Robots (2005) Review:

Robots have always captured the attention of viewers. Whether they have a glossy rounded finish or if they're jagged and rusty. It seems that interacting with these mechanical beings has always been a way for humans to feel connected to something other than themselves. While self-aware artificial intelligence is not totally ingrained in the global society, it is getting there. But what if there was a place where all of this existed already? Leave it to Blue Sky Studios to develop something like this, which feels like it went largely forgotten. Considering this was in their early stage of developing animated films and their only other franchise starter was Ice Age (2002), that's pretty good. This movie actually makes the thought of a robot world very fun and exciting if it were to actually be a real thing somewhere in another universe.

Rodney and Friends

The story is about average robot named Rodney Copperbottom (Ewan McGregor), a young enthusiastic inventor hoping to make a difference in his world, after seeing his mother and father work very hard. His inspiration comes from a popular celebrity by the name of Bigweld (Mel Brooks) who's positivity stemmed from helping other robots. Written by David Lindsay-Abaire, Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel, the script to this feature has a number of valid points to make when it comes to following your dreams. No matter the struggle, a goal is a goal, which should be the main focus. Sometimes sacrifices need to be made to help others. These are morals not only learned but reaffirmed as well by Rodney's parents (Stanley Tucci and Dianne Wiest).

Along his travels, Rodney also meets other robots Fender (Robin Williams) and Piper (Amanda Bynes) who live with Aunt Fanny (Jennifer Coolidge). It's here where more of the comedy ensues, which is fine. However, there are moments that probably have certain undertones people wouldn't exactly appreciate now. Examples like cross dressing or characterizing that cross dressing as "ugly". That and the occasional body humor, like flatulence. It's okay, but in some ways it's that kind of juvenile humor that seems unnecessary. Aside from those particular aspects, directors Chris Wedge and Carlos Saldanha were competent in their roles. Really, the whole moral to the story is what they get props for, because they kept that as the main focus.

The rest of the characters in this film are fun to watch too. Working behind the scenes to provide all robots only new parts is Ratchet (Greg Kinnear) and his mother Madame Gasket (Jim Broadbent). Both of them have good chemistry with each other as they look to take over Bigweld's company. There's also Cappy (Halle Berry) who is an assistant to Ratchet, but has a fairly predictable character arc. There's also voice appearances from Paul Giamatti, Natasha Lyonne, Dan Hedaya, James Earl Jones, Al Roker, Jay Leno, Stephen Tobolowsky, Terry Bradshaw and Drew Carey in some small roles. And the reason why these characters are fun to watch is because everyone who participated gave good performances.

Ratchet,....yes,...very evil

From a visual standpoint, the animation was well done for its time. If it was made now, it's more likely than not that certain things would have more details to them, but overall it still holds up. What's more impressive is how creative the studio was in making the robots universe. There are so many contraptions and mechanical gizmos that make it seem like their world is so much more entertaining than our current one. For music, composer John Powell scores the film with much appreciate energy. After working on other films like Antz (1998), The Road to El Dorado (2000) and Shrek (2001), Powell has proven his knack for scoring animated films. The music Powell creates is a great mix of jazzy and classic orchestral compositions.

Parts of the writing may be somewhat insensitive for today's time, but it's a very low count. The animation, while could be improved today, largely still holds up with fun characters, energetic music and a great overall story.

Points Earned --> 7:10