Film Fuels Debate Among Adopted Families
April 12, 2007 — -- The new film, "Meet the Robinsons," about a boy's journey to find the birth mother he's never known, is going gangbusters at the box office, raking in $51,947,271 as of Sunday night.
It is also causing a vigorous debate in adoption circles. While some love the movie's message of living for the moment, others complain about "Robinsons'" portrayal of orphanages and the adoption process.
The movie's opening scene shows a baby being left on the doorstep of an orphanage. As the little boy grows, he keeps track of more than 100 potential adoptive families who have come to visit him and then rejected him.
That story line is generating lots of attention online -- some positive, some negative.
"I took my kids to see 'Meet The Robinsons' a few days ago," wrote blogger Virginia M. Citrano. "My boys, who were both adopted from Russia, loved the movie. I was appalled. If I had known about the way adoption is treated in this new Disney film, I never would have taken them."
Other adoptive parents praised the story line. A woman named Kim extolled the filmmakers for their treatment of the scene where the baby is left on the orphanage's doorstep.
"They were sensitive about how the [biological] mom may not have been able to take care of him, and that's why she gave him up. It was a little sad in spots, and might require some explanation for an older adoptee, but overall I didn't think it was a horrible message," she wrote. The mother of a 5-year-old adopted boy added: "I just don't think it would be a 'positive' for him."
"It is as loving of a portrayal as I could imagine them showing. You can see that she loves him and wants the best for him in the scene," wrote another parent currently waiting to adopt a child.
A mother of two adopted kids, writing on the Web site adoption.com, disagreed. "I think this would be a tough movie for an older child who spent more time in the orphanage. Especially as there is a child who was left behind there and grows up to be the 'bad guy,'" she said.
"I'm sure the filmmakers were well-intentioned, but their apparent lack of understanding about the realities of orphanage life [and of the effects of rejection on children] led to a story line that is upsetting many adopted boys and girls, particularly ones who spent time in orphanages themselves," said Adam Pertman, executive director of the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute.
He says his organization has received more than 30 complaint letters about the movie since it opened.
Pertman has asked for a meeting with Walt Disney Pictures, which, like ABCNews, is owned by the Walt Disney Co., but has not heard back from the company.
A Disney Studios spokesperson issued a written statement saying the film was "co-written and directed by Steve Anderson who himself was adopted and drew directly from his own life experience and that of others. Thanks to his intimate understanding of adoption, Steve was able to craft a highly sensitive story that ultimately is about the importance of moving forward in life, no matter what obstacles we may face along the way. This message has resonated with audiences of all backgrounds and all ages, who have given the film high marks."
Indeed, the film has done very well in theaters. On its way to that $50+ million figure, "Meet the Robinsons" has ranked No. 2 in box office receipts during each of the last two weekends. And on Monday, which was a school holiday in many districts, it was No. 1 at the box office.
Clearly, for most, the movie is just, well, a movie. One mother writing on a blog said her adopted children "took it for what it was I guess. … A simple story that was cartooned up for kids' enjoyment."