Robots Review
by Jon Popick (jpopick AT sick-boy DOT com)March 10th, 2005
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Like Oscar nominee Shark Tale, the creators behind Robots thought it would be funny if they made the film's characters resemble the real-life people providing their voices. So be prepared to see Rodney Copperbottom (Ewan McGregor) waving his mechanized schlong around; Cappy (Halle Berry) plow her hovercraft into a bunch of innocent robots and flee the scene; and Fender (Robin Williams) make us all wish that Mork from Ork was merely a distant memory from the worst-ever episode of Happy Days.
Robots, created by Chris Wedge, Carlos Saldanha, and their Blue Sky Studios, is another computer-animated film that fails to hold the jock-strap of ideas found in Pixar's dumpster. It's probably unfair to compare the two, much the same way it would be malicious to simultaneously evaluate the careers of Wes Anderson and Wes, the guy who clears the tables at my favorite diner. But here's the thing: I guarantee that in 10 years (or maybe even less), CG flicks like Shrek, Ice Age, Antz, Dinosaur, and Shark Tale are going to seem dated and silly, while Pixar's A Bug's Life, The Incredibles, and Finding Nemo will still be as timeless as Wiley Coyote's fruitless pursuit of the Road Runner.
Here's why: Pixar, unlike their competitors, doesn't cram as much A-list voice talent into their films as physically possible (not counting Toy Story, which gets a pass for being their film picture). They don't needlessly pack modern music into their stories (Gomez and Tom Waits are an improvement here), or have gags which revolve around pop culture references. You won't find four-minute scenes propelled by nothing but fart jokes in a Pixar offering, but because of these things, you will find adults who enjoyed watching the proceedings more than their kids. Pixar builds their films around strong stories, while their competitors seem like their screenplays might be concocted after somebody comes up with a great idea for a poster, a fast-food promo tie-in, and a way to lure voice talent which will hit every one of their target demographics.
Robots, which shares the talent gene pool of Ice Age, is basically a bunch of recycled gags from Matt Groening's woefully under-appreciated Futurama, from its timid, fish-out-of-water protagonist; to the name of its devil-may-care comic relief (Bender is now Fender); to the lovable Nibbler-like creature; to the maternal-but-villainous Madame Gasket, who is a shocking "re-creation" of the owner of Mom's Friendly Robot Company, right down to the double-hair bun and Machiavellian desire to take over the world.
Here's the quick recap: Rodney makes the exciting journey from Rivet Town to the Rube Goldberg-designed Robot City in an attempt to find employment at an invention company run by Big Weld (Mel Brooks). Instead, he finds that life in the big city is a lot tougher than he thought it would be (there is, however, no subplot involving a robot named Ratso Gizmo, or male prostitution). Rodney meets up with a rag-tag bunch of other robot castoffs (Berry, Drew Carey, Amanda Bynes, and the über-irritating Williams) to fight the powers that be (Greg Kinnear and Jim Broadbent). I'm not much of a betting man, but I have a hunch that putting money on the underdogs might just pay off at the end.
Robots isn't bad so much as it is dull, especially for a film that cost this much money and took this many computer-hours to make. Anybody have a clue what the deal is with McGregor's mysteriously Americanized accent? Was somebody afraid his Rodney would sound too much like Shrek? Loved Paul Giamatti's small part, but Robots is merely more mediocrity from Billy Crystal's butt-boys, Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel, who next will crush the life out of Nick Hornby's soccer-turned-baseball story, Fever Pitch.
1:30 - PG for some brief language and suggestive humor
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