Robots (2005 film)

Robots is a 2005 American computer-animated science fiction comedy adventure film produced by Blue Sky Studios and distributed by 20th Century Studios. It was directed by Chris Wedge, co-directed by Carlos Saldanha, and produced by Jerry Davis, William Joyce, and John C. Donkin, and stars the voices of Ewan McGregor, Halle Berry, Greg Kinnear, Mel Brooks, Amanda Bynes, Drew Carey, Jim Broadbent, Stanley Tucci, Jennifer Coolidge, Harland Williams, Paul Giamatti, Dianne Wiest, and Robin Williams.[3] The film follows a robot named Rodney Copperbottom who attempts to meet his idol at his company in Robot City, only to unravel a plot by its new owner to force older robots to buy expensive upgrades.

Robots
Theatrical release poster
Directed byChris Wedge
Produced by
Screenplay by
Story by
  • Ron Mita
  • Jim McClain
  • David Lindsay-Abaire
Starring
Music byJohn Powell
Edited byJohn Carnochan
Production
company
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release date
Running time
90 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$75 million
Box office$260.7 million[2]

Development began in 2001, when Wedge and Joyce failed to adapt Joyce’s book Santa Calls and they decided to do a story on robots. It is also the second film to be based on or written by William Joyce, with the first one being Buddy in 1997, as well as the first completely computer animated film to based on or written by Joyce.

The film was released on March 11, 2005, and grossed $260.7 million on its $75 million budget. It also received generally mixed reviews from critics, who praised its humor, performances and animation, although the formulaic story received some criticism.

Plot

In a world populated by sentient robots, Rodney Copperbottom is an aspiring young inventor who idolizes Bigweld, a famous inventor, entrepreneur, and philanthropist whose company provides robots with spare parts. Following Bigweld's example to "see a need, fill a need", Rodney invents Wonderbot to assist his dishwasher father Herb. When Herb's supervisor confronts them, Wonderbot malfunctions and wreaks havoc in the kitchen, leaving Herb in debt. To help Herb pay for the damages, Rodney decides to move to Robot City, hoping to present Wonderbot to Bigweld Industries in order to get a job there. Upon arrival at Robot City, Rodney is ejected from Bigweld Industries by the company's current head Phineas T. Ratchet, whom in Bigweld's absence has stopped producing spare parts in favor of expensive "Upgrades", thereby "outmoding" robots who are unable or unwilling to pay for them. Ratchet's mother, Madame Gasket, runs the Chop Shop, an integrated metal producer that collects scrap and spare parts (and sometimes outmoded robots) and melts them to create ingots for Upgrades.

Rodney befriends Fender Pinwheeler, a ne'er-do-well he met at the train station. Fender takes him in to a boarding home populated by other outmodes, known collectively as the "Rusties". Word of Rodney's mechanical prowess spreads, and he is hailed as a local hero after he and the Rusties fix outmodes throughout the neighborhood, although they are eventually unable to cope with the demand due to the spare part shortage. Hoping to enlist Bigweld's help, Rodney and Fender infiltrate the Bigweld Ball – where Bigweld is reputed to make an appearance – only for Ratchet to announce that Bigweld will not attend. Enraged, Rodney publicly berates Ratchet, who orders his security team to eliminate him. Cappy, a Bigweld Industries executive opposed to Ratchet's plans, rescues Rodney and Fender. Fender is captured by a Sweeper, a vehicle that collects scrap metal and outmodes for the Chop Shop, and taken to the Chop Shop, where he discovers Gasket and Ratchet's plan to use a heavily-armed fleet of Super-Sweepers to destroy all outmodes throughout the city in order to make them into more upgrades, and escapes. Meanwhile, Rodney and Cappy fly to Bigweld's mansion, where Rodney confronts Bigweld, imploring him to return to Bigweld Industries. A disgruntled Bigweld reveals that Ratchet's greed and business sense won over his idealism in the management of Bigweld Industries, and orders Rodney and Cappy to leave. Crushed, Rodney calls his parents and tries to return to Rivet Town but Herb encourages Rodney to fight for his dreams or he will spend the rest of his life regretting it like Herb did. Fender returns and reveals Gasket and Ratchet's plot. Rodney rallies Cappy and the Rusties to stop them, and they are soon joined by Bigweld, having regained his resolve after realizing how much he and his ideals meant to Rodney.

The group returns to Bigweld Industries where Bigweld fires Ratchet, but Ratchet knocks him unconscious, planning on melting him down as well. Rodney, Cappy, and Wonderbot rescue Bigweld from Ratchet and escape with the Rusties in a security vehicle with Ratchet close behind. Rodney unclips Ratchet’s vehicle to break free but their vehicle loses control in front of the Chop Shop and Bigweld is rolled inside. Undetermined to give up, Rodney upgrades the Rusties to rescue Bigweld. Rodney, Cappy and the Rusties battle Gasket and her army of Super Sweepers alongside an army of outmodes that Rodney had repaired earlier. Gasket is killed when Wonderbot throws her into her own furnace, while Rodney and Bigweld immobilize the Super-Sweepers and defeat Ratchet, who is stripped of his upgrades and is left stuck on the ceiling with his father. Taking control of Bigweld Industries once again, Bigweld promises to make spare parts available to everyone. Later, Bigweld holds a public ceremony in Rivet Town, where he nominates Rodney as his new second-in-command and eventual successor. Rodney provides Herb with new replacement parts and a flugelhorn-like instrument to fulfill his dream of being a musician. After a shaky start, Herb leads Rodney, Cappy, the Rusties, Bigweld and the townspeople in a rousing rendition of "Get Up Offa That Thing".

Cast
Halle Berry (Cappy), Greg Kinnear (Phineas T. Ratchet), Robin Williams (Fender Pinwheeler), and Amanda Bynes (Piper Pinwheeler) at the film's premiere in Westwood, Los Angeles[4][5]

Production
Rivet Town was rumored to be based on Watertown, New York, where director Chris Wedge lived during his teens. However, Wedge dismissed this in an interview.[7]

While originally developing a film version of Joyce's book Santa Calls, Wedge and Joyce eventually decided to develop an original story about a world of robots.[8]

Release

Robots was originally scheduled for a 2004 release,[9] but the release date was changed to 2005. The film premiered on March 6, 2005 in Westwood, Los Angeles,[4][5] and it was released theatrically on March 11, 2005. The film was the first to feature the new trailer for Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, where it was reported that Star Wars fans went to see the movie just to see the trailer and hear the voice of Ewan McGregor as Rodney Copperbottom, who also played Obi Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars Prequels. The film also featured the exclusive trailer for Ice Age: The Meltdown, then called Ice Age 2.[10] Robots was digitally re-mastered into IMAX 3D format (IMAX DMR) and released in select IMAX theatres around the world. It was the first 20th Century Fox film that was released on the same day on IMAX and conventional 35mm screens. It was also the first IMAX DMR film released in the spring season, and the second IMAX DMR film distributed by Fox.[11]

Home media

The film, released on DVD and VHS on September 27, 2005,[12] was accompanied by an original short animated film based on Robots, titled Aunt Fanny's Tour of Booty.[13][14] The film was released in high-definition on Blu-ray Disc on March 22, 2011.[15]

Reception

Box office

The film was released March 11, 2005, in the United States and Canada and grossed $36 million in 3,776 theaters its opening weekend, ranking #1 at the box office.[16] It grossed a total of $260.7 million worldwide—$128.2 million in the United States and Canada and $132.5 million in other territories.[17]

Critical response

Robots received many mixed to positive reviews. On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 64% based on 182 reviews. The site's consensus reads: "Robots delights on a visual level, but the story feels like it came off an assembly line."[18] Another review aggregator, Metacritic, gave a score of 64 based on 33 reviews.[19]

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times, gave the film three-and-a-half stars out of four, stating that "this is a movie that is a joy to behold entirely apart from what it is about. It looks happy, and, more to the point, it looks harmonious."[20] Caroline Westbrook of the Empire Magazine gave the film a three out of five stars and said: "Kids will love it and their adult companions will be warmly entertained - but it's far from a computer-animated classic."[21] Rob Mackie of The Guardian gave the film a three out of five stars, saying: "skilfully combines adult and kids" comedy. But For all the imaginative splendours and a sharp script, Robots is never quite as distinctive as its predecessor, Ice Age."[22] Common Sense Media gave the film a three out of four stars and said: "Endearing "follow your dreams" story with plenty of laughs."[23]

Accolades

Robots won an ASCAP award in the category of top box office films. The movie received two Annie Award nominations and two Kid's Choice Award nominations. Robots was also nominated for a Teen Choice Award and a Visual Effects Society Award.[24]

The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:

Music
See also: Robots: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Score
Robots: Original Motion Picture Score
Film score by
John Powell
ReleasedMarch 15, 2005 (2005-03-15)
GenreScore
Length43:41
LabelVarèse Sarabande

Robots: Original Motion Picture Score was composed by John Powell and was released on March 15, 2005 by Varèse Sarabande Records.[26]

No.TitleLength
1."Opening Titles/ Building A Baby"4:02
2."Rivet Town Parade"0:54
3."Bigweld TV / Creating Wonderbot"2:45
4."Wonderbot Wash"2:08
5."Train Station"3:50
6."The Crosstown Express"1:19
7."Wild Ride"1:36
8."Madame Gasket"1:00
9."Chop Shop"1:50
10."Meet The Rusties"2:06
11."Bigweld Workshop"3:13
12."Phone Booth"1:29
13."Gathering Forces"3:28
14."Escape"4:42
15."Deciding to Fight Back"1:13
16."Attack of the Sweepers"1:26
17."Butt Whoopin'"3:42
18."Homecoming"1:33
19."Dad's Dream"1:25
Total length:43:41
Other songs in the film include

Video game
Main article: Robots (2005 video game)

Aunt Fanny's Tour of Booty

Aunt Fanny's Tour of Booty is a five-minute computer-animated film that was included as a bonus feature on the DVD and VHS releases of Robots and a prequel to the film. In the short, Aunt Fanny gives a tour of the Robot City Train Station to a motley collection of robots, including Fender Pinwheeler, Zinc, Tammy, Hacky, and an Old Lady-Bot.[13][14]

gollark: I have 8192648e772 apioform.
gollark: apio network.
gollark: Wow, contraapiocity metastatized.
gollark: So what did you want done with the bridges, exactly?
gollark: testbot, servers.

References
  1. "Robots (US domestic version)". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
  2. "Robots (2005)". Box Office Mojo.
  3. Jones, Malcolm (March 13, 2005). "Heavenly Metal". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on January 15, 2012. Retrieved September 1, 2011.
  4. Ball, Ryan (February 9, 2005). "Blue Man Group Helps Score Robots". Animation Magazine. Retrieved November 8, 2015.
  5. "'Robots' Premiere". CBS News. March 6, 2005. Retrieved November 8, 2015.
  6. "Robots (2005)". British Film Institute. Retrieved December 8, 2015.
  7. "'Epic' movie: F-M grad Chris Wedge brings another animated gem to the big screen". syracuse.com. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
  8. "Chris Wedge and Bill Joyce Talk 'Epic'".
  9. Hettrick, Scott (June 25, 2002). "Fox thaws 'Ice' vid plan". Variety. Retrieved May 9, 2015. Blue Sky is working on its next CGI movie for Fox called "Robots," due out in 2004, with a sequel to "Ice Age" to follow.
  10. Murray, Rebecca (March 4, 2005). "Star Wars Episode III Full Length Trailer Premieres with Robots". About.com. Retrieved October 19, 2012.
  11. IMAX Corporation (March 3, 2005). "Robots: The IMAX Experience Gears Up to Open March 11th!". PR Newswire. Retrieved October 24, 2015.
  12. "New Releases 09.27.05". IGN. September 27, 2005. Retrieved October 19, 2012.
  13. Gilchrist, Todd (September 28, 2005). "Robots". IGN. Retrieved October 19, 2012.
  14. Foster, Dave (August 24, 2005). "Robots (R2) in September - Menus added". The Digital Fix. Retrieved October 19, 2012.
  15. Calonge, Juan (January 21, 2011). "Family Blu-ray Wave from Fox in March". Blu-ray.com. Retrieved May 5, 2013.
  16. "Robots (2005) - Weekend Box Office Results". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved February 21, 2008.
  17. "Robots (2005)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved February 21, 2008.
  18. "Robots (2005)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
  19. "Robots". Metacritic. Retrieved October 19, 2012.
  20. Ebert, Roger (June 7, 2005). "Robots". Retrieved June 7, 2015.
  21. https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/robots-review/
  22. https://www.theguardian.com/film/2005/sep/23/dvdreviews1
  23. https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/robots
  24. "Robots (2005) - Awards". IMDb.com.
  25. "AFI's 10 Top 10 Nominees" (PDF). Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved August 19, 2016.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
  26. Robots: Original Motion Picture Score at AllMusic. Retrieved September 17, 2011.
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