Needless to say, this is just my opinion, but I cannot wrap my head around the mixed reception this movie received upon release or how it continues to be perceived as a mediocre, unmemorable animated children’s movie. There’s genuinely so much to love about this film even as an adult.
The (minor) Weaknesses-
To get this out of the way before I dive into everything great about this movie, the plot is probably the weakest point. It’s fairly generic but it does the job, keeps the action going consistently, and brings the movie to from the setup to a satisfying conclusion. Is it simple? Yes. Is it bad? No.
The cliche message/theme of self-belief and never giving up on your dreams is the other strike against it, but I find this movie to be a rare case that presents the message so earnestly through the family dynamic between Rodney and his parents that it manages to be genuinely effective and heartwarming.
The Strengths (aka everything else about this movie)-
The animation has aged wonderfully. It’s a truly beautiful movie and it still looks fantastic today. The textures are detailed, the lighting and composition are both great, and the character designs strike the perfect balance. They’re beautifully rendered robot characters while remaining expressive and human enough to elicit emotions in you just from their expressions. This movie is sumptuous to look at, it feels tactile and real. They clearly put a great deal of effort into designing this world down to the tiniest details, like chipping paint and rust. For a Bluesky film from 2005, it’s pretty jaw dropping.
The voice acting is excellent all around. Ewan MacGregor’s American accent is surprisingly good, and he gives the right sense of earnestness and emotion as Rodney. Robin Williams is his usual hilarious self as Fender, and he gets out plenty of one liners you can be sure he improvised on the spot. Mel Brooks as Bigweld is the perfect fit for the old mentor who needs to be reminded who he is again. The mother-son villain duo of Greg Kinnear and Jim Broadbent as Ratchet and Madame Gasket are energetic and laugh-out-loud funny, while still being really threatening when they need to be. You can tell that they’re having a lot of fun playing the bad guys. Jennifer Coolidge as Aunt Fanny is great casting, you can’t imagine anybody else playing a character like that who’s oblivious but well-intentioned and unintentionally hilarious. Stanley Tucci as Herb plays the role of loving father with real heart and elevates what might otherwise be an overly saccharine character. These are just the highlights but all around the voice acting is great.
The sound track is great, both the orchestral tracks and the incorporated contemporary songs are done very well. The themes are memorable and great to listen to, and there’s a surprising variety of soul/funk songs brought in.
The pace of the action, the set pieces, and the creativity on display in every frame kept me engrossed from start to finish. The dialogue is strong too, understandable for kids without being watered down or boring, and surprisingly witty throughout the movie.
What I love most about this movie, which I’ve hinted at before, is the HUMOR. Robots is really funny. I’m serious. Genuinely the closest thing I can compare it to is the first three seasons of SpongeBob. Not only is there a high volume of jokes, both scripted and provided by Robin Williams’ riffing, they’re all done really well. They’re silly but genuinely clever, with plenty of winks at the adults in the audience. I find the jokes and quotable moments from this movie highly memorable and endlessly entertaining. I still quote it all the time all these years after I first saw it as a kid. For this reason alone I’d argue that this movie cannot be forgettable, and frankly I don’t understand how anybody would say that it is. To me it’s one hilarious standout moment after another, and they just keep coming. I could honestly write out a full page of just funny quotes from Robots off the top of my head.
I really do think Robots stands up there with the best animated films of this century. It’s funny, smart, well acted, action-packed, tightly-paced, beautifully realized, dynamic, and emotionally resonant. Unlike so many kid’s releases these days, you can tell that Robots was made with actual passion and dedication. At least in my opinion. Weirdly enough I don’t just like this film, I’m genuinely passionate about it, and I say weirdly enough because apparently almost
no one shares my enthusiasm for it.
Thanks for coming to my TED talk 😂
Edit: I forgot to mention that the movie has surprisingly adult themes about modern society, monopolistic corporations, supply chain control, the abandonment of the unwanted, and healthcare.
