The past few years have seen a surge in brilliant animated films coming out, to the point where this years nominees for Best Animated Film at the Oscars resulted in a category where I would have been happy with any of the nominees (aside from maybe Elemental) winning the award. There was always an asterisk next to this though as I had only seen four of the nominees, the final one, Robot Dreams, had not come out in the UK at the time of the Oscars. This is one that I was disappointed I wasn’t able to see when it was on at the London Film Festival last year so I was looking for any opportunity to see this in the cinema when I came out. Thankfully, I was able to find a cinema near me showing it and I am so glad I was able to see it. This is an incredible piece of animation and would have been my personal choice for the Oscar this year.
Taking place in New York in the 1980s in a world of anthropomorphic animals, the film focuses on Dog who, feeling lonely, sees an advert for a robot friend and decides to order one. Once the Robot arrives, Dog and Robot become firm friends, spending the summer together going around Manhattan. At the end of summer, Dog and Robot go to the beach where Robot, having spent a prolonged period of time in the ocean, ends up rusting and is unable to move. When Dog leaves to get tools to fix Robot he isn’t allowed back to the beach, as it is closed until the following June. The film then follows Dog and Robot as they are separate from each other, Dog trying to make new friends and Robot dreaming about potential escapes while stuck on the beach. The main element that has been noted about this film is that there is no dialogue. Aside from some music, there is no spoken audio in the film, the story being told through the animation and the music. Now I am a fan of this type of storytelling, it’s part of why I enjoy Shaun the Sheep so much, but it has tended to be used for more lighthearted fare. Here, this style is used to tell a fairly deep story and craft the friendship between Dog and Robot. Even then, there’s so much more than just the story of Dog and Robot. The designs used for pretty much every character we see in the film gives them all a life and story that we just get hints of. The simplistic designs used for the animation work wonders in creating this life and creates a charming atmosphere throughout the film.
The animation also does a great job at crafting the world of New York in the 1980s. There is a bit of a fantasy quality to it in some scenes, seeing it from Robot’s perspective for the first time, the scale of everything being amplified and elements like street performers and even random pedestrians build into the world of the film. There is an idealised element to it, but it works in helping sell the friendship between Dog and Robot, especially during dream sequences where the fantastical element is amplified, mainly a dream inspired by The Wizard of Oz. Even the product placement we see in the film adds to the world as it creates a lived in quality and, even though it is a world of anthropomorphic animals, it adds to the verisimilitude of the film.
The use of the dream sequences also adds to the power of the film. Whenever we cut back to the beach from the dreams, there is a profound sense of tragedy, helping the audience feel a greater connection to Robot and getting more invested as you hope that Dog will be able to reach him. It is also clear that the dreams help provide an escape from the more horrific side of the world Robot sees when he’s trapped, such as with a group of rabbits, which only serves to make the friendship between Dog and Robot feel more powerful as we see that not everyone in this world would treat Robot with as much love and affection as Dog does.
What really works about the film is the focus it presents on friendship, not just in the moment but when you lose a connection. We see that, even when Dog and Robot are separated, the friendship that the two of them have has had a powerful effect on both of them. It highlights the increased loneliness that the two feel when they are alone but also the joy and life that they experience when they find new connections, such as Robot with a family of birds and Dog with a Duck he becomes friends with. These help to highlight the way friendships can help build the personalities of people, giving them a greater connection to the world and providing a new perspective on life. It is also used to highlight how negative breaking up a friendship can be, with this helping add to the poignancy and beauty that we experience at the end of the film.
The way the film uses music as well is brilliant. Aside from the excellent original music, there is a strong use of Earth, Wind and Fire’s September at key points in Dog and Robot’s friendship and, whilst it starts off as a fairly typical needle drop for a film set at this time, it soon becomes a deeply emotional element of the film. We hear Robot whistle it in his dreams and the use of the song at the end of the film creates one of the most moving scenes I’ve seen in a film in a long time.
Overall, I found Robot Dreams to be a beautiful cinema experience, for both the animation and the story. This is a film that knows how best to use imagery and music to tell a story and how you do not need dialogue to create characters you are invested in. I hope that I haven’t given too much away here as this is a film where it is best you go in as blind as possible and let yourself connect with the characters and get swept away in the beauty and life that is seen. This is a prime example of the brilliant work animation can do to create touching and heartfelt stories and is one I recommend you see as soon as you can.
My Rating: 5/5
Coogs Reviews 