''B.H.G.:''' It was then that I realized [[NeverMyFault it wasn't]] ''[[NeverMyFault my]]'' [[NeverMyFault fault]]... it was yours! If you hadn't [[spoiler:kept me up all night working on your stupid project, then I wouldn't have missed the catch]]! So I devised a brilliant plan to get my revenge.\
67	''[Bowler Hat Guy throws eggs at the Robinson Industries building]''\
68	'''B.H.G.:''' Robinson, you stink!\
69	'''B.H.G.:''' Then, just as I was on the brink of destroying Robinson Industries, I met... her.\
70	''[Doris extends her metal claw and drags Bowler Hat Guy away]''\
71	'''B.H.G.:''' We retreated to our villainous lair, where Doris spun a tale of deception and woe. Apparently, you invented her to be a helping hat, a slave to humankind... But Doris knew she was capable of so much more... However, you didn't see her true potential...\
72	'''Cornelius:''' Got it!\
73	'''B.H.G.:''' So you shut her down... or so you thought.\
74	''[Doris breaks out of her holding cell]''\
75	'''B.H.G.''': We both had a score to settle with you, and while my plan for revenge was brilliant, Doris's was... well, we went with Doris's, but I made a very, very important contribution. Together we made the perfect team.
76	* DeathCryEcho: [[spoiler:Doris lets one out when she gets erased from existence.]]
77	* DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment: Dr. Krunklehorn says "One of your students may invent the next integrated circuit, or microprocessor, or integrated circuit... Oh wait, I said that already!" in her introductory scene. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] since she ''is'' sleep deprived and only awake due to her caffeine patches.
78	* DidntThinkThisThrough:
79	** This is Wilbur's FatalFlaw, as he brushes off most of the visible errors in his plans (like how not telling Lewis the truth about taking him to see his mother) by insisting they'll work anyway. [[spoiler:This almost [[RetGone results in him ceasing to exist]].]]
80	** For Bowler Hat Guy, this is a RunningGag:
81	---> '''Frankie the Frog/Tiny the T-Rex''': I'm just not sure how well this plan was thought through... Master?
82	* DisneyDeath: Carl gets impaled by Doris, but is saved by CosmicRetcon
83	* DisproportionateRetribution: Bowler Hat Guy spends his entire life hating Lewis and swearing revenge on him, all because Bowler Hat Guy is actually [[spoiler: Lewis' roomate Goob who was kept up all night by Lewis working on his memory scanner which made Goob fall asleep during the baseball game and miss the winning catch. He took it so far that he was beaten up by his teammates and never stopped being angry about it, even ignoring anyone who tried to talk to him. This reaches a point where he never got adopted and lived his life in the abandoned orphanage]].
84	* DoubleMeaningTitle: The title refers to both Lewis meeting Wilbur's family, the Robinsons, and [[spoiler:his adoptive parents, the Robinsons]].
85	* DoubleStandardAbuseFemaleOnMale: Aunt Petunia and Uncle Fritz. Of course, she's also a puppet that ''he'' controls, so... technically self-abuse? He's also clearly nuts.
86	* DramaticUnmask:
87	** Parodied when Bowler Hat Guy dramatically rips his clothes before Lewis to reveal [[spoiler: he is still wearing the same baseball uniform that he used when he was Goob, Lewis' roommate at the orphanage]].
88	** A more serious one happens earlier, when Wilbur removes Lewis' hat and [[spoiler: the rest of the Robinsons realize that Lewis is Cornelius' past self, although none of them admit it due to not wanting to cause a TemporalParadox]].
89	* DrivingQuestion: Who was Lewis' mother and why did she give him up? [[spoiler:[[RiddleForTheAges Sadly, it's never answered]]]].
90	* DumbDinos: Averted. While Tiny the ''T. rex'' can't talk, he does seem to have his own language, and he is willing to behave when the mind-control hat is removed.
91	* {{Dystopia}}: The result of the BadFuture where Doris successfully manipulates everyone into making and wearing mind-control hats.
92	* EarAche: The "parent grabs their kid's ear as punishment" variation is given an unusual twist where Lewis does it to Wilbur when the latter protests to [[spoiler:adopting adult Goob]], resulting in a hilarious image of a kid younger than Wilbur pulling on his ear while proclaiming he's his father and he should do as he says.
93	* {{Egging}}: The Bowler Hat Guy's initial plan to get back at Cornelius is throwing eggs at the Robinson Industries building while shouting "Robinson, you stink!"
94	* {{Egopolis}}: The buildings in the BadFuture are all hat-shaped.
95	* EmotionlessGirl: Lizzy seems to be incapable of anything resembling emotion.
96	* EpicFail: Bowler Hat Guy's attempt to pass off Lewis' invention as his own to the [=InventCo=] Board of Directors doesn't go according to plan. For one thing, he has Doris hover outside the windows and acting as his teleprompter, and when she has to hide to avoid being noticed, Bowler Hat Guy must claim that the sun is in his eyes, unintentionally causing the CEO to lower the blinds, sending him off the rails completely. Therefore his attempt to demonstrate the product doesn't go well at all because he doesn't know what does what, eventually resulting in him running the really comfy headphones all the way across the table to the CEO. When the timer runs out, the machine falls off his end and Bowler Hat Guy and the CEO end up wrapped together in the headphone cords.
97	-->'''Bowler Hat Guy:''' So, where do I sign? ''[cuts to him being thrown out onto the street, followed seconds later by the box with the parts for his device]''
98	* EvenEvilHasStandards: The Bowler Hat Guy is clearly terrified to see [[spoiler:Doris enslave humanity]].
99	* EvilGloating: [[spoiler:Doris]] does a variation of this when they shows Lewis a quick rundown of how the future was conquered after the success of their plan, on the very memory machine he invented that made it all happen, before moving to take him.
100	* EvilIsPetty: Exaggerated. Bowler Hat Guy is ''so'' petty that he never really grew up and became a {{Manchild}}--he's still wearing his childhood [[spoiler:baseball]] uniform under his cloak. His initial EvilPlan for {{Revenge}} was to egg the Robinsons' house.
101	* EvilPlan: Bowler Hat Guy wants to ruin Lewis' life [[spoiler: because he's really Goob and believes Lewis ruined his life because Lewis' invention made him sleepy during a game which made him bitter and which turned off prospective parents]].
102	* EvilerThanThou: [[spoiler:Doris is revealed to be this, having used Bowler Hat Guy to take over the world. This is shown with the Memory Scanner, with B.H.G. horrified by Doris's world domination.]]
103	-->'''B.H.G.:''' [[spoiler:Doris, what's happening? I-I don't understand! I just wanted to ruin his future, [[EvenEvilHasStandards not this!]] ''(Doris droids swarm B.H.G.)'' ''Noooooo!'']]
104	* ExpandedStatesOfAmerica: According to the movie, by 2037 Canada will be annexed by the US and renamed North Montana.
105	* EyeRecall: Doris gets two when Goob explains her backstory to Lewis.
106	* FalseTeethTomfoolery: When Lewis first meets Grandpa Bud, he is hunting for his false teeth, in quintessential Robinson style.
107	* FelonyMisdemeanor: "I know! I'll turn him into a duck! Yes! It's so evil!"
108	* FluffyTheTerrible: The huge Tyrannosaurus Rex is named...''Tiny''.
109	* FoodFight: Wilbur starts one as a distraction. Complete with Japanese style, low budget, poorly dubbed lip-syncing.
110	* {{Foreshadowing}}: During the science fair, a girl's bunch of frogs is scattered all over the floor. It won't be the last time you see a bunch of frogs; it won't be the last you see of that girl, either.
111	** Or, if you look real hard you can see some of the billboards contain a few. The "Brain Scanners from Mars" ''directly'' inspires the creation of the Memory Scanner, but it also bears a remarkable resemblance to [[spoiler: Doris' mind-control [[BadFuture hat-apocalypse]]]].
112	** The fact that Bowler Hat Guy is able to mind-control people (well, a frog and a dinosaur) using Little Doris is an early indication of [[spoiler:Doris's capabilities.]]
113	** Only two characters have ExhaustedEyeBags as part of their designs: Goob and [[spoiler: Bowler Hat Guy]].
114	** Additionally, Bowler Hat Guy's demotivational speech to Goob, telling him to hold onto his grudges forever until it poisons him is a hint to the fact that [[spoiler: Bowler Hat Guy really ''is'' Goob]].
115	*** [[spoiler: Not to mention, Goob never told Bowler Hat Guy he was in a game. Plus his face says more.]]
116	** Carl using an upgraded (but still buggy) peanut butter and jelly gun is a hint to the fact that [[spoiler: Lewis is Cornelius Robinson]], something Lewis nearly takes notice of.
117	---> '''Lewis''': ''(pointing at Carl's familiar-looking PB&J gun)'' [[SpottingTheThread Hey, that's just like...]]
118	** Also, Mildred warns Lewis that he owes Goobs big time for keeping him up all night working his science project. [[spoiler:It’s because of this that Goob missed the winning catch and became the Bowler Hat Guy, who sought to really mess the future in revenge.]]
119	** In an unusual moment of compassion, Bowler Hat Guy rethinks blowing up the Robinson house. He's jealous of Lewis's future success, but [[PetTheDog he's not evil enough]] to ''murder'' [[spoiler: his former companion]].
120	* {{Forgiveness}}: Another example of the movie's motto of "Keep Moving Forward" and shows the dangers of holding a grudge. Case in point, the Bowler Hat Guy aka [[spoiler: Goob]].
121	* ForTheEvulz: One of the "to do" items on Bowler Hat Guy's [[EvilPlan list]] is "Ruin science fair". That's where he succeeded.
122	* FreezeFrameBonus: [[spoiler:You can see Cornelius' face as he shuts down Doris during her backstory within Bowler Hat Guy's monologue, in which he resembles an older Lewis.]]
123	* FreudianExcuseIsNoExcuse: Bowler Hat Guy's entire goal of {{Revenge}} is because [[spoiler:Lewis kept him up working on his science project and made him miss the winning catch and ruining his future by taking the Memory Scanner to Inventco as his own]]. Lewis' rebuttal says otherwise:
124	--> '''Lewis''': Look, I'm sorry your life turned out so bad, but [[DisproportionateRetribution don't blame]] ''[[DisproportionateRetribution me]]'', ''you'' messed it up yourself. You just focused on the bad stuff when all you had to do was... [[CallBack let go of the past and keep moving forward]].
125	** [[spoiler:Initially, Bowler Hat Guy [[FreudianExcuseDenial is in denial of Lewis' rebuttal]], but then [[HeelFaceTurn turns into a new leaf]] when he sees for himself what his path of petty vengeance [[BadFuture nearly led the future to]].]]
126	* FreudianSlip: Lewis calls Franny "Mom". Which gets slightly odd when [[spoiler:we learn she's his future wife]].
127	* FutureBadass: In the dystopian alternate future. You know they're Future Badass because the ladies all sport black lipstick. Otherwise, they're just hat-zombies.
128	* FutureSelfReveal: [[spoiler:The Bowler Hat Guy is revealed to be the future self of Lewis' room-mate Goob. And the patriarch of the Robinson family is revealed at the end to be the Lewis' own future self. ]]
129	* GagEcho: This conversation between Bowler Hat Guy and Frankie the frog:
130	-->'''B.H.G.''': You are now under my control!
131	-->'''Frankie''' [monotone]: I am now under your control.
132	-->'''B.H.G.''': Hee hee hee hee!
133	-->'''Frankie''' [monotone]: Hee hee hee hee.
134	-->'''B.H.G.''': Stop laughing.
135	-->'''Frankie''' [monotone]: Stop laughing.
136	-->'''B.H.G.''': Don't repeat everything I say!
137	-->'''Frankie''' [monotone]: I won't repeat everything you say.
138	-->'''B.H.G.''': Excellent.
139	-->'''Frankie''' [monotone]: Excellent.
140	-->'''B.H.G.''': Uh, did you just say "excellent" because I said "excellent"?
141	-->'''Frankie''' [monotone]: Uhhh... no.
142	-->'''B.H.G.''': Excellent!
143	-->'''Frankie''' [monotone]: Excellent.
144	* GeniusBruiser: A burly TopHeavyGuy is seen in what was most likely a neuroscience class, which not an easy subject in the slightest
145	* GenkiGirl: Dr. Krunklehorn. Yes, really. The fact that she invented a caffeine patch doesn't help matters.
146	* GhibliHills: Surrounding the Future City, with the Robinson house on top of one of them.
147	* GilliganCut:
148	-->'''Bowler Hat Guy''': ''releasing the Dino'' "Great, Doris will love this!"
149	-->''Cut to Doris, totally furious.''
150	* GoneHorriblyRight: [[ChildProdigy Lewis]] is down after another family refused to adopt him and believes that his own mother didn't want him. [[ParentalSubstitute Mildred]], the director of the orphanage, tries to cheer him up by telling him that maybe his mother ''did'' want him but had no choice other than to give him up. However, Lewis takes this in the meaning that she '''definitely''' wanted him and decides that his only hope of a happy family is to track her down.
151	* GoryDiscretionShot: [[spoiler: In the BadFuture, when Bowler Hat Guy is [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone horrified]] by what Doris has done, he [[EvenEvilHasStandards calls her out on it]] but is swarmed by a cloud of hat-drones who pull him down out of view. Then another one appears onscreen, with her claws out like hands at the ready]], it flies at him as if it's about to either slice him up or grab him to brainwash him and that's all we get to see.
152	* GroundedForever: Franny does this to Wilbur.
153	-->'''Franny:''' Mister, you're grounded 'til you die.
154	* HardWorkMontage: Set to the SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic "Another Believer" by Music/RufusWainwright.
155	* HarmlessVillain: Bowler Hat Guy. Until he meets Doris, and even then he is hopelessly incompetent at being evil.
156	* HeelRealization: [[spoiler:The Bowler Hat Guy, AKA "Goob", upon seeing just what Doris planned to do to the world, with his help.]]
157	-->'''Bowler Hat Guy:''' Doris... [[spoiler: I thought she was my friend.]]
158	* HelpYourselfInTheFuture: A few versions of this happen:
159	** In a twisted version of the trope, [[spoiler: Bowler Hat Guy, upon running into Goob after he lost the baseball game, encourages Goob not to let his resentment go, and to instead let it fuel his actions. This is because without that resentment, Bowler Hat Guy would never come to be.]]
160	** Later, [[spoiler: Cornelius takes Lewis to his lab to show Lewis his favorite invention. But it isn't any of the big fancy impressive ones... it's the ''memory scanner'' that Lewis was ready to give up on. This encourages Lewis to go back to the science fair and try again, ultimately leading to him meeting his future family.]]
161	** In the film's prologue, Mildred heard a knock at the door the night she found Lewis on the front stoop of the orphanage. [[spoiler: At the end, after Wilbur takes Lewis to meet his mother, Lewis ends up being the one to knock on the door, saving his infant self from being left on the steps all night.]]
162	* HomeEarlySurprise: Just after the whole TimeTravel adventure has succeeded in setting right what once went wrong, Cornelius Robinson, [[spoiler: Lewis' future self]], arrives home just in time to see the time machines missing and Lewis standing with the rest of the family.
163	-->'''Franny''': Oh boy.
164	-->'''Grandpa Bud''': Well, [[LampshadeHanging he's home early]].
165	* HomemadeInventions: Because you can totally crack the hippocampus with a TV screen, a fan, a vacuum cleaner, a bottle of Mountain Dew and a Discman. Oh, and really comfy headphones.
166	* HongKongDub: Parodied during a food fight between Franny and her brother, where they talk like characters in a badly dubbed MartialArtsMovie and their lip movements don't match what they're saying.
167	* HopeSpot: Bowler Hat Guy and Doris finally have Lewis and his machine captured, about to return to the past after forcing him to fix it. Wilbur and Carl manage to retrieve him and the machine before they can leave the future and are seemingly home free. Then Doris [[GutPunch harpoons Carl through the chest]], the villains retrieve the machine, return to the past and the future around Lewis becomes dystopian as Wilbur evaporates in front of him.
168	* IKnowKarate:
169	-->'''Wilbur:''' Annoying little girl, I don't have time for this. I'm on a very important --\
170	'''Franny:''' Don't sass me, boy! I know karate!
171	* IndyPloy: Bowler Hat Guy's half-baked plans are [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] by...
172	** The Inventco CEO.
173	--->'''Inventco C.E.O.:''' Uh, what do you hope to accomplish with this?\
174	'''B.H.G.:''' Oh, nothing of consequence, I simply wish to... crush the dreams of a poor little orphan boy! ''[{{Beat}}]'' Uh, after that, it's... uh, a little fuzzy.\
175	'''Inventco C.E.O.:''' You mean you haven't thought this through?
176	** Frankie the Frog.
177	--->'''B.H.G.:''' Now, my slave, seize the boy! Bring him to me. ''[Frankie gulps]'' Did you not hear what I said, you idiot? Grab the boy and bring him!\
178	'''Frankie:''' Well, it's just that there's a million people over there, and I have little arms. I'm just not so sure how well this plan was thought through... Master? Master?
179	** The T-Rex.
180	--->'''B.H.G.:''' Now, go get that boy! ''[the T-Rex corners Lewis, but can't reach him]'' What's going on? Why aren't you seizing the boy?\
181	'''T-Rex:''' ''[subtitled]'' I have a big head... and little arms, I'm just not sure... how well this plan was thought through... Master?\
182	'''B.H.G.:''' Ugh, stupid, stupid, stupid!
183	* IsItAlwaysLikeThis: Lewis asks this about the over-the-top food fight in the Robinson household. Short answer: yes.
184	-->"Yesterday it was meat loaf."
185	* IronicEcho: ''"Take a good look around you; your future is about to change."''
186	* IWantSong: ''Another Believer" in some respects.
187	* JerkJock: Averted with [[spoiler:Goob, whose evolution into a villain is only due to his constant dwelling on a painful event and subsequent ''refusal'' to keep doing what he loves, implied to be baseball]]. Played somewhat straight with the gym teacher, but even he acknowledges Lewis' achievement in the end.
188	* KidsAreCruel: Played straight when Goob loses the game by missing his catch and his teammates beat him up, calling him names. Later averted by older Goob's schoolmates, who are nice to him and invite him to "hang out". [[spoiler:Unfortunately, by that time, he has spent so much time [[{{Wangst}} pitying himself]] that he's [[TruthInTelevision become too bitter to notice when people are genuinely nice to him]].]]
189	* LiarRevealed: It doesn't take up a big part of the plot, but Wilbur never planned to actually let Lewis see his birth mother, and this betrayal drives Lewis to not only abandon the entire Robinson family but to take up Bowler Hat Guy's counteroffer, which is also a lie.
190	* LostAesop: While "Keep Moving Forward" is clearly the moral here, it's not exactly clear if that's always a good idea (especially since time travel is an option).
191	* LyingFingerCross: Bowler Hat Guy does this after he offers to take Lewis back to find his mom if he repairs the Memory Scanner. Later, after Lewis repairs the Memory Scanner, Doris ties him up and Lewis says, "[[YouSaidYouWouldLetThemGo We had a deal!]]" and Bowler Hat Guy reveals his crossed fingers to Lewis, saying, "Crossies! Doesn't count!"
192	* MatchCut: At one point, the city skyline of 2037 is match-cut to a 2007 city skyline prior to the Bowler Hat Guy's attempt to present the Memory Scanner at the [=InventCo=] offices.
193	* MayContainEvil: Doris manipulates Bowler Hat Guy into traveling to the past, pitching her to a manufacturing company, and becoming a mass-produced consumer product. [[spoiler:Once her copies are in nearly every home worldwide, she makes them all turn rogue and uses them to TakeOverTheWorld.]]
194	* MeanwhileInTheFuture: Happens twice. At least. Justified, since this is a time travel plot.
195	* MechanicalMuscles: Discussed, where Carl, [[spoiler: before sending Lewis back in time]], asks him to invent him with a more muscular design.
196	* MentalPictureProjector: Lewis' Memory Scanner. [[spoiler: And it actually comes through.]]
197	* MidairRepair: Lewis does this with the Time Machine
198	* MinionWithAnFInEvil: The Bowler Hat Guy [[spoiler: a.k.a "Goob"]]. Case in point, his big evil scheme was to [[PokeThePoodle TP Robinson Industries]].
199	* AMinorKidroduction: The very first scene has Lewis as an infant being left at Mildred's orphanage by his mother.
200	* MistakesAreNotTheEndOfTheWorld: Exaggerated. The whole family ''celebrates'' whenever someone fails.
201	* MoodWhiplash: Hoo boy. Towards the end of the film, [[spoiler:the sunny, idealistic Utopian society transforms suddenly into a bleak, polluted world controlled by evil hats. From optimistic future to zombie apocalypse in five minutes and then back again, ''[[WorldHealingWave and not all at once either -- in a sweeping movement]]'']].
202	-->'''Carl:''' ''(triumphantly)'' "Haha, boys, we're home free-"[[spoiler: ''([[KilledMidsentence cut-off mid-sentence]] by Doris' claw [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice ripping through his chest]])'']]
203	* MotherNatureFatherScience: Wilbur is the son of Franny (a gregarious musician) and Cornelius (an introverted scientist).
204	* MyFutureSelfAndMe: Lewis meets up with his future self toward the end of the movie.
205	* NamedByTheAdaptation: In the book, the protagonist was unnamed.
206	* NamesakeInstitution: The gymnasium where the {{science fair}} takes place is called "Joyce William auditorium" as a {{Mythology Gag}} since the source material was a book by {{Creator/William Joyce}}.
207	* NasalTrauma: The Bowler Hat Guy from Meet seeks to enter the orphanage covertly through an open window. But first, he glances furtively around to ascertain the coast is clear, his long nose resting on the windowsill as he does so. PlayedForLaughs when the window suddenly falls, pinching his nose against the sill as the rest of him leaps in pain.
208	* NeverTrustATrailer: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwxQmQhEX3k This trailer]] made it seem like the film is about two intelligent inventors trying to create the greatest invention ever.
209	* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Wilbur forgets to close the garage door, and allows Bowler Hat Guy to steal one of the time machines:
210	-->'''Franny:''' Wilbur, make sure you shut that door tight, or else the alarm won't engage.\
211	'''Wilbur:''' Yeah, Mom.\
212	''[Wilbur leaves the garage door ajar]''\
213	'''B.H.G.:''' I went to your house, snuck in the garage, and stole the time machine. All thanks to that pointy-haired little kid who forgot to lock the garage door.
214	:: : Even Carl, the robot butler, makes reference to this incident earlier in the film:
215	--->'''Carl:''' What do you mean don't go to the family? How can we not go to the family in this type of family crisis? By leaving the garage door unlocked, you let the time machine get stolen and now the entire time stream could be altered!
216	* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: When Doris pulls herself down over the eyes of one of the Robinson Industries lab assistants, his face resembles [[Creator/LaurelAndHardy Stan Laurel's]].
217	* NoNewFashionsInTheFuture: We have flying cars and robot buddies and ''bubblevators'', but all the cool kids wear T-shirts, jeans and Converse All-Stars. Huh.
218	* NobodyHereButUsBirds: Wilbur does this while trying to get Lewis to not give up on the memory scanner, much to Lewis's annoyance.
219	-->'''Lewis:''' Will you quit that, please? I know you're not a pigeon!
220	* NonAnswer: Not once but ''four times,'' when Wilbur is asked a question, he replies with "That is an excellent question!" but nothing more. (On the third occasion he says this, he actually follows it up with an answer.)
221	* NotWhatISignedOnFor: [[spoiler:Bowler Hat Guy only wanted to get revenge by ruining Lewis' future, not have the world enslaved by Doris and her hats.]]
222	* ObviousVillainSecretVillain: Bowler Hat Guy is initially the villain with a DastardlyWhiplash design and comically bumbling schemes who wanted revenge. However, near the film's climax, it becomes clear that the real villain is his [[AIIsACrapshoot robotic hat Doris]], who encouraged him to seek revenge on Cornelius Robinson to begin with and plunges the world into a BadFuture where robotic hats are in control.
223	* {{Oculothorax}}: Lefty is this who lives without water, and works as the Robinson butler.
224	* OhCrap: "I… am so... dead!"
225	* OnceMoreWithClarity: [[spoiler:The opening scene of Lewis's birth mother leaving him at the orphanage is revisited--literally, using the time machine. The source of the scuffling sound that startled her turns out to be Lewis himself sneaking away, and he was the one who knocked on the door. As this is a world where time travel can rewrite the past rather than cause it, that also means the opening scene was a FlashForward to the altered version all along.]]
226	* OnlySixFaces: A lot of minor characters have similar character models and even a few main character models are reused with Art's appearing in Midtown University and Franny's model also serving as Lewis' mother.
227	* OrphanageOfLove: Lewis is left at an orphanage where he receives excellent care.
228	* PalatePropping: Lewis props the tyrannosaur's jaws open with a shovel.
229	* ParentalBonus: The frogs stuffing Little Doris in a car trunk, and Bowler Hat Guy declaring that she "sleeps with the fishes", is very clearly a reference to Music/FrankSinatra's (alleged) mafia ties.
230	* ParentalIncest: Averted. [[spoiler:It is kinda strange that Lewis' future wife almost adopted him, though it is understandable that she likes him at any age (and she wasn't falling in love with his 12-year-old-self. When she realizes the truth, she becomes pretty squicked out about it herself too.]]
231	* PettyChildhoodGrudge: This turns out to be the motivation behind Bowler Hat Guy since he has a personal grudge against the Robinson family since [[spoiler:his friend Lewis, the future patriarch of the family, kept him awake at night with his tinkering and he ended up falling asleep at a baseball game, making his team lose. From then on, Goob never left the orphanage, growing into a bitter hate-filled man who [[NeverMyFault blamed Lewis for that one bad incident that happened to him]] despite his ostracization from the rest of the orphanage was self-imposed, since in his flashback he [[SelfServingMemory claimed they all hated him]], when we can actually see that they didn't hold their loss against Goob and were actually trying to invite him to games with them.]]
232	* PlanningWithProps: Wilbur does this with Carl, showing how he will get Lewis to restore his confidence in inventing, specifically repair the memory scanner, by getting Lewis to fix the time machine.
233	* PleaseKeepYourHatOn: Wilbur orders Lewis to do it in order to avoid giving away his identity.
234	* PlotTwist: Not only does [[spoiler:Lewis grow up to be Cornelius Robinson]], Bowler Hat Guy is really [[spoiler:Mike Yagoobian, the somewhat nice, low energy, short, slightly chubby kid Lewis shared a room with at the orphanage]].
235	* PokeThePoodle: Bowler Hat Guy's original "revenge" plan is to egg and TP the Robinson Industries building.
236	* PuffOfLogic: Changes to the timeline for the worse and for the better cause [[spoiler:Wilbur]] and [[spoiler:Doris]] to poof out of existence, respectively. [[spoiler:Wilbur]] poofs back ''in'' when everything is set right.
237	* PunctuatedForEmphasis: Wilbur does this after he and Lewis accidentally crash the time machine when he brings him to the future.
238	--> '''Wilbur:''' I. Am so. ''Dead''.
239	* QuirkyHousehold: The Robinson’s could fill a sub-page.
240	* RaygunGothic: The future has a very 50s/60s "Space Age" type aesthetic, with neat lines, geometric shapes, and pastel colors.
241	* RejectionProjection: We see a flashback to Bowler Hat Guy as a kid in school; one classmate complements his binder and the other asks to hang out. Bowler Hat Guy's voiceover: "They all hated me."
242	* RelatedInTheAdaptation: In the book, Wilbur and Lewis are simply best friends. Here, [[spoiler:Lewis will grow up to be the Robinson patriarch and Wilbur's father]].
243	* RestrainedRevenge: [[spoiler:Goob initially decides to get revenge on Lewis by attempting to TP his lab and throw eggs at it. Unfortunately, Doris shows up and persuades him to think bigger than that.]]
244	* RiddleForTheAges: Who was Lewis' mother and why did she give him up? Despite being the DrivingQuestion of the film, it never gets answered.
245	* RidiculouslyFastConstruction: There are Insta-Buildings in the future, skyscrapers that go from ground level to completion in literally a few seconds.
246	* RippleEffectProofMemory: Even in the BadFuture [[spoiler:in which he was never adopted, Lewis is able to remember his adoptive family and tries to reach out to them even while they're mind controlled by the helping hats]].
247	* RobotNames: DOR-15 the robotic hat drone, pronounced "Doris."
248	* RomanticismVersusEnlightenment: Certainly more on the Enlightenment side of the scale, given its focus on moving forward being the best way to go.
249	* RousingSpeech: Part of Wilbur's plan is to give Lewis one of these, so he will fix the memory scanner.
250	* SanDimasTime. Bowler Hat Guy's events are shown concurrently with Lewis and Wilbur's, despite being in two different time zones.
251	* ScienceFair: Features in the current time; Lewis and other characters are trying to come up with something to present at the fair. Predictably, the first exhibit is a model volcano, and another kid is shown setting up a model of the solar system.
252	* ScienceIsGood: Cornelius's inventions and scientific prowess are outright credited for making the future as wonderful as it is.
253	-->'''Wilbur:''' Robinson Industries, the world's leading scientific-research and-design factory. My dad runs the company. They mass-produce his inventions. His motto, 'Keep moving forward.' It's what he does.
254	* ScreechingStop: The flying TimeMachine screeches to a halt whenever it stops careening from a time jump.
255	* ServileSnarker: Both the singing frog and T. rex point out that Bowler Hat Guy's plans are poorly thought out.
256	* SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong:
257	** Wilbur invokes this trope when he goes back in time to stop [[spoiler: Goob from sabotaging the future and Wilbur's career]].
258	** Lewis has to go back in time during the climax to stop [[spoiler: Goob and Doris from creating a dystopian future]].
259	** When Lewis returns to his time, he does it [[spoiler:to prevent Goob's StartOfDarkness and eventual metamorphosis into Bowler Hat-Guy in the first place]].
260	* ShoutOut:
261	** Todayland in the Future City consists of ''Ride/SpaceMountain'' and the old ''[=StarJets=]'' ride from [[Ride/DisneyThemeParks Disneyland]]'s {{Tomorrowland}}. ''Tomorrowland: A Day with Wilbur Robinson'' was actually one of the film's working titles.
262	** In a deleted scene on the DVD, Carl has Winnie the Pooh stationery.
263	*** The Pooh mention is pretty HilariousInHindsight, as the directors of this went on to do ''WesternAnimation/WinnieThePooh2011''.
264	** Goob's baseball team is called the Dinos, a ShoutOut to William Joyce's book ''Dinosaur Bob'', which is about a dinosaur who plays baseball.
265	** Also, they go to Joyce Williams Elementary School, a ShoutOut to William Joyce.
266	** In the ballpark where Goob's game is being held, there is a poster of Disney's "The Jungle Book" in the background.
267	** Art reminisces about an adventure to "the black moon of Qward". Apparently all you need to calm down ComicBook/{{Sinestro}} is some good meatball pizza.
268	** [[spoiler:The BadFuture that DOR-15 creates is oddly familiar to Planktopolis]] from ''WesternAnimation/TheSpongeBobSquarePantsMovie'', being a [[spoiler: dystopia entirely devoted to the worship of one being whose image [[{{Egopolis}} dominates the entire landscape]] and populated by brainwashed slaves in mind-control hats.]]
269	** Seconds before her RetGone, Doris looks like a skinless T-800 from ''Film/TheTerminator'', a film that also features time travel and ret-gonning.
270	* SicklyGreenGlow: When Doris and [[spoiler:Goob]] successfully go back in time to pass Cornelius’ invention as their own, the sky in the shifting future forms an eerie emerald vortex over the Robinson house.
271	* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism: ''Firmly'' idealistic, with a rare aversion of ScienceIsBad.
272	* StealthPun: Billie "passes" the gravy at dinner by delivering it on her (normal-sized) toy train. It's a ''gravy train''.
273	* StereoFibbing: When Franny asks Wilbur if Lewis is a friend from school, the two of them say "Yes" and "No" at the same time. Wilbur manages to salvage it with "Yes and no. Lewis is a new transfer student."
274	* StolenCreditBackfire: Bowler Hat Guy tries to pass off Lewis' hat invention as his own. Unfortunately for him, he has no idea how it works, and after a series of disasters, the chairman kicks him out of the building and onto the street.
275	* TheStoryThatNeverWas: [[spoiler:Lewis discovers the far future is an ugly {{dystopia}} where humanity is a SlaveRace to mechanized overlords. Learning that it's one of his inventions that went rogue and begot this dystopia, Lewis gives a DeathGlare to the CyberCyclops BigBad and delivers the scathing PreMortemOneLiner "I am never going to invent you." Whereupon the device dissolves from existence, just before Lewis exploits the TimeyWimeyBall to SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong.]]
276	* StrangeMindsThinkAlike: Happens to Bowler Hat Guy. If the CEO of a large company, a talking frog, and a T-Rex ''all'' ask you if [[DidntThinkThisThrough your plan was well thought out]], maybe you need to improve on your villain skills.
277	* StrongFamilyResemblance: Played with to avoid spoilers. Wilbur resembles his mother strongly, sharing the same dark eyes, dark hair, and cowlick, but doesn't look much like his father Cornelius, who instead [[spoiler:has spiky blond hair and glasses]].
278	* SurroundedByIdiots: B.H.G.'s reaction to Tiny's inability to capture Lewis:
279	-->'''B.H.G.''': What's going on? Why aren't you seizing the boy?
280	-->'''T-Rex''': [subtitled] I have a big head... and little arms, I'm just not sure... how well this plan was thought through... Master?
281	-->'''B.H.G.''': Ugh, stupid, stupid, stupid!
282	* SymbolSwearing: One of the "to do" items on Bowler Hat Guy's list is literally "Get that [grawlixes] boy".
283	* SympatheticVillainDespicableVillain: The Bowler Hat Guy, [[spoiler:or Goob]], is an IneffectualSympatheticVillain who would not let go of his past and is just DesperatelyLookingForAPurposeInLife. [[spoiler:When [[TheHero Lewis]] finds out who he really is, he [[SympathyForTheDevil instantly pities him]], and once everything is said and done, Lewis even offers The Bowler Hat Guy a fresh new start and become a Robinson. He declines and runs off, with an unknown, but certainly happier, future. [[AIIsACrapshoot DOR-15]], or simply Doris, is TheStarscream who instantly betrays the The Bowler Hat Guy the minute it becomes convenient, and in an AlternateTimeline where Doris gets power, she uses it to [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness kill The Bowler Hat Guy]] and enslave the human race for her own selfish gain.]]
284	* TakeOverTheWorld: [[spoiler:Turns out this was Doris' real plan, unlike simple revenge like Bowler Hat Guy wanted. In a BadFuture, all humans are controlled by her helping hats and the world has turned into an industrial dystopia.]]
285	* TelescopingRobot: Carl seems to be made of Slinkies.
286	* TemporalAbortion: After discovering the horrific, dystopian future that would arrive from the inception of Doris, Lewis makes sure to never create her in the first place.
287	* TemptingFate:
288	** When they're running away from Bowler Hat Guy and DOR-15.
289	-->'''Carl:''' Haha! Look at that, boys! We're almost home fr-- ''[harpoon through the chest]''
290	** Doris attempting to outright murder the very same person she owed her existence to, particularly a version who has the ability to change the current future with past choices.
291	* TerrifyingTyrannosaur: Invoked by the Bowler Hat Guy, who decides to use mini-Doris to capture a ''T. rex'' and use it to seize Lewis from the Robinson family. The ''T. rex'' is certainly terrifying at first... [[SubvertedTrope until]] he's unable to capture Lewis in a corner thanks to his big head and little arms (which the dinosaur lampshades to the Bowler Hat Guy). After mini-Doris is dislodged by Wilbur, the ''T. rex'' is revealed to be [[AllAnimalsAreDogs a docile and rather friendly dinosaur]], leading the Robinson family to adopt him as a pet (and name him [[IronicName Tiny]]).
292	* ThirtyMinutesOrItsFree: Could be Uncle Art's catchphrase. It certainly creates a BaitAndSwitch, after spending a few seconds thinking he was a real superhero.
293	* TimeMachine: There are two fully functional time machines in the whole of the film.
294	* TimePolice: Specifically, the Time Continuum Task Force. [[spoiler:It ain't real.]]
295	* TimeTravelersDinosaur: Bowler Hat Guy abducts and enslaves a T-Rex, then brings him to the future to capture Lewis.
296	* TimeyWimeyBall: As is standard with time travel, it's complicated. Lewis has RippleEffectProofMemory, and is generally ripple effect proof entirely; Doris is immune to it and manages to create a BadFuture yet gets erased when Lewis decides to never invent her.
297	* TrunkShot: Little Doris' last sight before being rubbed out by the frogs. Probably a ShoutOut to gangster movies like ''Film/{{Goodfellas}}'' and ''Film/ReservoirDogs''.
298	* TuttiFruttiHat: Since Lewis's hair is a dead giveaway that he's from the past, [[spoiler:as it reveals he's Wilbur's father]], Wilbur puts a large fruit hat on Lewis's head to cover it up. Later in the scene, though, Wilbur realizes he can't take Lewis seriously with the hat on and switches it out for a more modest baseball cap.
299	* UglyGuyHotWife: Morbidly obese Joe and sleek Billie.
300	* UnknownRelative: It isn't until the start of the third act that Lewis discovers that Wilbur Robinson [[spoiler: will be his son]].
301	* UnreliableVoiceover: When Bowler Hat Guy is recounting his backstory.
302	* TheUnreveal: Despite it being teased throughout the movie, we never find out the circumstances that caused Lewis's mom to leave him at the orphanage as a baby.
303	* UnseenNoMore: Mr. Robinson is talked about a great deal, but only appears at the very end of the film, where he's revealed to be [[spoiler:the grown-up version of Lewis]].
304	* VillainWorld: See BadFuture
305	* WatchWhereYoureGoing: Lewis, fleeing from the eccentric Robinson family, and Wilbur, frantically searching for the former, run smack into each other in the middle of the corridor, both of them ending up on their butts.
306	* WeWillAllFlyInTheFuture: With floating bubbles.
307	* WhamLine: Two in quick succession in the scene where the Bowler Hat Guy kidnaps Lewis:
308	** The first of these is an interesting example, because the line in question is at first spoken innocuously, then BHG's smug, silent smile is what [[AccidentalTruth confirms it as the truth.]] So...Wham ''Expression?''
309	---> '''Lewis''': [[TomatoInTheMirror That wasn't me, that was]] [[spoiler:Wilbur's dad!]]
310	---> '''Bowler Hat Guy''': ''([[TomatoSurprise smiles at him triumphantly]])''
311	---> '''Lewis''': Are you saying that...I'm [[spoiler:Wilbur's...dad?]]
312	---> '''Bowler Hat Guy''': Oh, give the boy a prize!
313
314	---> '''Lewis''': My old room!
315	---> '''Bowler Hat Guy''': I think you mean [[spoiler:''our'' old room]].
316	---> '''Lewis''': What?
317	---> '''Bowler Hat Guy''': (throws off cloak, [[spoiler:revealing a child's baseball uniform underneath]]) YES! YES, [[spoiler:IT IS I: MIKE YAGOOBIAN!]]
318	* WhamShot: In-Universe, Wilbur taking off Lewis's baseball cap is this to the Robinson family, considering [[spoiler: they recognize him as the past version of their patriarch, Cornelius Robinson]].
319	** Another one that's both In-and-Out-of-Universe, [[spoiler: the memory scanner showing the scientist being married to Bud and actually being Lucille.]]
320	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse:
321	** [[spoiler:The second time machine seems to have been left in the present day. Nobody brings it up again, even after Cornelius notices that the time machines are missing from the garage.]]
322	** An intentional variation: [[spoiler:After the plot is sorted out and Lewis convinces Wilbur to take in an emotionally drained Bowler Hat Guy in the good future, Goob decides to refuse their offer out of shame and wanders off. He leaves behind only his folder where his revenge schemes are crossed out and now replaced with a question mark, showing that now that his lifelong goals have been rendered null, he's becomes lost and confused, and that's the last we see of him (his adult self, anyway). Although, given that Lewis undoes his StartOfDarkness soon after this in the present time, it's implied that he won't be sulking for long.]]
323	* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: [[spoiler:Carl's death]] would be cause for an R-rating if he had been a human!
324	* WhatTheHellHero: Wilbur gets one from his entire extended family when he reveals his friend's Lewis.
325	** He gets an even further one from them ''and'' Lewis, especially Lewis, when revealing he never intended to take Lewis to see his real mother.
326	-->'''Lewis:''' ''[to Wilbur]'' I can't believe I was dumb enough to actually believe you were my friend!\
327	'''Wilbur:''' I am your friend!\
328	'''Franny:''' ''[to Wilbur]'' Mister, you're grounded...[[GroundedForever 'till you die]].
329	* WhileRomeBurns: It's small and easy to miss, but Lizzy can be seen smiling evilly as she watches the chaos that ensues when Lewis' invention malfunctions.
330	* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: In the alternate future created by Doris, Lewis views a video of how it got to be that way. One of them is of [[spoiler:Goob/]]Bowler Hat Guy protesting to Doris that this (i.e. her taking over the world) wasn't what he wanted; he is then swarmed by a mass of smaller hats who (offscreen) either turn him into a mindless slave or... (more strongly implied) [[GoryDiscretionShot kill him]]. Lampshaded by Lewis, who tells [[spoiler:Goob]] that the minute Doris gets what she wants, she'll [[NeverSayDie "get rid of him"]]. Luckily Lewis reverses everything, so that never gets a chance to happen.
331	----
332	->''"Around here, however, we don’t look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things… and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths."''
333	-->-- '''Creator/WaltDisney'''

Context WesternAnimation / MeetTheRobinsons