Review

Review Date: 13-March-05
Spoiler Rating: Low
Juju Judgment: Just OK

Robots (2005)

They say you can't please all the people all the time, but Hollywood tries to come close with animated films designed for moviegoers from eight to eighty and from every walk of life. The established formula involves a plucky hero with funny friends who proves his or her worth in a way that illustrates a moral, in a world where everything is bright and musical, where race is fuzzy and laughable instead of sharp and controversial, and where pop-culture jabs allow grown-ups to feel like they're getting something all their own. (Because everybody's special and deserving.) Whether or not you like "Robots" depends on your affection for this formula, which it follows to the letter without deviation or originality.

"Robots" takes its cue from the silent film "Metropolis," portraying a futuristic city run by a greedy capitalist where lower-class citizens are condemned to oblivion in a terrifying underground realm. (Terrifying in a kiddie-acceptable way, of course, and without the weird orgy scene from Fritz Lang's classic.) Into this Gotham crying out for a hero steps young Rodney Copperbottom (Ewan McGregor), the son of a provincial dishwashing unit who dreams of becoming a great inventor like his idol, Bigweld (Mel Brooks). Rodney discovers that Bigweld is mysteriously missing from the parts factory that bears his name, on which every Tom, Disc, and Harry relies for a long and healthy life. In his place is a wannabe mogul named Ratchet (Greg Kinnear), who changes the company's once-hopeful slogan to "Why be you when you can be NEW?" and initiates a campaign to purge the city of outmodedness. Reluctant to return home a failure, Rodney joins with a crew of misfits led by Fender (Robin Williams) to take on the new world order and to prove that everybody, no matter how rusty, deserves a fair shot.

Exactly as it's supposed to, "Robots" caters to a broad segment of the population with a mix of cute creatures, father-son sappiness, zowie action, social satire, fart jokes, and Williams' manic schtick. Though short on inventiveness (even in the visual department, excepting a cool scene with dominoes), much of the film is just humorous or interesting enough to get by. If there's one instance of the same old same old that doesn't work, it's the hackneyed use of female characters, all of whom should have been left on the drawing board. It's disturbing in this day and age to see the fear of feminine authority represented by Ratchet's domineering mother (Jim Broadbent), and Halle Berry's animatronic hottie does nothing but add a hint of sexuality to a story that doesn't need one. The teen machine replete with girl-power sassiness (Amanda Bynes) fares better, but she still adheres to a stereotype that feels market-driven and not a little superfluous.

Yet rehashed themes and prefab characters won't drive audiences away; in fact, Hollywood knows it will bring them running. Movies like "Robots" will come and go and be watched and enjoyed, but they will never earn the remembrance or glory of the heroes they portray. I guess it's like a Harlequin Romance or a video game; for lots of people, this is the right kind of simple pleasure.

Copyright © 2005 The Jujube (M. I. Kim). All rights reserved.