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ROBOTS by Tom McCurrie
When it comes to family films, we all love teddy bears. We all swoon over unicorns. We all melt over swans. A bunch of clunky metal robots, on the other hand, is about as endearing as a rusting '65 Mustang in the backyard. But the new computer animated film ROBOTS has achieved the impossible -- it makes these conglomerations of rivets and wire absolutely cuddly.
Directed by Chris Wedge and Carlos Saldanha, the men behind 2002's mega-hit ICE AGE, ROBOTS depicts a world that's just like our own, except that everything and everyone is a walking, talking machine (including babies, birds, bass drums, lampposts -- even fire hydrants!). This alternate universe is an eye-popping marvel to behold, rendered by Wedge & Co. in visually dazzling fashion. The best sequence involves Robot City's "mass transit" system, which sends its passengers ping-ponging around like they're in the universe's largest pinball machine. Unlike the worlds of FINDING NEMO and ICE AGE, which are somewhat based on reality, the world of ROBOTS is a work of pure imagination, something so original it's worth buying a ticket at your local multiplex to take a gander at for its own sake.
Now on the surface, ROBOTS' screenplay, written by David Lindsay-Abaire, Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel, is a bit thin. Young Rodney Copperbottom dreams of making it as an inventor. So he goes to the big city to peddle his wares to Bigweld, head honcho of Bigweld Industries. But kindly Bigweld has been replaced by bottom-line Ratchet, who stops making replacement parts to force older robots to purchase ridiculously expensive upgrades. If the robots can't afford the upgrades and break down, they're considered outmoded and assigned to the scrap heap -- more specifically, a "chop-shop" run by Ratchet's own mother, who melts the poor machines down for profit. So Rodney leads the outmoded robots against Ratchet to fight this injustice.
Again, a very simple story. And a very predictable one, too. I mean, being that ROBOTS is a family film, it's not like the good guys are going to lose here. But the movie turns this negative into a positive in two important ways. One, ROBOTS wisely doesn't outstay its welcome at a trim ninety minutes. We don't have time to realize the story is thin and predictable because it's so fast-paced it's over before we know it. If only more adult-skewing pics would follow this example. Even the Oscar-winning MILLION DOLLAR BABY runs about two hours and fifteen minutes, and that's fifteen minutes too long.
More importantly, ROBOTS wins us over with the one thing movies can never do without -- emotion. With the help of his outmoded friends, Rodney defends weak and helpless robots against Ratchet's heartless greed, making him someone we can really root for. Rodney is also the embodiment of ROBOTS' strongest theme -- never abandon your dreams, since we always regret the road not taken. Rodney doesn't quit when faced with setbacks as an inventor; he picks himself up and keeps going, and that never-say-die attitude makes us root for him even more. In fact, we emotionally bond with Copperbottom and Friends so strongly that we don't care if the story is thin and predictable (or if the characters are generated by computer).
The strong vocal work is another key to ROBOTS' success, with Ewan McGregor's forthright Copperbottom, Greg Kinnear's sleazy Ratchet and Mel Brooks' blustery Bigweld coming off best. Of course, let's not forget Robin Williams, who certainly delivers the laughs in his supporting turn as petty criminal Fender. But Williams' motor-mouth shtick is a bit too reminiscent of his work in ALADDIN (and its numerous direct-to-video sequels), so the familiarity undercuts the pleasure.
Nevertheless, if you're tired of teddy bears, unicorns and swans in your family films, plug into ROBOTS instead. This collection of nuts and bolts will tickle your funny bone -- and warm your heart.
Responses, comments and general two-cents worth can be E-mailed to gillis662000@yahoo.com.
(Note: For all those who missed my past reviews/articles, they're now archived on Hollywoodlitsales.com. Just click the link on the main page and it'll take you to the Inner Sanctum. Love them or hate them at your leisure!)
A graduate of USC's School of Cinema-Television, Tom McCurrie has worked as a development executive, a story analyst and a screenwriter. He is currently writing a novel about Spaghetti Westerns.
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