If you were a vampire then what flavor of vampire would you be?

"Lost Boys, hanging out on the boardwalk making myself everyone else's problem."

Okay, now that someone has asked about Neil and Wil, I gotta ask about how you think Wilbur and Franny are as mother and son? After all, Franny is most likely fairly famous and busy herself what with the singing frogs and all.

Oooo GOOD Q, FRIEND. Currently listening to jazz as I figure out how to answer it. (Edit: Kidding. I got tired of the jazz after a bit…)

Also note that apparently readmores do not work in asks. Oop. 😦👎 If need be, scroll down to the TLDR.

First of all I’d say that Wilbur is definitely a momma’s boy. Though he doesn’t have a preference for either parent over another, one can assume his relationship with Franny is very… straightforward. If only because we know even less about her than Cornelius. The benefit with Franny though is that we see her, as a mom, interact with Wilbur quite a bit.

The writers were clearly angling for a sentimental cool mom factor and in her introductory frog orchestra scene, she comes off as an idyllic mother: fun, weird, energetic, patient, and nonjudgemental. This is probably her good side that comes out especially around guests. The whole adopting Lewis thing has many possible explanations, one of which is that she just likes kids.

How she acts around Wilbur, esp as he gets older, is more casual. She’s often teasing him with punishments knowing his tendency to push the envelope. On a deeper level, this is her way of establishing boundaries but it’s ultimately one step above playful banter.

She’s vvvv openly affectionate towards Wilbur and to a degree Lewis (and presumably to most others as well). Re: Carpet Scene***, she teases Wilbur and jokes around w him and babies him and is never above play acting with him. That she doesn’t question Wilbur’s convoluted scheme to improve Lewis’ self-esteem is a real character-defining moment. Not a lot of moms would go for that. In fact the entire establishment that Wilbur and Franny regularly have conversations underneath a rug is a sign that Wilbur’s comfortable communicating w her, maybe not everything but I’d wager quite a few things. They do not however have the close, weird no-boundaries relationship that he has with his dad which is probably a good balance and allows him to have the kind of conversations he couldn’t have w someone who is also his best friend. (Boundaries. A slippery slope.) I don’t see a lot of genuine conflict between them, no weird expectations, no complex foil or double-life friendships hidden beneath the surface. Again: straightforward.

Lastly—the work thing. Ngl I think Fran and Neil are both workaholics.* Luckily, they live in a multigenerational home and have several inhuman servants AKA a bounty of free babysitters. Wilbur’s relationship with his parents can remain emotionally close and healthy even if he doesn’t see them 24/7 bc he has a safety net of an equally loving community of cowlicked family members. (And Carl.) Being his parents’ only child plus the whole family around him, Wilbur is never lonely or neglected.

But I do think Franny is ever so slightly less of a workaholic than Cornelius esp bc directing musical frogs isn’t as soul-crushingly demanding as running a tech corporation. Relatively speaking, it’s a solo career: sure you train the frogs, rehearse, compose, tour, promote, argue with your agent and accountant, etc but it’s nearly a one-man band compared to the bureaucratic chaos of Robinson industries. Also Franny and Cornelius’ personalities are complimentary, Franny embodies the Keep Moving Forward motto better than Cornelius does, considering most of what we’ve seen of him is getting obsessively frustrated over work.

And not to bring…… women’s rights….. into this Again but it’s likely Franny more often took time off work for Wilbur. (Which in my books might’ve become a point of contention w/i our little trio.) And to top it off, Franny clearly carves a bit of time for herself for hobbies i.e. karate, which as far as we know Cornelius does not do. As a result of this Wilbur’s probably less intimated by her success than he is w Cornelius.

That’s not to say I don’t think they’re equally work-savvy or equally willing to make sacrifices for Wilbur. I’d always envisioned Cornelius making a huge overhaul w his schedge/working from home more to make room for the ~joys~ of early childhood parenting but unfortch the result of said sacrifices are probably…. still less than Franny’s. Consequently, Wilbur is arguably closer to his mom for the simple fact that she’s there ever so slightly more than Cornelius. But it could also work otherwise: he’s closer to his dad bc in his absence, he gets to be the fun parent. (Or you know the one who grounds him less) Realistically though Fran and Neil probably lecture Wilbur equally but in dif ways

Where Wilbur kind of struggles to find things in common w Cornelius as he ages and presumably more or less hangs around him as he’s working or asks for homework help and maybe they have some TV show they watch together, Wilbur and Franny do share some common interests. Namely sports. Namely KARATE. Also play acting. Also, as I headcanon and think is heavily implied by the way Franny treats Lewis, playing backup to Franny’s rehearsals. (Also coughSINGINGcough)

The thing that peeves me is that where we don’t see Lewis/Cornelius’ relationships outside super individualistic lens, Franny is almost entirely defined by her relationships as a result of practicality n bc Lewis is the protagonist. Franny has… no obvious flaws or points for character growth. O Gods, if only we had the TIME!! (Sigh… thats what fanfic is for I guess.)

Anyways TL;DR: Franny is a fun mom and Wilbur’s a happy, spoilt momma’s boy. That scene in Twin Peaks season three with the mother racing her son across the street? Thats them.** Joyce and Will Byers? Also them. Mz. Frizzle and all her students? Also them!!!

*Workaholics: Most of the Robinsons probably are and this is sort of tied to the whole work hard, follow your dreams theme which has sort of become a Disney cliche. Notice how Robots (2005) and Cloudy w A Chance… are eerily close to MTR’s premise minus the humility of the adoption/family plot.

**Well… no spoilers but not entirely. I’m sorry I always reference things that Disney fandom-ers don’t watch… ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

*** for the uninitiated: THE CARPET SCENE: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7uPCWiqPCls&t=2m05s