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Review

Robots

Director

Chris Wedge

Year

2005

Rating

Reviewed by

Gon C Curiel a.k.a. Groucho

Review date

Tuesday, March 22, 2005

What a treat it is to go to the movies with my friend Morris. Every time he’s in town, or I’m in his, we try to catch a movie, and today was no exception. We saw Robots. The outcome? We laughed and laughed throughout the movie, and then we stepped out, and realized it was not quite a memorable piece. But it’s sure got its assets. Let me talk about it.

The team that brought us Ice Age (2002) is responsible for the creation of this amazing-looking piece about a world of robots who pretty much resemble human beings in ways of living, range of personalities, ambitions, and family.

The star of this story (by Jim McClain and Ron Mita, and scripted by Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel) is Rodney (voice of Ewan McGregor), whose childhood dream to become an inventor is constantly nurtured by his idol, Bigweld (voice of Mel Brooks), whose monopolistic company of spare parts and new models of robots presumably gives a chance to all those who have new ideas.

However, when Rodney finally goes to Robot City to meet his dream, he finds that Bigweld is now retired and evil Ratchet (voice of Greg Kinnear) has taken his place, complete with the idea that spare parts are bad business and everyone who doesn’t upgrade is obsolete and should be thrown away. Of course Rodney takes a part in fighting this idea.

So what’s it all about? At its core, Robots is about ideals, principles, and convictions, and how far someone can go if his or her mind is set. But it’s also a fine commentary on modern corporations, especially those related to technology, that increasingly make us believe that we should constantly renew our stuff or we’ll be out of the game. I liked that especially.

The movie is also a comedy, with a range of funny characters, especially Fender (voice of Robin Williams), a sort of a misfit robot who introduces Rodney to a peculiar gang that eventually aids him in his quest. Williams is hilarious more often than not, and it’s a breath of fresh air that the character is not tailor-made for him but instead he makes the most of it as it is. If the movie works, it is in the comedy department, because you’ll keep laughing throughout.

But does it work as anything else? Not quite. Morris and I were talking about how it just limited itself from greatness. We were even forced to say that the Pixar touch was missing. What a subjective but clearly palpable thing that is. There’s a lack of heart here that’s sad, and clearly mars the film. Also, the setting was so impressive that it demanded a more memorable story, and even though there are hundreds of effective visual gags and gimmicks and designs, it’s all a fake world and we know it, and we never believe that the world of the robots could be real. Also, I think, the time is now too well administered, because in the end few characters have the chance to become three-dimensional, and even a romantic subplot (with Cappy, voice of Halle Berry) is completely snubbed!

Oh, but I don’t wanna trash it. It gave me a good time and I love it when that happens. Visually… wow. The stunning production design and fine digital execution sure deserve applause. Also, the voice work is uncanny. The talents of Mel Brooks, Jim Broadbent, Amanda Bynes, Drew Carey, Stanley Tucci, Jennifer Coolidge, Paul Giamatti, Dianne Wiest, and many more, aid the procedures incredibly. The music by John Powell is pretty good too.

Overall… Good but not great.

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Other reviews of Robots (2005): Morris