Robots

Cast: Ewan McGregor, Halle Berry, Greg Kinnear, Mel Brooks, Drew Carey, Amanda Bynes, Jim Broadbent, Jennifer Coolidge, Paul Giamatti, Stanley Tucci, Dianne Wiest, Robin Williams
Director: Chris Wedge and Carlos Saldanha
Genre: Family/Comedy/Animation
Rated: G
Running Time: 89 Minutes

Repair For Adventure

Synopsis:
In the film 'Robots' 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 misfits bots known as the Rusties lead by Fender (Robin Williams) and Piper Pinwheeler (Amanda Bynes). Fender's head, arms, and legs routinely fall off at the most inopportune moments and as Rodney fulfils 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.

'Robots' revolves around Rodney Copperbottom, who ventures to Robot City to pursue his dream of being a great inventor.

My Verdict:
From the director of 'Ice Age', Chris Wedge, comes this fast paced animated feature of robotic proportions. This is one amazing movie where the whole scenario is created from scratch - there isn't an ocean or a swamp here for background and so it is very original and certainly can't be accused of borrowing from anything else previously made and so it gives 'Robots' a particular uniqueness. All the robots in the movie are created from bits and pieces and when a piece fails, getting a new piece is simple and it doesn't even matter if it is not an original, so long as it works, which means most of the robots look like amalgamations of so many knick-knacks and leftovers of various other objects.

The story is simple - a country boy dreams of conquering the big city and meeting his hero, Bigweld, the master inventor. This dream for Rodney Copperbottom is extended to fill out the 89 minutes of the movie where not a second is wasted. The birth of Rodney is something else and so clever with so many similarities to a human birth. As Rodney grows he becomes an inventor and also becomes renowned for being a Mr. Fix it.

Rodney sets off by train to conquer the big smoke, meeting a character that will become a friend for life at the other end - Fender. This chance meeting develops into Rodney learning about the mysterious disappearance of Bigweld and the unscrupulous deeds of Ratchet, the now President of Bigweld Industries. Rodney, in his country town naivety, can't accept Ratchets new philosophy of creating new robots instead of replacing parts on existing robots as they malfunction. The sinister, nasty Ratchet wants to dispose of all the old robots and create a world of new, shiny robots all according to his mother's wishes - Madame Gasket, who is the real villain behind the villain. Of course, Rodney does instigate the demise of Ratchet and Madame Gasket, with the help of his friends, Fender and Fender's friends, known as the Rusties - Piper Pinwheeler, Crank Casey, Lug and Diesel. Throw in a love story for Rodney in the form of Cappy and the story is complete.

The robots in 'Robots' are truly captivating. Each is a fascinating work of art with most having parts added from various household items - Rodney's head is a coffee pot, but it is also the voices behind the characters that makes some of the characters, none more so than veteran Robin Williams as Fender. His performance is one reason why a second viewing of 'Robots' would just about be compulsory - it is truly outstanding. All the other voices for the characters used just feel so right and are one reason the movie works so well.

'Robots' is a fresh, novel approach to an animated feature and deserves kudos for crossing the boundaries. It is endearing, has a story that is totally relatable and most of all it is fun and lively and never falters. To quote screenwriter for 'Robots' Lowell Ganz, "It's like truck going downhill with no brakes". Ain't that the truth!

Rating : A-

Christina Bruce