“Meet the Robinsons” was an off-and-on project for Disney for many years, with plenty of workers having a vague idea of the story, but not a lot of details. Pam Coats, the head of development at the time, had approached Stephen J. Anderson about the project, hoping he would be interested in developing and possibly directing the film. “I was immediately taken by it for all kinds of reasons,” he says. “The number one reason being that I was adopted, so I completely understood this protagonist, Lewis.”
Adoption stories in media, just like the for-profit adoption industry in America, often center around a parental desire to have a child, and not a child in crisis. “Meet the Robinsons” is told from Lewis’ perspective as an older child trapped in a system that prioritizes babies above all else. “I completely understood his emotional state as a young boy, wondering where he came from and who his birth mother was,” Anderson says.
“I had asked the same questions as a child,” Anderson said, as he confirmed that Disney had no knowledge of his adoptee status, so bringing him the project was a complete coincidence. His shared lived experience with the main character allowed him to bring in worthwhile knowledge and helped shape the story into an authentic and touching tale of family. “From a personal standpoint, I wanted to bring more of that adopted child perspective to the story.”