Therapist Reacts to MEET THE ROBINSONS with guest Bryson from @Haminations

Why do we put up a front when we seek to belong?

Licensed therapist Jonathan Decker and filmmaker Alan Seawright react to Meet the Robinsons with guest and fellow YouTuber, Bryson from @Haminations. They talk about Lewis seeking adoption and struggling to be accepted. Jonathan explains the anxiety and desperation of seeking acceptance, and they all talk about the importance of being yourself to truly belong. And Bryson takes the therapy wheel and impresses us all!

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Cinema Therapy is:
Written by: Megan Seawright, Jonathan Decker, and Alan Seawright
Produced by: Jonathan Decker, Megan Seawright, Alan Seawright, and Corinne Demyanovich
Edited by: David Sant
Director of Photography: Bradley Olsen
English Transcription by: Anna Preis

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[TheAzulmagia]

The gag of the main villain explaining how everyone hated him while everyone around him is trying to be nice and accepting is way more relatable to my high school years than was comfortable.

[MonkeyJedi]

"Oh, we don't eat peanuts." is NOT the same as "He has a peanut allergy."
When lives may be on the line, CLARITY is even more important.

[aharondardik]

Sitting in the middle there, Bryson looks like Alan's and Jonathan's wholesome love child

[RealCoolstriker]

I can't even blame Lewis for the peanut butter thing. She said: "We don't usually eat peanutbutter" when what she MEANT was "my husband will INSTANTLY begin to swell on every inch of his body if he even TOUCHES the stuff." Don't downplay your allergies, especially if they're THAT life threatening.

[AliAngelpie]

It’s a shame that this is one of Disney’s underrated films because it really captures Disney’s message: Even if you fail, hard work and determination can help you learn and achieve your dreams, and it is possible to find your family even when you’re not looking ❤️

[jung-ahchoi]

As an adopted person, I can offer the adoptee perspective. All too often, adopted individuals grapple with feelings of worthlessness and struggle to find belongingness, a way to fit in the world. Lewis doesn't have anyone to tether him. He doesn't have a central unit, a place and people to call home. He never had the parental assurance to develop inherent self-worth. He's wandering through life trying to find innate, human connection. He believes that if he finds someone who loves and wants him, then he has self-worth, then his existence is validated. That's why he fixates on remembering and meeting his mother. However, it comes at the cost of him not acknowledging his own brilliance and the salient, unique, and wonderful pieces that comprise his being. That's why Lewis pulling away at the chance to meet his mother is so powerful. He's acknowledging his own self-worth and his ability to shape his future. He is no longer binded to the past. He's enough as he is. The scene exemplifies radical acceptance, self-love, and compassion. As an adopted person, I bawled through that scene. I always wanted to meet my birth mother for similar reasons to Lewis. It's the grief of letting go of something so naturally human, to want to know who you are, where you come from, to know the person who gave you life. But rather than being tied to the past, he chooses to move forward. He cannot change the past but he can enlarge his future. Meet the Robinsons resonated with me and so many other adopted individuals. It invited me to validate my own life experience, connect with my innate self-worth, and keep moving forward.

[supersasukemaniac]

One of the best set up jokes in this movie is Wilber saying that Cornelius looks like Tom Sellick. Cornelius shows up later... and he's voiced by Tom Sellick.

[gamerofgamers]

"Did we just become best friends?"

That was such a sweet start.

[LittleHobbit]

"Hey Goob, cool binder!"
"Goob, wanna come over to my house today?"
"They all hated

CRACKS ME UP EVERY TIME. XD

[GallavanterNik-qqzd]

As an autistic orphan, this movie meant a lot to me growing up. My grandparents were my guardians, but they were never happy to have to raise me.

This movie gave me so much hope that I'd find a family who would actually want me one day. I'm still looking for them, but... Someday.

[karlab]

One of my favorite details about the villain in this movie is seeing him say "everybody hated me" right after seeing several people trying to be friendly to him. I think it's a good reminder that sometimes we project how we feel about ourselves onto other people. Yes, some people out there will not like you (sometimes for absolutely no reason) but you don't have to decide that for them.

[BrendaRivas-dyhv]

"Fitting in is about assessing a situation and becoming who you need to be to be accepted. Belonging, on the other hand, doesn’t require us to change who we are; it requires us to be who we are."
Brené Brown, The Gifts of Imperfection

[dcgamer]

1:35 The quote is from C.S. Lewis I think: "A children's story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children's story in the slightest."

[piw-zu]

I kinda teared up when Jono said "whoever you are, you've got your people."

as someone who constantly feel like i dont belong anywhere and have trouble fitting in and adapting, this line really comforts me and assure me.

[RossOriginals]

Y'know, I thought Lewis was in the wrong for not listening because he was caught up talking about his invention for a long while, but re-watching that scene... if you have a life-threatening allergy you should really just say it instead of beating around the bush. Like say "I'm allergic to peanuts", and in his wife's case, don't say "we don't usually eat that", and definitely don't stop your husband, who has the allergy, from speaking up to tell the kid with a peanut butter gun about the allergy, say "my husband is allergic to peanuts"! Geez.

[bronzieblue]

I think it was kinda glossed over, but that gag of Goob walking by literally everyone at school who was trying to be nice and loving towards him with a frown on his face as he ignores them didn't get enough attention. When he lost the game for his team by missing the catch, and his team beat him up, it was like he began to go into a very longterm downwards spiral of self-punishment without giving himself any grace, the only kind of grace he effectively allowed himself was when he did enough mental gymnastics to turn someone else into the scapegoat and stopped taking responsibility for the consequences of his own actions, and also stopped taking responsibility for his own mental wellbeing.

It was bad that he missed the catch, and he already knew it was a failure, but he punishes himself for years of his life through isolation and continuing to internalize that he doesn't deserve happiness or love (in how he drives off every adoption interview couple with the exact same story where he basically scares them off with his demeanor as he recounts the story again and again and again) over a shortcoming that if anything was brought on by sheer circumstance.

If Goob forgave himself for this shortcoming or even just sought out a loved one to just cry to, I'm pretty sure the rest of the movie's story wouldn't exist.

[jennyF]

John and Bryson - Did we just become best friends!?
Alan - Am I a joke to you ?

[petrastedman]

The reveal at the end that 'Keep Moving Forward' was part of Walt's philosophy made me cry at least as much as some other parts of the movie.

[BatAmerica]

I'm glad that the movie handles the found family reveal trope with maturity. While we sympathize with Lewis finding belonging with his biological Mom, the movie subtly demonstrates how the love he needs is right there. As a result, it treats its younger audience with respect rather than spelling it out.

[memorymotions]

The reason I love this movie is because it’s so optimistic. As an artist, seeing Lewis get his empty lab to fill with inventions makes me so emotional because we often want to know if all our efforts are really going to pay off one day. This movie convinces me to keep moving forward with whatever that project is.