ROBOTS is a pleasing animated movie brought to us by the same directorial team in charge of the brilliant Ice Age (Chris Wedge and Carlos Saldanha). While it doesn’t reach up to the standard of Ice Age and indeed leaves one with the feeling of a somewhat wasted opportunity, it is enjoyable fun for the whole family.
The basic storyline revolves around Rodney Copperbottom (Ewan McGregor) and his quest to make something of himself in the big city. His father Herb (Stanley Tucci) is a dishwasher (almost literally), which isn’t much to aspire to, but Rodney has a very close relationship with his father – and seeing him in such a sorry state is another motivation for him wanting to be a success himself. Arriving in the big city, he meets Fender (Robin Williams), and off they go saving the world from the evil tyrant Ratchet (Greg Kinnear) and his even more evil mother Madam Gasket (Jim Broadbent) by bringing back big, smiling benefactor Bigweld (Mel Brooks) from… well, from wherever it is he’s got to. Since he disappeared, spare parts are no longer being produced and the only way to survive is to buy an expensive, shiny new upgrade. Those who can’t afford this… well, there’s always scrap metal… to be turned into.
Technically I can’t fault this movie, the animation and effects are very impressive. The voice acting is good throughout and in particular Broadbent and Jennifer Coolidge (Aunt Fanny – thankfully shortened to Aunt Fan) have fun with their parts. Robin Williams character unfortunately tended to be more annoying than funny, and many of the jokes in this film fell rather flat, not just Williams’. (Though he does get probably the best line of the film – “My name used to be Bumper, but I had to change it when my family moved into the country”.) The fact that his name is so similar and he looks rather similar to Futurama’s Bender doesn’t help. The big problem is that much of the humour is fairly near gutter level and while it got a laugh from the younger kids in the audience and my much older friend on the side who’s probably getting near the point where she should be put down for her own good (not really but she was quite embarrassing to be sitting next to and no in case you were wondering I’m not referring to my wife!!). There were some really good opportunities for some humour that the more cerebral (not that I’m necessarily in that category) would have enjoyed without losing too much for the kids, but these were passed up.
The storyline was fine, it felt a little slow in parts but generally was full of good sentiment and action. There were some good sight gags too, it’s just a pity they weren’t complimented by good dialogue. So overall what we have here is an enjoyable film that’s technically excellent, which with a little more effort could have maybe been on the same level as Ice Age and Finding Nemo. As it is, 4 stars is a fair rating, but don’t expect it to be one of the best animated movies ever made. Your young children will probably enjoy it more than you, though faintly senile friends may also love it!
This review was brought to you by CaptainD, who is currently on the run from his faintly senile friend, who has turned out to be surprisingly sprightly for her age…
With the help of his misfit mechanical friends, a small town robot named Rodney embarks on the adventure of a lifetime as he heads for the big city to...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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