| ROBOTS |
 2005 - USADirectors: Chris Wedge, Carlos Saldanha
- Reviewed by Vickie
Despite the confusing and jumbled trailers and commercials that have been running for this film since last summer, this latest big-screen effort from the folks at Fox Animation is actually a delightful, wildly imaginative adventure anchored in a simple, almost heartwarming, story. Ewan McGregor voices Rodney Copperbottom, an idealistic young inventor from the small burg of Rivet Town. His future there is limited, so he bids adieu to his parents (Stanley Tucci, Dianne Wiest) and makes his way to Robot City, a huge metropolis and home to benevolent tycoon Big Weld (Mel Brooks). Big Weld is this film’s answer to Sir Richard Branson, Oprah Winfrey and Donald Trump rolled into one—a wealthy visionary who controls, well, everything. Plus, he’s a friend to young inventors, so Rodney figures he’s a shoo-in for a job. But what he finds instead is the corporation being run by a sinister underling named Ratchet (Greg Kinnear), who wants to do away with Big Weld’s spare-parts business by switching to upgrade-only operations, and slowly eliminating older, outdated robots—called “outmodes”—from the population by melting them down in giant incinerators. Outmodes just like Rodney, his family and all his friends. Big Weld is nowhere to be found. So, teamed with a rag-tag group of fellow ‘bots—including Fender (Robin Williams), Piper (Amanda Bynes) and Cappy (Halle Berry)—Rodney sets out to find the missing magnate, thwart the evil efforts of Ratchet and his domineering mastermind of a mother (voiced by Jim Broadbent), save the robot community and make his parents proud. Robots is a dazzling collection of brilliant ideas and terrific execution. Its careful, intricate and insanely clever humor ranks alongside the best of Pixar. Every little detail is thought-out and the result is a seamless, wholly engaging and completely imaginary world. It reminded me a lot of the equally amazing underground realm in Finding Nemo, where every nook and cranny of the screen is filled and filled well, down to the most microscopic pixel. The David vs. Goliath type story actually managed to get me choked up (again, just like the great Disney films) and held my interest throughout. It’s touching and funny. The film also boasts an impressive cast of supporting voice actors, including Jennifer Coolidge (as the plus-sized Aunt Fanny) and Paul Giamatti (as the adorable, puppet-like gatekeeper at Weld’s HQ). The only problems I had with Robots, and they are admittedly minor, were the occasional and out-of-place pop-culture references (like the Britney Spears-inspired sequence) that immediately took me out of the film. They were unnecessary and will, no doubt, date this otherwise timeless film. There were also a few too many minor robots, in my opinion. Many of them were peripheral to the story (like the boxy green one!) and could probably have been eliminated without impacting the overall film. But, again, those issues were fairly inconsequential. Robots is an ideal family film, a great animated feature and a super-fun ride for everyone in the audience. |
| Home | Currently Playing | For Rent | Video Obsession ©2005 Moviepie e-mail us |
Who'da thunk a bunch of clunky, rusty machines could be so huggable?
