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Robots [2005]


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Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review

The delightful designs of William Joyce (writer/illustrator of such popular children's books as George Shrinks and Bently & Egg) make Robots a joy to behold. The round, bouncy, and ramshackle forms of hero Rodney Copperbottom and his computer-animated friends are part of an ornate and daffy Rube-Goldberg universe of elaborate contraptions and gleaming metallic surfaces. Rodney (voiced with a hint-of-Scottish lilt by Ewan McGregor) is a young inventor who sets off for Robot City to work for Big Weld (Mel Brooks), the supreme inventor of the mechanical world. But upon his arrival, Rodney discovers that Big Weld has disappeared, and the slick, shiny Ratchet (Greg Kinnear) is phasing out the spare parts that lumpen robots need to function and replacing them with "upgrades"--expensive and glistening new exoskeletons. Unfortunately, from this suitable beginning, the story degenerates into a series of action sequences that make very little sense, though some are kinetic and fun (though others are only there to serve the inevitable Robots video game). Most kids will enjoy the sheer visual pleasure of the movie, but compared to the narrative richness of Pixar movies like The Incredibles and Toy Story, that pleasure is pretty short-lived. Also featuring the voices of Robin Williams, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, Amanda Bynes, Jennifer Coolidge, and many, many more. --Bret Fetzer, Amazon.com

Editorial
Synopsis

The pixel-happy production company Blue Sky follows its successful feature ICE AGE with more animated antics in ROBOTS. Rodney Copperbottom (voiced by Ewan McGregor) is a talented inventor who hopes to make his fortune by moving to Robot City and working among the nuts and bolts of the robotics industry. Rodney fantasizes about building robots for his boyhood hero and master inventor Big Weld (Mel Brooks), but when he meets him, Rodney's dream threatens to turn rusty. Big Weld reveals that his company is now being run by the evil Phineas T. Ratchet (Greg Kinnear), a merciless moneymaker who wants to rid the world of the antiquated robots that clutter up the streets of Robot City. This leaves Rodney's aspirations needing a major oil change, and with little chance of finding work, he feels about as useful as a broken spare part. So he takes to the streets, where he finds some unlikely salvation in a group of robots lead by Fender (Robin Williams). Fender urges Rodney to help save them from the scrap heap, while Ratchet and his company create threatening new policies on robot reconstruction. The ensuing action leads to a breathtaking set of adventures in the futuristic city. A fun, dizzying delight, ROBOTS benefits from the many voices of Robin Williams, who is the perfect comic foil to Ewan McGregor's central character. The special effects are masterfully handled, and the rendering of Robot City is a true sight to behold. A film that should find a broad audience among adults and children alike, ROBOTS is fast-paced animated entertainment at its finest.

How many times can you watch the same film?!
Review date: 2008-08-12 Rating: 8 out of 10

Our son borrowed this DVD and loved it so much that he wanted his own copy. Wasn't sure how long he would enjoy it when we bought it but it has been worth every penny and then more. Since then, I've lost count of the number of times he and friends have watched it.

They all love the story, the comic one-liners and the music.

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Reviews


funky
Review date: 2008-02-09 Rating: 8 out of 10

Entertaining cartoon with a bit of a grown up theme about everybody having it in them to shine no matter who they are or what their background. We've progressed from rats, dogs, deer etc to having robots entertain and enlighten. Not a bad idea at all since it allows for some groovy tricks and graphics - imagine all those futuristic movies you watch tailored for kids! That said there are also jokes for us older folk if you read between the lines.

I really enjoyed this movie. It gets 4 stars simply because it doesn't quite match up to some of the spectacular cartoons hitting the screens these days.

Kids animation with a very corporate theme
Review date: 2007-07-01 Rating: 8 out of 10

Robots is a beautifully computer animated movie about... Robots. Basically, the main robot in the story, Rodney (voiced by Ewan McGregor), decides to go to the big city to meet up with his childhood hero, Bigweld (voiced by Mel Brooks), and to get his invention out to the other robots. His invention is basically another robot but this is pretty much a fairy tale anyways, right? Rodney runs into Fender (voiced by Robin Williams) upon his arrival in the big Robot City when Fender tries to take advantage of Rodney and soon after, tries to steal his foot! I guess that is the robot equivalent of stealing shoes by the thieves here in the real world. Little things like that made the movie a unique experience. You can tell that a lot of thought went into the little parts, like the "making the baby" scene at the beginning. I thought that was ingenious, especially for a kids movie and still keeping it clean. The best looking robots were the sharp looking corporate robots. Ratchet (voiced by Greg Kinnear) was the main villain here and Cappy (voiced by Halle Berry) was the female corporate robot on the side of good, eventually helping Rodney in his quest.

First class animated movie for children and adults alike
Review date: 2006-12-03 Rating: 10 out of 10

It's refreshing to see some real competition to Pixar and Disney. The story is not as clever as Pixar at its best, but for my money this is easily the equal if not better than `Cars'. Fox animation, with Ice Age and now Robots, have realised that creating memorable characters and putting them in a decent story, is a winning ticket. Here, they have done that, and added extraordinarily good animation - Halle Berry describes it well when she says it is really like there was a DP (Director of Photography) it is so well lit, and also a bunch of sight gags, puns, running jokes etc, which crucially appeal to the adults as well as the kids. I love the opening gag when the father robot is running home because his wife is expecting - he bursts in the door and his wife says `I'm so sorry, you missed the delivery!" (as we see the delivery van drive away, the camera pans down to the box of baby robot parts) "but that's ok, it's making the baby that's the fun part!".
The voice cast are superb - Mel Brooks plays the big likeable boss, Ewan Macgregor is surprisingly.. well, American, in his role, and of course Robin Williams is just a living cartoon anyway so is perfect casting.
All in all, well worth a watch, and will bear repeated viewings. Hits all the right buttons to keep all ages amused.


Great Sound & Vision - plus some jokes!
Review date: 2006-04-18 Rating: 6 out of 10

Great looking & sounding. For some the story might be a bit lacking but others (me too) will find it charming & entertaining.

The colours thru out are lovely - bright, giving a real 3D effect.

The sound is used really well & the James Brown jam at the end of the film is almost worth the cost of the film itself.

Give it a try - its a bit diferrent!

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Robin Williams
Halle Berry
Ewan McGregor
Jim Broadbent
Lowell Ganz

Creators:
Ewan McGregor (Primary Contributor)
Robin Williams (Primary Contributor)

Director(s):

Recording label: Twentieth Century Fox
Manufacturer: Twentieth Century Fox
EAN: 5039036022682
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: PAL,
Release date: 2005-09-19
Audience rating: Universal, suitable for all
Region code: 2
Running time: 86 minutes
Theatrical release date: 2005
Language: English (Original Language)

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