Robots (Gift Set) (DVD And Action Figure) (DVD)

...to melt down the old-fashioned robots and make everything shiny and new. Can Rodney and his ragtag group of misfits rescue his hero, get the girl and put things right?

Fox's Blue Sky Productions must be fed up with being seen as Pixar's poor relation. After all, they produced the marvellous "Ice Age", a warm, genuinely funny film that made the most of its snowy environment and some distinctly uncuddly characters. Here directors ...
...complete world in which the robots and their surroundings exist in perfect harmony. Normally inanimate objects take on a life of their own; with talking fire hydrants, chatty bins and retching lampposts. Instead of grass lawns, they are made of metal and need buffing rather than mowing. Instead of getting a haircut you go for a quick angle grind. "Making a baby" takes on a literal meaning as they come flat-packed and woe-betide any young ... more

Small town robot Rodney Copperbottom dreams of bigger things. Against his parents' advice he heads to Robot City in search of his hero Bigweld, the greatest ever inventor. But the times they are a-changing, Bigweld is nowhere to be found and Rodney discovers a plot by the evil Ratchet to melt down the old-fashioned robots and make everything shiny and new. Can Rodney and his ragtag group of misfits rescue his hero, get the girl and put things right?

Fox's Blue Sky Productions must be fed up with being seen as Pixar's poor relation. After all, they produced the marvellous "Ice Age", a warm, genuinely funny film that made the most of its snowy environment and some distinctly uncuddly characters. Here directors Chris Wedge and Carlos Saldanha strike gold with a wonderful film that combines pristine visuals with more jokes than any film I have seen this year. It feels like a comic riff on Fritz Lang's "Metropolis". They have created a complete world in which the robots and their surroundings exist in perfect harmony. Normally inanimate objects take on a life of their own; with talking fire hydrants, chatty bins and retching lampposts. Instead of grass lawns, they are made of metal and need buffing rather than mowing. Instead of getting a haircut you go for a quick angle grind. "Making a baby" takes on a literal meaning as they come flat-packed and woe-betide any young man who gets hand-me-downs from his girl cousin, as they extend to body parts instead of clothes. Everything has a 1950s retro-futuristic flavour, so families are nuclear, edges are curved but pointy and colour schemes tend towards the garishly pastel or faded primary. This is juxtaposed with the shiny chrome and harder edges of the brand-new "Upgrades". The technology on display is quaintly anachronistic with plenty of zeppelins and a series of Heath Robinson style contraptions, including a Slinky bus and a marble maze public transport system. Visual gags are a dime a dozen with more than you'll be able to notice in a single sitting, though my favourites included a robot take on the "kerb your dog" and toilet door signs. There is a great deal of action to keep thrill-seekers enthralled with lots of chase sequences and a truly engrossing final battle that takes cues from pretty much every war movie ever made. The set-piece I enjoyed most though was a chase scene in which our hero is magnetised and complete with iron filing hair and beard has to outrun a hundred and one metal objects.

The story by Lowell Ganz and the improbably named Babaloo Mandel in itself is nothing special, peddling the same old morals about being true to yourself ("You can shine no matter what you're made of.") and respecting your elders. But where it comes into its own is in its use of anarchic humour; where else would you find a long joke about armpit farting? This makes Blue Sky the Warner Bros to Pixar's Disney; never afraid to throw in a joke for the sake of it and it's the endless variety of throwaway gags that makes the movie for me. The script works on multiple levels, so there are sight gags and slapstick, film references, fart gags and popular culture parodies. Chances are if you don't get one joke there'll be another along in a minute. You could probably write a dissertation on the film references alone that include all the usual suspects like "Star Wars" (a light-sabre duel), "2001; A Space Odyssey" ("Daisy, Daisy…"), "Scarface" ("Say hello to my dimpled friend") and "The Wizard of Oz". But there's still plenty of room for Robin Williams freeform improvisation that allows him to make the most of his misfit sidekick Fender ("I'm made of a rare metal. It's called afraidium; it's yellow and tastes like chicken…"). Sure there's the inevitable happy ending, this is a kids' film after all, but one that grown-ups can enjoy too.

The animation is superb, displaying incredible attention to detail; so though the robots are capable of human emotion they move as you would expect of people made of nuts, bolts and pistons. Everyone has a sense of weight and is capable of subtle movements, allowing a great range of expression that leaves you in no doubt that the robots are sentient beings. Textures have been rendered with loving care, taking into account paint flaking, abrasions, rust, polishes, shadows, reflections and oil residue so that every robot is a distinct individual. Possibly the best example of this comes in a chase scene that incorporates skating on ball bearings; every single one shows shadows and reflections and is finished with an unmistakable metallic sheen. Now that's what I call precision. The backgrounds are equally as impressive, presenting Rodney's home of Rivet Town as one of those twee but endearing backwaters that are the staple of so many American films and sitcoms, while Robot City is a marvel of art deco design, underpinned by crumbling tenements inhabited by disintegrating "Outmodes".

The voice talent in general is of a very high quality, though there are some exceptions to the rule. These sadly include Ewan McGregor as Rodney Copperbottom and Halle Berry as love interest Cappy. Neither has a sufficiently interesting voice or a strong enough script to merit their high billing. There's nothing bad about them, they're just a little bland. However, the supporting cast more than makes up for it and there is strength in depth. Robin Williams cuts his usual manic dash as Fender ("the cry of the deep doo-doo bird"). I get the impression the director let him get on with it and animated round him. It's the sort of wildly energetic performance that can't help but make you laugh (assuming you like Robin Williams). Mel Brooks reappears from obscurity to add some gravely comic gravitas to the voice of Rodney's hero Bigweld. Jennifer Coolidge brings her inimitable bubble-headed charm to the role of Aunt Fan (whose name has thankfully been changed from the original Aunty Fanny). Greg Kinnear proves more versatile than I thought possible as dastardly corporate robot Ratchet. Stenley Tucci is warm and paternal as Rodney's father Herb, while his angsty mother is voiced by Dianne Wiest. One of my favourite performances is Paul Giamatti as the unfeasibly high-pitched Tim the Gate Guard; a tiny but devilish megalomaniac charged with keeping people out of Bigweld Industries. It's hilarious because it's so absurd and smacks of Bond villain mania. For the British version, the cast has been padded out with all manner of TV "talent". Jim Broadbent and Terry Wogan are fair enough, but the presence of Cat Deeley and Vernon Kaye suggests budgetary constraints forced the producers to the bottom of the barrel.

The soundtrack is one of the most exuberant and enjoyable collections of music I've heard for some time. It combines metallic percussion from Blue Man Group (you know, those blokes from the Intel ads) and an eclectic range of feel-good tracks from the likes of Britney Spears, Barry White, James Brown and Stacey Orricho. Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger" even rears its overused head, while Kenny G is the music of choice for the stressed executive. Then there's lively marching band music and hip-hop to fit the mood. It works surprisingly well and the soundtrack is always appropriate to the scene it accompanies, even going so far as to build gags around songs.

This is the ideal family film because it will entertain mums and dads as much as the kids. Hell, you don't even need children as an excuse to see this one. Its eye-popping visuals and irreverent humour are reason enough for adults to watch it and its layers of gags will keep all but the stoniest of faces smiling. Okay the outcome is predictable, but the journey to it is so much fun you won't care and you'll be cheering the heroes on come the end. Watch it with a big bucket of popcorn and an enormous grin on your face.
 

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