Robots (2005)

Directors:

Chris Wedge
Carlos Saldanha (co-director)

Writers:

Ron Mita (story) &
Jim McClain (story) ...

Release Date:

11 March 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Family | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

You can shine no matter what you're made of.

Plot:

In a robot world, a young idealistic inventor travels to the big city to join his inspiration's company, only to find himself opposing its sinister new management.

Plot Keywords:

Robot | Television | Obsolescence | Computer Animation | Dancing

Awards:

2 wins & 13 nominations

Cast

Paula Abdul	...	Watch (voice)
Halle Berry	...	Cappy (voice)
Lucille Bliss	...	Pigeon Lady (voice)
Terry Bradshaw	...	Broken Arm Bot (voice)
Jim Broadbent	...	Madame Gasket (voice)
Mel Brooks	...	Bigweld (voice)
Amanda Bynes	...	Piper (voice)
Drew Carey	...	Crank (voice)
Jennifer Coolidge	...	Aunt Fanny (voice)
Dylan Denton	...	Youngest Rodney (voice)
Will Denton	...	Young Rodney (voice)
Marshall Efron	...	Lamppost / Toilet Bot / Bass Drum / Microphone (voice)
Damien Fahey	...	Stage Announcer (voice)
Lowell Ganz	...	Mr. Gasket (voice)
Paul Giamatti	...	Tim the Gate Guard (voice)

Also Known As:

Robots: The IMAX Experience (USA) (IMAX version)

MPAA:

Rated PG for some brief language and suggestive humor.

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Italian

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS | Sonics-DDP (IMAX version)

Certification:

Mexico:A | Denmark:A | South Korea:All | Sweden:Btl | Canada:G | Taiwan:GP | Malaysia:U | Iceland:L | USA:PG (certificate #41487) | France:U | New Zealand:G | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Brazil:Livre | Chile:TE | Czech Republic:U | Finland:K-7 | Germany:o.Al. | Ireland:PG | Netherlands:AL | Norway:A | Peru:PT | Philippines:G | Singapore:PG | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | UK:U | Hong Kong:I

Filming Locations:

White Plains, New York, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century Fox Animation

Trivia:

Originally, Rodney's co-passenger in the cross-town express sequence was an old lady knitting calmly. For some long shots, the old lady is simply colored red rather than replaced with Fender.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Rodney uses Wonder-bot to help his father wash dishes in the kitchen at the diner, his dad has 3 dirty plates already in his "stomach dishwasher". Wonder-bot adds 6 more plates, bringing the total of dirty plates inside dad to 9. Seconds later when Wonder-bot takes the newly cleaned plates out of dad's "stomach", there are only the 6 that were added. The original three are missing.

Quotes:

Fender: C'mon, work with me! Work with me! More pout, less pose. That's OK, inside of you is a fashion model just waiting to throw up.

Movie Connections:

Spoofs Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)

Soundtrack:

GET UP OFFA THAT THING

Was there a story here?

I left this film feeling high. Not because I literally ingested anything before arriving at the theatre, but because the movie provided that familiar feeling of one's brain being reduced to a muddled receptor for bright colors and funny noises.

So about the story: boy robot leaves his home for the big-city, must defeat evil robot trying to control the robot world. During this epic quest he encounters a series of Disney-ish archetypes, including: wacky robot sidekick (voiced by Robin Williams, natch), bland robot love interest (Halle Berry, spending all of maybe three hours in the recording studio), and a spunky tomboy robot (voiced by some unmemorable tween star).

The storyline, such as it is, could probably fill a single half-hour slot on Nickelodeon. There are a few funny bits of dialogue (provided by off-Broadway scribe David Lindsay Abaire), but mostly the script is just the filler before the next elaborate visual sequence dreamed up by the animators.

And don't get me wrong: those visual sequences are pretty cool. I can't quite decide which is more impressive: the hyperkinetic ride through the immaculately detailed robot city or a complicated sequence involving thousands of dominoes. The art department clearly put a mind-boggling amount of effort into creating a fully realized world.

But that, unfortunately, is all there is. An awesomely rendered environment with nothing in the foreground. Many of the characters, particularly the protagonist, feel like little more than rough outlines. The relationships between characters feel like tacked-on afterthoughts. This is compounded by the most lackluster and non-distinctive voice work I've ever heard from major movie stars (Ewan McGregor and Halle Berry sound so bored, I would have preferred they hire interns from the accounting department).

I recommend this film slightly, simply because of the stunning visuals. But otherwise, with the success of truly subversive CGI films like The Incredibles and Shrek, Robots just doesn't cut it.