Product Details

• Actors: Ewan McGregor, Halle Berry, Mel Brooks, Robin Williams, Paula Abdul
• Directors: Carlos Saldanha, Chris Wedge
• Writers: Babaloo Mandel, David Lindsay-Abaire, Jim McClain, Lowell Ganz, Ron Mita
• Producers: Bob Gordon
• Format: Animated, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (DTS 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround)
• Subtitles: English, Spanish
• Dubbed: English, French, Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: 20th Century Fox
• DVD Release Date: September 27, 2005
• Run Time: 91 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (326 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00005JNQS
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,361 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "Robots (Widescreen Edition)" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

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

Fender providing assistance.

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 Big Weld (Mel Brooks), the supreme inventor of the mechanical world. But upon his arrival, Rodney discovers that Big Weld 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

DVD Features

Jennifer Coolidge returns as the voice of Aunt Fanny in a mildly amusing new short, "Aunt Fanny's Tour of Booty," which allows her to again be the butt of the joke. Fans of the characters will enjoy both a 17-minute discussion of the robots' creation as well as profiles of 11 of the bots, including early, almost unrecognizable conceptual sketches and brief interviews with the voice cast. The original short is fairly dull, and of the three deleted scenes, the most finished is an extended version of Rodney's initial meeting with Tim at the gate. One other is in sketch form only but does preserve another performance by Robin Williams. The kids' games are pretty good. There's a dancing robot that will perform eight routines on command or in random order. A memory game has a bit of replay value, and the build-a-bot segment takes some thought and investigation. The Xbox demo is a nifty little diversion that transforms one element (the transport-pod race) of the full-length, single-player Xbox game into a frenetic one- to four-player free-for-all.

In their commentary track, director Chris Wedge and producer-inspiration William Joyce have to remind each other to stop patting themselves on the back, but it is interesting to hear them talk about old games such as Mousetrap that played a part in developing the film. (Wedge's frequent references to a possible "director's cut" might not seem like a joke to DVD buyers who have gotten tired of DVD rereleases.) The commentary track by the Blue Sky technical team might be better, offering insights into the characters and the creation of the film without lapsing into too much techie-speak. --David Horiuchi

Stills from Robots (click for larger image)

The World of Robots

The Art of Robots	Robots soundtrack	Robots score
Robots for Xbox	Robots for PS2	Robots for GBA

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!

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 44 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Not Ice Age, but still quite funny May 9, 2005

By Manny Hernandez HALL OF FAME

As reviewers, it's natural for us to compare an artist's work to his/her previous album, movie, book, etc. In this case, it becomes "natural" to compare "Robots" to the previous animated hit by Fox, "Ice Age". If we do this, "Robots" comes out lacking against its frozen predecessor. It is not as novel in terms of its intent and also the script is not as powerful (perhaps because it's also tougher to relate to inanimate beings such as robots, than it is to relate to animals or humans). But still, it is a funny (though predictable) movie, with touching moments and plenty of excitement all through it. I particularly enjoyed the ride that Rodney is put through when he arrives in Robot City, in order to get to the headquarters of Big Weld, where he dreams of working.

The humor can be argued to be more adult-oriented, but still with proper supervision, I totally see it being fit for children. The fact that our 18-month old was jumping out of his seat halfway through the movie is more the result of him being hyper than the movie not being fit for children. Now I admit this is no "Finding Nemo" (which keeps him entertained all through it, time and again). So, bottom line, while not as good as or innovative as "Ice Age" and without a very powerful storyline and groundbreaking animation as "Nemo" got us used to, "Robots" is still a funny movie worth checking out.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Just fantastic July 3, 2005

By Dan

Format:DVD

Animation is a hot genre these days, thanks to the phenomenal success of Pixar's multi-million dollar blockbusters "Toy Story," "Monsters, Inc," and "Finding Nemo," and DreamWorks' "Shrek." These studio giants have opened the door for other, smaller companies like Blue Sky Studios to release innovative and high-quality movies, such as their first film, "Ice Age" in 2002, and their new, more ambitious endeavor, "Robots."

Visually, "Robots" is stunning, both in the look of the world and the creativity of its inner workings. The colors are vivid and the setup is ripe with potential for visual gags. The first half hour of the film is especially entertaining, beginning with Rodney's "delivery" as a baby. In the robot world, babies are delivered in boxes and are put together like children's toys at Christmas.

The characters, led by an all-star cast of distinctive voices, are fun too, especially Broadbent's deliciously evil Madame Gasket and Williams's high-energy Fender, though I thought Williams could have been given more screen time and more freedom to improvise.

The film's only weak spot, if you can call it that, is in its overzealousness to please. At times, there are so many visual elements, action sequences and gags going on at once, it feels as though we have no time to breathe. But, I applaud the creators for their passion for the project. I'd much rather see a studio go too far with its enthusiasm than not far enough. The film's storyline, too, could have been a bit more complex, but kids will love it, and parents will appreciate the complexity of the visual world in exchange for what it might be lacking in story. Overall, this film is a joy to watch, primarily because its cup runneth over with creativity and delight.... It's obvious the creators put a lot of time and soul into it, and it paid off-- in spades.

It's exciting, too, to see this level of animation coming more frequently to the big screen. Pixar sparked a new interest in animation with its release of "Toy Story" in 1995, and has bred an entire generation of animation lovers over the past decade with its subsequent blockbusters. This trend, in turn, has given companies like Blue Sky Studios, Fox, DreamWorks, and others an audience hungry for more of what they have to offer - and they are only too happy to deliver. Read more ›

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars I laughed, but was a tad disappointed... September 10, 2006

By Michelle Devon

Format:DVD

I adore Robin Williams in most things he appears in, but this little movie was not up to his usual standards, and that disappoitned me.

In fact, I was expecting to watch a show along the lines of Cars or Monsters, Inc. and this one was nowhere near as good as they were. However, the being said, it IS a good little movie.

One of the things I noticed about it that makes it a bit different from other cartoonish type animation movies out right now is that this one had a lot of adult innuendo that the other movies don't have. While a younger child, of say age 3-9 or 10 might not notice it, my son was 11 when he watched it, and he got a lot of the 'adult' innuendo in the jokes. He was slow on the uptake, but on one scene, he turned around and looked at me and said, "Oooohhhh, I GET it now!"

While I liked the movie, and so did my daughter and son, I found myself diappointed in my expectations of what this movie would be about and what it would be like. If you let go of those expectations and realize that this is NOT Monsters, Inc. or Cars, or a Bug's Life, or any of the others like this, you might be able to enjoy the movie for what it is. Otherwise, you'll probably be disappointed too.

I don't recommend the movie for little kids. The only thing about the movie that will appeal to them is the actual animation. Boys ages 10 and up might enjoy it, and teenagers seem to like it because of the innuendo. I wouldn't show this one to a younger child though. It's just not that kind of movie.

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars More Incredible Than The Incredibles! March 15, 2005

By Chalice

Don't listen to the lame people saying they thought it was too noisy, or stupid. Personally, I hate how on Amazon, adults, complain how much they despise kid movies. Folks, they're for kids. You're opinion doesn't matter and shouldn't be taken into consideration. This movie is amazing. I am 16, and still considered a kid in most standards, and I thought it was simply mind-boggling. It was funny, heartfelt, and exhilerating. This is the story of Rodney, an inventor, who leaves his beloved parents to go to Robot City to pursue his dreams. There he befriends a delightful cast of miscreants and discovered he must save the greatest robot of all, Big Weld, to save his father and their world. Ewan McGregor and Robin Williams were wonderful as were all the other voice actors. This movie has you laughing every other second. This is the most imaginative movie I've seen in a long while. If you want to inspire your kids to hold onto their dreams and be creative, then this is the movie for you. Believe me, you won't regret spending $7 to spend 90 minutes with Rodney, Fender, and the crew. It's worth every penny.