A Nutshell Review: Robots
This film is ingenious, in the way the story narrates and
transplant everyday life and events, into their robotic equivalent.
It brings the phrase "Giving birth after 12 hours of labour" to a
new dimension, and so we begin, with the birth of robot "Rodney
Copperbottom".
While growing up in Rivet Town suburb, he experiences the simple
life, living with "hand-me-down" spare parts and upgrade pieces
from relatives, before realizing his dream and ambition of becoming
an inventor, just like his idol Big Weld, a fuddly duddly corporate
big wig, who cares about the robotic society, giving it back to it,
and encouraging everyone to live their dream.
But all's not well when Rodney visits the big city - his idol has
become a recluse, and the corporation he left has become the exact
opposite from what it was founded - profits and the bottom line
matters, and something sinister is brewing between the new CEO and
his mum, who runs the city's smelting plant. The narrative seems
suspiciously familiar that point on, like you've seen it before
somewhere, but the robotic premise breathes new life into recycled
themes.
The themes in the movie are never fully developed, partly because
it's supposed to be enjoyed by children as well, and also because
it clocks in at a relatively short 90 minutes. Themes like
corporate responsibility, living your dreams, and consumerism - the
need to perpetually upgrade even when you don't have a need to.
Perhaps with more time, and if wanting to veer into those
direction, we'll get more beef, but I must remind myself, this is
essentially a children's film - nothing to deep please to get a
kid's attention span.
There are beautiful set action pieces with everything happening at
the same time, and robotic animation that look so real, you thought
they actually built the robots for this film!
While there are big names who lent their voices to this film, Robin
Williams stands out (as always) and is a riot in this one. From the
minute he begins, he is an absolute scene stealer, right up until
the finale scene, though I must add that it does seem a little
muted, given that he only has his voice to bring his wit across,
rather than experiencing the full repetoire of what Robin is
capable of!
The music in this film plays an important part in the narrative as
well, and at times, contribute a lot to the slapstick scenarios.
From Baby One More Time to Right Thurr, the filmmakers have picked
the right hits for the right moments for maximum effect.
Though the ending, like all cartoons, are happily ever afters, I
felt a sad tinge of disappointment at the lack of what I felt was
the norm of animation film these days - no blooper clips or easter
eggs, nor fancy end credits for this film. Kind of an anti-climax
after a fun rip-roaring session, lacking an encore.
