World Famous Comics: Robots (Follow Along Edition)
Robots (Follow Along Edition)
Starring: Halle Berry, Lucille Bliss, Terry Bradshaw, Jim Broadbent, Lara Cody Directed By: Chris Wedge Average Rating: Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) Binding: DVD Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Full Screen, Subtitled, NTSC Label: 20th Century Fox Number of Items: 1 Region Code: 1 Release Date: July 10, 2007 Running Time: 89 minutes Theatrical Release Date: March 11, 2005
Product Description: Fasten your seat bolts and gear up for a hilarious heartwarming comedy that's "Fun for the whole family!" (Clay Smith Access Hollywood)With the help of his misfit mechanical friends a small town robot named Rodney embarks on the adventure of a lifetime as he heads for the big city to pursue his dreams and ultimately proves that anyone can shine no matter what they're made of.Featuring an all-star voice cast and a groundbreaking visual style that pushes the boundaries of animated filmmaking. Robots is a dazzling fun-filled feast for the eyes and a riveting good time for all ages!Episodes-Bonus Features: **Feature with Follow Along SubtitlesRunning Time: 89 minsFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: CHILDREN/FAMILY Rating: PG UPC: 024543405870 Manufacturer No: 2240589
Amazon.com: The delightful designs of William Joyce (writer/illustrator of such popular children's books as George Shrinks and Bently & Egg) make Robots a joy to behold. The round, bouncy, and ramshackle forms of hero Rodney Copperbottom and his computer-animated friends are part of an ornate and daffy Rube-Goldberg universe of elaborate contraptions and gleaming metallic surfaces. Rodney (voiced with a hint-of-Scottish lilt by Ewan McGregor) is a young inventor who sets off for Robot City to work for Bigweld (Mel Brooks), the supreme inventor of the mechanical world. But upon his arrival, Rodney discovers that Bigweld has disappeared, and the slick, shiny Ratchet (Greg Kinnear, As Good As It Gets) is phasing out the spare parts that lumpen robots need to function and replacing them with "upgrades"--expensive and glistening new exoskeletons. Unfortunately, from this suitable beginning, the story degenerates into a series of action sequences that make very little sense, though some are kinetic and fun (though others are only there to serve the inevitable Robots video game). Most kids will enjoy the sheer visual pleasure of the movie, but compared to the narrative richness of Pixar movies like The Incredibles and Toy Story, that pleasure is pretty short-lived. Also featuring the voices of Robin Williams, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, Amanda Bynes, Jennifer Coolidge, and many, many more. --Bret Fetzer
A fusion of Jazz and Punk : Junk They are selling 'junk' to your kids on the street? The Robin Williams dialog doesn't redeem this heart chilling comedy. People as robots that you can throw away when their parts fail: what message does this send to the children? A movie for children that says they will be "recycled" when they get old as spare parts: all this bundled as cutsie animation. Yes, they are making war robots for the future, but a world of robot people is probably fantasy. No one in Hollywood seems to have heard of Asimov when they make this kind of trash movie? I don't like it even with a happy ending.
Kids Movie, Adult Themes Upon first assessment, the movie Robots may seem like just another story about living the American Dream, but it's so much more than that. The protagonist comes from a dirt poor family, whose father has to work washing dishes to make ends meet. Living off of hand-me-downs, his father has nothing to give him except for supporting him in his dream to one day become a world famous inventor. Coming from such humble beginnings, Joe Robot (Rodney) then goes to the big city, and after much hard work and old fashioned American ingenuity, reaches the top of the food chain and becomes partners with his childhood idol. In this everyday story are inserted several interesting conflicts of ideas that are very relevant to our modern world. There is the question of the place of corporations and how they are run. The idea of contentment with ourselves as we are vs. having to purchase a perfect body is toyed with. A rejection of Materialism is a strong theme in the film. Finally, there is the eerie parallel to historical events where the extermination of inferiors was used as an excuse for genocide. As a child, Rodney was raised watching Bigweld, the head of the company that mass produces all the parts and upgrades which all Robots come from, on TV telling him about the value of the individual. But when Rodney grows up and goes to meet this man, he finds a very different person heading the business now in the form of Ratchet. Ratchet is a very different type of CEO. He is not interested in the little man. His only concern is making profit. The leadership style of these two individuals leading the same company represents our own big corporations who have grown so powerful. Ratchet, blind by greed, loses sight of the fact that it's the little man that allows his business to succeed. The character of Bigweld makes the statement that you can run a business in a moral and honest way, and still make money. The movie also tries to teach us about inner beauty. I personally felt a pang of disgust when in the film Ratchet unveils his latest batch of upgrades newly available. In a world of mass advertising where you have sex, beautiful models, and teen pop stars like Britney spears in your face all the time, it's easier to become unhappy with the way you look, if you're not as "pretty". Fad diets and plastic surgeons with their liposuction, boob jobs, and butt implants take advantage of this. In Robots, these upgrades were just that; unnecessary cosmetic tinkering that prey upon the insecurities of people exposed to millions of dollars of advertising, for the purpose of bankrupting one out of their money. Ratchet was the pretty poster boy incarnation of this. The Rusties were the opposite extreme. Ratchet's mom shows what happens when you let the idea of outward beauty consume you. You become a hideous, ugly looking monster. Pappy, who sits on the board of Bigweld industries, sheds her upgrades when she is converted the Rodney's cause, yet loses none of her beauty, which is instead heightened by her acts. A rejection of Materialism is also a strongly prominent theme. Rodney grows up with his cousins used hand-me-downs. The rusties live off of used parts they find in the dumpsters. Rodney's father relates the story that he wishes he could have lived his dream, (which has astonishingly nothing to do with money considering the state of poverty they live in) but is to have continued to play his instrument and become a musician. When Rodney's father apologizes for not being able to have provided better for his son, Rodney replies that he gave him the best thing in the world, which was believing in him. The most obvious parallel in the film is Ratchets plan to eliminate the large numbers of undesirables by ending the production of parts with Hitlers' plan to exterminate non Aryans by sending them to death camps. The huge trash collection machines patrolled the streets looking for outmodes to send to the ovens, much like the Gestapo patrolled Europe searching for jews, gypsies, gays, and sympathizers of these groups to send to the camps. Robots is a kids movie that dealt with a lot of adult themes. It is important to teach kids good moral values with films like these.
Cute movie! My 3 year old niece loves this movie and whenever she comes over, which is often, we have to watch it. The animation is great and I love the voice over character of Robin Williams. This part really suited him. If you have young children, they will really like this movie. I'd recommend it to anyone.
When Robin Williams is the high point, then that IS sad. I really wanted to like this one, but about a third of the way through, I knew it was the same old story line, the same old voices (Robin Williams) and lost interest. The picture is beautiful to look at, there is some effort, but when the laughs come from Robin one-liners, then you know what you're in for. My children liked it and laughed, so if you have children aged up to 10, I'm sure they'll enjoy it, but for us parents...not so much.
Fun movie! Robin Williams is a HIT in this movie! Need I say more? Seriously, though, I didn't have high expectations for it. (I hadn't known he was in it before I watched it either.) My 2 1/2 year old son loves robots lately, so I thought, "let's try out this new movie." I rented it and just had to buy it. Great movie! Clever, well-drawn, well-thought-out, great color, great action, funny!!! A delight! We try to keep our DVD collection small and rent a lot - but this was one we need to keep in our collection.
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