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| Memo to Pixar: You’ve got competition—finally.
Robots is a spectacular film. Not since Monsters, Inc. have I been so delighted and amazed at an animated feature. Even then, I’m almost willing to concede top spot to Rodney Copperbottom and the gang. Almost.
|
(2005) Film Review |
| This
page was created on March 9, 2005
This page was last updated on
August 25, 2005
—Overview
—Photos
—About this
Film pdf
—Spiritual Connections
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| CREDITS |
|  Directed
by
Chris Wedge
Carlos Saldanha (co-director)
Writen
by
Lowell
Ganz
Babaloo Mandel
Jim McClain (story)
Ron Mita (story)
 Cast
(in credits order)
Ewan McGregor .... Rodney Copperbottom (voice)
Halle Berry .... Cappy (voice)
Greg Kinnear .... Phineas T. Ratchet (voice)
Mel Brooks .... Big Weld (voice)
Drew Carey .... Crank Casey (voice)
Amanda Bynes .... Piper Pinwheeler (voice)
 Robin Williams .... Fender (voice)
Jim Broadbent .... Madame Gasket (voice)
Jennifer Coolidge .... Aunt Fanny (voice)
Carson Daly .... Himself (voice)
Paul Giamatti .... Tim (voice)
Dan Hedaya .... Mr. Gunk (voice)
D.L. Hughley .... (voice)
 Jamie Kennedy .... (voice)
Natasha Lyonne .... Loretta Geargrinder (voice)
Conan O'Brien .... Himself (voice)
Stanley Tucci .... Herb Copperbottom (voice)
Chris Wedge .... (voice)
Dianne Wiest .... Mrs. Copperbottom (voice)
Harland Williams .... Lug (voice)
 Crawford Wilson .... Rodney at 12 (voice)
Bruce Winant .... Additional Voices
Produced
by
Jerry Davis .... co-producer
John C. Donkin .... co-producer
 William Joyce .... executive producer
Original Music by John Powell
Film Editing by John Carnochan
MPAA: Rated PG for some brief
language and suggestive humor.
For rating reasons, go to FILMRATINGS.COM,
and MPAA.ORG.
Parents, please refer to PARENTALGUIDE.ORG
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| TRAILERS
AND CLIPS |
Trailer:
QuickTime,
Hi-Res
QuickTime,
Med-Res
QuickTime,
Lo-Res
International Teaser:
QuickTime,
Hi-Res
QuickTime,
Med-Res
QuickTime,
Lo-Res
International Trailer A:
QuickTime,
Hi-Res
QuickTime,
Med-Res
QuickTime,
Lo-Res
International Trailer B:
QuickTime,
Hi-Res
QuickTime,
Med-Res
QuickTime,
Lo-Res
Super Bowl TV Spot:
TV Spot 2:
QuickTime,
1.4MB
|
TV Spot
3:
QuickTime,
1.3MB
TV Spot 4:
QuickTime,
1.4MB
6 Minute Clip:
Windows
Media Player
Clip 1 - 'Would You Like a Map to the Stars' Homes?':
QuickTime,
3.3MB
Clip 2 - 'Cross Town Express':
QuickTime,
1.7MB
Clip 3 - 'The Name's Piper':
QuickTime,
2.1MB
Clip 4 - 'Why is She Called Aunt Fanny?':
QuickTime,
2.6MB
Clip 5 - 'Magnetized':
Windows
Media Player |
| CD |
Robots
Soundtrack
1. Shine - Ricky Fante
2. Right Thurr - Chingy
3. Tell Me What You Already Did - Fountains of Wayne
4. Wonderful Night - Fatboy Slim & Lateef The Truth Speaker
5. Get Up Offa That Thing - James Brown (Ali Dee Remix)
6. (There's Gotta Be) More To Life - Stacie Orrico
7. Love's Dance - Earth Wind & Fire
8. Low Rider - War
9. I Like That - Houston featuring Chingy
10. Silence - Gomez
11. Walkie Talkie Man - Steriogram
12. Robot City - John Powell featuring Blue Man Group
|
| BOOK |
Robots:
The Movie Storybook (Robots)
by Kate Egan
You can shine no matter what you're made of. Rodney
Copperbottom arrives in Robot City to find corruption and chaos
everywhere. Will he be able to find his hero, Bigweld, and turn
the city around, or will the evil Ratchet prove to be too much for
a young robot from the country? Join Rodney and his friends, the
Rusties, on their quest to save the city and in their fight to save
themselves.
Relive
the excitement of the big-screen adventure with this photo-packed
storybook!
|
| POSTER |
|
| AVAILABILITY
ON VIDEO AND DVD |
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AVAILABILITY AND PRICING OF THIS MOVIE ON VIDEO OR DVD.
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|
|
| SYNOPSIS
|
 Acclaimed
director Chris Wedge, who created the Academy Award® winning short
film “Bunny” and the worldwide box-office smash ICE AGE™,
now brings his innovative filmmaking magic to ROBOTS™, taking
the computer generated animated film genre to an exciting new level.
For the first time ever, an animated feature presents a totally imagined
world – a wondrously clanky universe populated solely by mechanical
beings.
And
never has a cast of this caliber, encompassing five Oscar winners,
as well as Emmy and Tony honorees, been brought together for an
animated feature. Ewan McGregor, Halle Berry, Greg Kinnear, Mel
Brooks, Drew Carey, Jim Broadbent, Amanda Bynes, and Robin Williams
voice the principal roles. Also taking on key parts are Stanley
Tucci, Jennifer Coolidge, Paul Giamatti and Dianne Wiest.
ROBOTS
marks Robin Williams’ return to feature film animation, following
his role in 1992’s “Aladdin.” In addition, ROBOTS
is Mel Brooks’ debut voicing effort in an animated feature.
Special
“cameo” voices include Jay Leno, Dan Hedaya, James Earl
Jones, “Today’s” Al Roker, Stephen Tobolowsky,
and Terry Bradshaw.
In
the film you’ll meet memorable bots Rodney Copperbottom (Ewan
McGregor), a young genius inventor who dreams of helping robots
everywhere; Cappy (Halle Berry), a beautiful, dynamic and savvy
bot with whom Rodney is instantly smitten; the nefarious corporate
tyrant Ratchet (Greg Kinnear) who locks horns with Rodney; Bigweld
(Mel Brooks),
a master inventor who has lost his way; and a group of misfit ‘bots
known as the Rusties, led by Fender (Robin Williams) and Piper Pinwheeler
(Amanda Bynes). Fender’s head, arms, and legs routinely fall
off at the most inopportune moments. As Rodney fulfills Fender’s
ongoing need for repairs, the two become fast friends. Piper is
Fender’s tomboy kid sister, who surprises everyone with her
determination and strength.
The
result is a timeless, comedic tale that pushes the boundaries of
animation while introducing characters rich with physical humor
and soul, and a heart-warming story that proves that a robot can
shine no matter what he or she is made of.
What
if we created a world inhabited entirely by robots? How would it
run? What would it look like? How would the robots act?
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| |
Memo to Pixar: You’ve got competition—finally.
Robots is a spectacular film. Not since Monsters, Inc. (my favorite animated film to date) have I been so delighted and amazed at an animated feature. Even then, I’m almost willing to concede top spot to Rodney Copperbottom and the gang. Almost.
So why is Robots so great? For starters, what impressed me most about Monsters, Inc. and even Finding Nemo, to a lesser extent, was the detail and complexity of the worlds these films created. I greeted each new scene with joyful expectation, because it was bound to be jammed full of so many little nuggets and inside jokes that it would take several viewings to appreciate them all. You got the sense that the filmmakers had thought of everything, and it is precisely this attention to detail that made the worlds of Nemo and Monsters feel so real.
 Robots is enchanting for exactly the same reason, only more so. From the breathtaking, nausea-inducing Robot City transit system right down to the male/female symbols on the bathroom doors, it was obvious that nothing escaped the filmmakers’ attention, and that they were limited by nothing less than their considerable imaginations. As someone with only minimal mechanical ability, I was spellbound that someone could even conceive of such a comprehensive, multi-layered world like this one, much less make it move, talk, and sing. But the folks at Blue Sky did all that and more.
 It’s interesting to note that behind all three of these films (Monsters, Nemo, and Robots), you have a team of writers versus a single mind, as was the case with Brad Bird’s The Incredibles. While I thought Bird’s film was okay, it would have benefited immensely from a roomful of post-pubescent guys tossing around every crazy “What if…?” question that came to mind. One mind is simply not enough to pull off a world-building project of this magnitude—unless, of course, that mind happens to reside in the skull of Nick Park (Wallace and Gromit/Chicken Run). But even then, his output could hardly be called prolific.
 Another aspect of this film that captured me was the visuals; from the sheer scope of the wide-angle shots to the way the light hit the robots’ “skin.” Robots is the perfect blend of futuristic and modern, engineering and art. Prior to the film, I had no idea that the design team included William Joyce, one of my favorite children’s author/illustrators. But afterwards, it made perfect sense. His fingerprints were all over the place. Bringing the creator of such classics as Dinosaur Bob and A Day With Wilbur Robinson on board was one the best moves Blue Sky could have made. I hope this is only the beginning of a parallel career for him.
Robots also gets top marks because it made me do something that so far only Seinfeld, The Simpsons, and a few stand-up comedians have been able to do: Make me laugh out loud while sitting alone in a darkened room. Fender (voiced by Robin Williams) in particular cracked me up. But just as funny were some of the situations the filmmakers managed to create as well as the dozens of pop culture references and inside jokes. Robots isn’t exactly “laugh-a-minute,” but it definitely gives you a good feeling overall, especially the closing musical number—and that’s saying something, considering I’m not a fan of such things.
 In terms of message, you can’t get much clearer than this film. On the one hand, you have Mr. Bigweld’s inspiring message of “You can shine no matter what you’r e made of.” This is good news for robots like Rodney Copperbottom, whose dreams of becoming a great inventor like Bigweld could potentially be threatened by his father’s lowly occupation as a dishwasher. Even though robots like Rodney can’t afford new parts, that doesn’t mean they can’t do something great with their lives.
Enter Phineas T. Ratchet, a slick, next-gen robot with store-bought brains and a plan to enforce a global version of Extreme Makeover. His message echoes that of most marketers of health and beauty products today: “Why be you when you can be new?” With Ratchet in charge of Bigweld’s corporation, the chances of survival for ordinary robots like Rodney are fading fast. Ratchet plans to phase out replacement parts completely. And if robots can’t afford to buy his shiny, new upgrades, it’s off to the scrap heap. Hence, it falls to Rodney and his motley crew of friends to coax Bigweld out of retirement so he can lead the fight against Ratchet and make it okay for robots everywhere to simply be themselves once again. Robots is an anti-consumerist message delivered in the most appealing package imaginable. Let’s just hope Blue Sky doesn’t contradict this message by merchandising the film to death.
The only reason this film didn’t manage to boot Monsters, Inc. off the podium in my mind has to do with characterization and, consequently, plot. While the world of Robots was spectacular, many of the characters that inhabited it seemed stereotypical, underdeveloped, or downright unappealing. Bigweld was a particularly sore spot for me. His decision to take back his company is one of the turning points of the film. And yet it is never clear why he turned his company over to Ratchet in the first place or what finally motivates him to reverse his decision. I had a similar problem with Cappy, Ratchet’s “object of lust,” who comes out of nowhere to help Rodney and his friends overthrow the big shiny jerk. Zero personality, zero appeal. I think sharpening the pencil a little more in this areas would finally push Blue Sky over the top.
Despite such flaws, this film is well worth seeing and re-seeing. No doubt that is exactly what I will be forced to do once my kids get hold of the DVD. However, unlike some of their other viewing choices, I probably won’t mind it a bit.
|
Review by
MARK EZRA STOKES
—Comment on the blog |
It’s no secret that Disney is in a fragile state after its recent split with Miramax’s infamous Weinstein brothers and an impending break-up with Pixar, its partner in computer-generated success.
Because of this fact, other sources of computer-generated animation are turning up the heat for the mouse-eared mogul, hoping to claim the title of Animation King.
For the time being, the Disney/Pixar collaboration of The Incredibles remains on top with its near-perfect blend of comedy, social commentary, larger-than-life action and a really fun soundtrack. When the two companies split, however, Fox could usurp the throne—especially if it continues in the tradition of its most recent film, Robots.
Robots begins much like the recent flop, Shark Tale, with a sweeping view of a typical day in a completely original, though oddly familiar, world. The world in Shark Tale felt crowded and forced. The world of Robots is easier to believe, perhaps because of better pacing; perhaps because of a toned-down color scheme that seems to fit the sleek, Art Deco environment. We learn the conventions of this new world through non-stop one-liners and sight gags that allude to American pop culture (a “Got Oil?” poster, a robotic parody of Singin’ in the Rain, etc.).
The story follows the life of Rodney Copperbottom (Ewan McGregor) from his “delivery” through his high-school graduation in a series of vignettes that puts typical childhood experiences within the context of the robot world. Though each scene could’ve easily reeked of cheese or sewage, Rodney’s innocence combined with great comedic timing makes each gag fun to digest.
Despite Rodney’s lower-class status, his father encourages him to dream—to aspire for greatness as an inventor. Because of this aspiration, he leaves the humble surroundings of Rivet City and boards a train for Robot City, home of inventing mogul Big Weld (Mel Brooks).
Rodney soon discovers that the big city isn’t quite what he was expecting. Big Weld seems to have disappeared, though no one else seems to care in the ultra-mechanized, fast-paced metropolis. After befriending manic hobo Fender (Robin Williams), Rodney tries to get to the bottom of Big Weld’s disappearance, using his mechanical skills along the way to help out those in need.
Perhaps a large part of my admiration for Robots comes from its similarity to the 2004 gem, Big Fish. Both films star Ewan McGregor as a small guy set out to do great things in an unfamiliar world and, after accomplishing those things, he returns to make his home a better place. That doesn’t make Robots plagiaristic, though.
This is a common plot structure found in a large amount of myths, legends and historical stories written throughout the years. Joseph Campbell calls it “the hero’s journey” in his book, The Hero With a Thousand Faces. George Lucas intentionally followed this journey verbatim in his original Star Wars trilogy. It’s a story that appeals to us over and over again, whether we experience it in The Wizard of Oz, The Lord of the Rings or The Lion King.
It’s a plot structure that, for some reason, has fascinated readers or viewers for thousands of years. It would come as no surprise, then, that the historical life of Christ follows that same pattern (God’s son leaves his heavenly home, grows up to spread the news of spiritual redemption and, after sacrificing himself for others, returns to Heaven to provide hope for humanity.). Though I’m not smart enough to determine whether that’s just coincidence or if it’s an archetypal pattern put into our subconscious to reveal the ultimate example of heroics (Christ) and to thus aid in the salvation experience, I do know it allows for more dialogue between Christians and non-Christians.
Though Rodney’s messianic traits are probably not intentional, they seem to resurface on several occasions. After Big Weld’s second-in-command, Phineas T. Ratchet (Greg Kinnear), bans the creation of replacement robot parts, the inhabitants of Robot City learn that the handy Rodney is the only one who can meet their needs. Rodney selflessly repairs the masses, quoting his father’s “see a need, fix a need” motto. Though speaking out against Ratchet’s tyranny could spell out Rodney’s death, he does so in a “temple-clearing” scene because he sees injustices done in Big Weld’s ballroom—a place that once represented hope for all robots through face-to-face encounters with Big Weld. Rodney also has a small group of loyal “disciples.” Ratchet plays a role similar to that of the anti-Christ, who does the bidding of a greater form of evil to usurp the authority of a more powerful, benevolent entity. The film is loaded with familiar elements that subtly allude to Christian themes.
Robots is one of those rare movies with great comedic timing reminiscent of Looney Tunes or The Muppet Show. Though much of the film involves various chases, each chase is intricately plotted out and unique, providing the perfect blend of suspense, slapstick comedy and background eye-candy.
Visually, the film is stunning as the filmmakers have perfected the texture and reflective quality of metal. The curse-fee, PG- rated film can be enjoyed by young and old alike (though some parents may want to shield their youngsters from the not-so-subtle, prevalent potty humor). Though Disney, like Ratchet’s empire, may be king today, Robots could very well be the scrappy little hero that evens out the animation playing field., mainstream cinema would not have to continually remind us of our inconsistencies.
—Comment on the blog
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