Robots (2005)

No Original Case

Movie was in great shape for a used product, but I expected the original case to be included in the purchase. I received the movie in an alternative case with none of the original artwork or advertising. I was a little dissapointed as I had ordered this as a replacement for a scratched disk that we owned and would have kept the original case if I had known it wasn't coming. All in all the experience was ok, but I've learned to keep that in mind when ordering used movies (and keep the original case until the replacement movie is received). October 7, 2008

Great effects but a little light on plot...

This cute little movie (a smidge under 90 minutes) is an eye-popping visual feast, with roller-coaster vehicle chases; characters being swung, flipped, rolled and flattened; and lots of clever 'physical' humor and movement. However, I found myself wanting more of the plot and character development. There just isn't enough time devoted to introducing a character before the next action sequence begins. I'd have added another 15-20 minutes of showing the different robots interacting with each other and deepening our understanding of their motives, likes/dislikes and desires. Having said that, it stands up well to repeat viewings (my two toddler girls absolutely love it and would rate it 5 stars) because there is so much going on in each scene that you find yourself noticing things missed the first (or second, or third) time around. The core morals taught are sound "you can shine, no matter what you're made of" and the visual effects are top-notch. All in all, watching it leaves a person feeling like you just stepped off the Tilt-a-Whirl at the fair after eating cotton candy and funnel cakes all evening--giddy, exhilarated, lightheaded but in need of something a bit more substantial. September 18, 2008

A fusion of Jazz and Punk : Junk

They are selling 'junk' to your kids on the street?
The Robin Williams dialog doesn't redeem this heart
chilling comedy.
People as robots that you can throw away when their parts fail:
what message does this send to the children?
A movie for children that says they will be "recycled"
when they get old as spare parts:
all this bundled as cutsie animation.
Yes, they are making war robots for the future,
but a world of robot people is probably fantasy.
No one in Hollywood seems to have heard of Asimov
when they make this kind of trash movie?
I don't like it even with a happy ending.


August 18, 2008

Kids Movie, Adult Themes

Upon first assessment, the movie Robots may seem like just another story about living the American Dream, but it's so much more than that. The protagonist comes from a dirt poor family, whose father has to work washing dishes to make ends meet. Living off of hand-me-downs, his father has nothing to give him except for supporting him in his dream to one day become a world famous inventor. Coming from such humble beginnings, Joe Robot (Rodney) then goes to the big city, and after much hard work and old fashioned American ingenuity, reaches the top of the food chain and becomes partners with his childhood idol.
In this everyday story are inserted several interesting conflicts of ideas that are very relevant to our modern world. There is the question of the place of corporations and how they are run. The idea of contentment with ourselves as we are vs. having to purchase a perfect body is toyed with. A rejection of Materialism is a strong theme in the film. Finally, there is the eerie parallel to historical events where the extermination of inferiors was used as an excuse for genocide.
As a child, Rodney was raised watching Bigweld, the head of the company that mass produces all the parts and upgrades which all Robots come from, on TV telling him about the value of the individual. But when Rodney grows up and goes to meet this man, he finds a very different person heading the business now in the form of Ratchet. Ratchet is a very different type of CEO. He is not interested in the little man. His only concern is making profit. The leadership style of these two individuals leading the same company represents our own big corporations who have grown so powerful. Ratchet, blind by greed, loses sight of the fact that it's the little man that allows his business to succeed. The character of Bigweld makes the statement that you can run a business in a moral and honest way, and still make money.
The movie also tries to teach us about inner beauty. I personally felt a pang of disgust when in the film Ratchet unveils his latest batch of upgrades newly available. In a world of mass advertising where you have sex, beautiful models, and teen pop stars like Britney spears in your face all the time, it's easier to become unhappy with the way you look, if you're not as "pretty". Fad diets and plastic surgeons with their liposuction, boob jobs, and butt implants take advantage of this. In Robots, these upgrades were just that; unnecessary cosmetic tinkering that prey upon the insecurities of people exposed to millions of dollars of advertising, for the purpose of bankrupting one out of their money. Ratchet was the pretty poster boy incarnation of this. The Rusties were the opposite extreme. Ratchet's mom shows what happens when you let the idea of outward beauty consume you. You become a hideous, ugly looking monster. Pappy, who sits on the board of Bigweld industries, sheds her upgrades when she is converted the Rodney's cause, yet loses none of her beauty, which is instead heightened by her acts.
A rejection of Materialism is also a strongly prominent theme. Rodney grows up with his cousins used hand-me-downs. The rusties live off of used parts they find in the dumpsters. Rodney's father relates the story that he wishes he could have lived his dream, (which has astonishingly nothing to do with money considering the state of poverty they live in) but is to have continued to play his instrument and become a musician. When Rodney's father apologizes for not being able to have provided better for his son, Rodney replies that he gave him the best thing in the world, which was believing in him.
The most obvious parallel in the film is Ratchets plan to eliminate the large numbers of undesirables by ending the production of parts with Hitlers' plan to exterminate non Aryans by sending them to death camps. The huge trash collection machines patrolled the streets looking for outmodes to send to the ovens, much like the Gestapo patrolled Europe searching for jews, gypsies, gays, and sympathizers of these groups to send to the camps.
Robots is a kids movie that dealt with a lot of adult themes. It is important to teach kids good moral values with films like these.
August 8, 2008

Cute movie!

My 3 year old niece loves this movie and whenever she comes over, which is often, we have to watch it. The animation is great and I love the voice over character of Robin Williams. This part really suited him. If you have young children, they will really like this movie. I'd recommend it to anyone. August 4, 2008

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