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Robots (2005)

Robots
In the future, all late night talk show hosts will be robots and will have blue hair instead of red.

Starring:

Ewan McGregor
Stanley Tucci
Diane Wiest and Halle Berry

Released By:

20th Century Fox

Released In:

2005

Rated:

PG

Reviewed By:

Adam Mast

Grade:

B


Robots is a fun, computer animated effort that many film-lovers flocked to see to get their first peek at the new trailer for Episode III. And quite frankly, there couldn't have been a better film to show the trailer with, as the two have quite a few things in common. Both are 20th Century Fox released sci-fi flicks featuring a performance by Ewan McGregor. The similarities don't end there. Like the Star Wars prequels, Robots is clearly a case of awe-inspiring style over substance.

Robots is a sometimes clever tale of robots and the mechanical world they inhabit. The story revolves around Rodney Copperbottom (voiced by Ewan McGregor), a dreamer who journeys to the big city to fulfill the big dreams his father (voiced by Stanley Tucci) never quite realized. Along the way, he makes plenty of friends and finds himself in one adventure after another.

The premise is simplistic (which is often the case with animated features) and quite frankly, complexity isn't much of an issue when a film looks this good. Robots is simply gorgeous in terms of visual style. It's vibrant, colorful and absolutely alive with energy. There are several notable sequences to speak of but the most impressive, is an absolutely breathtaking action piece featuring thousands of dominos tipping one another over in a massive chain reaction. It's an absolutely dazzling display of animation genius.

As previously stated, the plot is simple - a young man goes on an extraordinary adventure and makes several friends along the way. There are several clever moments to be found in the picture - courtesy of screenwriters Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel (who wrote for Happy Days before penning heartfelt comedies like Ron Howard's Parenthood). Take for instance the fashion in which robot babies are made. I won't spoil it in this review, but will say it was one of the more creative moments in Robots. Ganz and Mandel keep most of the gags family oriented, but be warned - there is some adult humor here - hence the (PG) rating. What the film really could have used was a little more heart. There are certainly sweet moments to be found (much more so than there were to be found in the overrated Shark Tale), but the emotional pull that elevates films like Finding Nemo and even Ice Age to a higher plane is somewhat lacking in Robots.

The all-star vocal talent on tap is solid, but not overwhelming. Robin Williams is in full manic mode as a fast-talking, hyperactive android whose big mouth gets him into trouble. Given the kind of movie this is, Williams is a perfect fit. I really enjoyed Stanley Tucci and Diane Wiest as Rodney's loving parents, as well as Jennifer Coolidge - an absolute riot as a robot with a few extra gears in the rear.

I had a fun time at Robots. I wouldn't rank it with the likes of Pixar's computer animated contributions or Shrek for that matter, but it is a technical marvel and it should keep most kids and their parents adequately entertained.

:: zBoneman.com Reader Comments ::

Sir Dizzy

Sir Dizzy

Rodney Copperbottom, voiced by Ewan McGregor, is a small town robot who has a gift for inventing things and a hope of moving beyond his quaint surroundings. He works side by side in a restaurant with his dad who is a dishwasher - literally a dishwasher. You open his chest and load in the dishes. Rodney has dreams of something greater. Armed with his unique talent for inventing, Rodney embarks on a journey to Robot City to meet his idol, the majestic inventor Bigweld, voiced by Mel Brooks. An iconic figure in all of Robot City, Bigweld has spent a lifetime creating things to make the lives of robots better. Once in Robot City, Rodney finds that things are not quite as he expected, and his quest may be a lot harder than he imagined. As he tries to navigate his way around this new city, Rodney befriends the Rusties, a ragtag group of street-smart bots who know the ropes. One of the Rusties, Fender (voiced by Robin Williams), immediately becomes Rodney's best friend and even lets his spunky kid sister Piper Pinwheeler (voiced by Amanda Bynes) tag along. They take him in, and for now, at least, Rodney has a home in Robot City. Rodney also meets Cappy (voiced by Halle Berry), an executive at Bigweld Industries who takes an instant liking to Rodney and sees a lot of herself in him. Along their adventures, Rodney and his new friends encounter unsavory characters who try to derail Rodney's plans to find Bigweld and save Robot City.

Somewhere along the way we came to expect great things out of every animated movie we saw, thanks to animation masters like Pixar and even Dreamworks Shrek. And anytime these movies fall below that standard that has been set so high we are let down and disappointed, but don't be. While Robots is nowhere as grand as the Incredibles it is still quite a cute and fun movie. Sure the story is cookie cutter, a young and idealistic hero set out to change the world up against your typical tyrant, out to conquer the world where good shall prevail, nothing new but done with finesse it can be ok, and Robots did a fair job at it. The movie is no great masterpiece by any means, but neither is it garbage like Shark Tale or anything Disney produces when they're actually making movies instead of trying to not take credit for Pixar's accomplishments.

The trailers try and attract you with another Robin Williams zany character but it is not Williams who makes the movie but Greg Kinnear instead. He somehow manages to find away to mix the slightly over the top villain with a more believable madman just trying to make his mother happy, its like Psycho meets Michael Douglas from Wallstreet. Williams has his funny moments of course but he has kind of outplayed the zany character and it's been a long time since it was fresh. The robots were charming, the plot was simple but worked, and the movie could be dull at times but in the end entertained. I mean not everything can be a masterpiece but movies like Robots that does manage to entertain while not really doing anything that groundbreaking can be a good way to while a way an afternoon. It is fun, humorous and most kids will love it and most parents won't be too bored.

botter

botter

I too felt that Robots was inferior to most of the Pixar products and even though it was pretty good I doubt it will be remembered as fondly as a lot ot it's fellow cartoons

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