From the movie's very first scene, the crowds of kids and grown-ups watching Robots are chuckling, then giggling. Give it a minute they're in full guffaws. The newest, slickest animated feature from 20th Century Fox is set in an environment rich in gag potential- a world populated by robots. And writers don't fail to squeeze out of it every last joke. Including the kitchen sink.
An all-star cast gives voice to robots of every shape, size, class and gender in this action-packed movie that's sure to keep even the most attention-deficient among us riveted.
Ewan McGregor is Rodney Copperbottom, an idealistic young son of a dishwasher hoping to be an inventor. Rodney travels to Robot City to make his fortune with his masterpiece, a super-dishwasher, but is disillusioned when he tries to meet his idol, master-inventor Big Weld (Mel Brooks). Weld's company has been taken over by Phineas Ratchet (Greg Kinnear) whose scheme to provide super-expensive upgrades while eliminating spare parts creates a crisis among impoverished robots.
The movie is layered with a subtext of corporate greed, racism and ageism enough to keep grown-ups interested without losing the kids. Some of the funniest scenes come in the movie's opening minutes. Rodney's mother quips "making the baby is the most fun" while holding up a box of parts, and later, a pre-teen Rodney gets hand-me-down spare parts from his female cousin.
But the fast and furious gags get a little overwhelming by the time Rodney gets to Robot City. We get a tour of the city from a roller coaster skytrain with Fender (a typically hyperactive Robin Williams) as guide. Glimpses of the goings-on in the somewhat seedy town show a myriad of imaginative jokes, such as a down-and-out robot begging for a change with a sign reading "got screwed".
The dazzling details and visuals almost overshadow performances by the big Hollywood names, which also includes bored-sounding Halle Berry, an unrecognizable Dianne Wiest (I'm only guessing she was Mom) and the usually captivating actor Stanley Tucci. But on the plus side, those of us that are sick of such overwrought storylines as young idealists saving the vulnerable people of society while making his dad proud, will have those dazzling effects to focus on.
