It's not often that I come across a film with a nearly flawless tone and style that can keep a person like me engaged all the way through. Surprisingly enough, the film that managed to be intoxicatingly happy but also depressing and bleak is a film that stars an anthropomorphic dog who builds a robot and has fun adventures with him all throughout New York City. You may think i’m making this up, but no, this is a real movie. The film is called Robot Dreams, a 2D animated film made by a Spain-based director, Pablo Berger. It is based on the graphic novel by Sara Varon. Berger was known for making live-action movies that most general audiences have never heard of, such as “Blancanieves” and “Abracadabra,” but was set to create an animated adaptation of Robot Dreams after reading Sara Varon’s novel in 2010. Needless to say, what transpired was a movie that is charming and cute but can surprisingly rip your heart out when you least expect it to.
Set in 1980s New York in a world entirely of anthropomorphic animals, a Dog lives alone in an apartment and wishes for more company to make his life more exciting. When an advertisement on TV for a robot companion catches his eye, he orders The Robot, puts it together, and has a great time with his new buddy as they have adventures throughout New York. Sadly, one day at the beach, The Robot becomes immobile after rusting from the water. The Dog tries to carry him home, but The Robot remains stuck. With the beach closed until next year, The Dog has no choice but to patiently wait until that time to get back to the beach and rescue his friend. Meanwhile, the robot finds new friends and foes who meet him while he continues to remain motionless. At the same time, The Dog tries to make new friends in his life while waiting patiently to be back to the beach to get The Robot back.
The Story is so irresistibly cute and happy, but it's not afraid to be heartbreakingly tragic when the film calls for it. The film takes place sometime in 1980s New York. There is nostalgia to be had with many accommodations, such as rotary phones and 80s versions of familiar products that further imply the period. However, it does not do it to the point that it distracts the overall narrative. The overall tone is consistently charming, and it is hard for me not to have a big, happy grin on my face. The feature does not have one word of dialogue from any character, as this film relies on emotional expression to portray the film’s themes and ideas. The film can also become very somber and heartbreaking, which caught me off guard and made me feel emotions I wouldn’t expect a charming, simple movie would ever be able to do. If I did have anything that I think could have been done better, it would been the times when the film would do dream sequences. Granted, they make the film more unpredictable, but at the same time, sometimes the dreams in the film make it seem like the situations are really happening. When I found out that a particular situation was just a dream, it felt like a cop-out as a way for the film to say “gotcha” and it happens pretty often in the film. Trust me, that is a tiny issue. The rest of everything else in this story is nearly flawless, as it gave me a story full of emotions without the need for dialogue, which, in my opinion, is an excellent accomplishment.
The Characters are not defined by celebrity voices or talented voice actors. This film is silent and is made more to be expressed by raw emotion alone. The Dog character simply known as Dog is the primary emotional driver of the story. His rather mundane living situation hits close to home and makes it easy to root for him to bring some zest into his life. The Robot is also a fun character as he acts like a curious child discovering the world for the first time. He’s kind and always finds good in his situation. Still, he often gets his emotions challenged, leading to some complicated feelings that he’ll need to face whether he wants to or not. The dog and the robot have fantastic chemistry. They can communicate emotions of excitement and heartbreak to each other to further their interesting dynamic even when they aren’t physically together in the same area. The rest of the characters are mainly there to support the main ones; some come and go very quickly, but they are still fun to watch, even if they have little time on screen. Even though the dog and the robot steal the spotlight, their relationship with each other that makes this movie stand out.
The Animation is interesting because it looks like TV-quality animation on the surface. That is alright, though, cause even with its more simplified art style, it still manages to be an adorable and colorful look into a world filled with anthropomorphic animals. Since this is a dialogue-less film, the character animation had to be as expressive and alive as possible to communicate the characters' emotions. Even with their simple designs, the characters come alive thanks to their postures and how their eyes communicate complex emotions. The characters have so much personality, whether they are robots or animals. They are easily identifiable without even having to say a word. The backgrounds do a lot to communicate mood and create an environment out of a familiar New York state and its different locations such as The Beach, New York City, or other places around the state. When everything is happy, the colors come to life with vibrance throughout. When everything is somber, everything can feel a bit darker, signaling emotional pressure that is hard to escape. Everything feels alive, and the character animations and the backgrounds do a fantastic job of creating a place from nothing, full of character.
The Music creates moods that will make the audience feel delighted, depressed, or both. The score isn’t as grand as in an American Hollywood production. It is a mellow but peppy score filled with pianos and other smaller-sounding tracks. Sometimes, the music borrows from popular songs to signify the time period. The number one example is the song “September” by the band Earth, Wind, and Fire. It is fun and represents the theme of the Dog and the Robot being best friends, as the song means a lot to them. When the music isn’t playing, the film sometimes relies on silence and well-chosen sound effects to create a sense of emptiness that effectively works. The melodies are simple but also very effective. They prove that the soundtrack can still achieve a lot, even with very little.
Robot Dreams is a slice-of-life story with beautiful animation, endearing characters, and storytelling moments that are irresistibly cute and charming but can also turn a corner and punch the audience in the gut with sustaining emotional depth. I had a smile on my face from beginning to end, except for when the film needed to be emotional and thoughtful. It may be too early to tell, but this film is a contender for one of the best animated features I’ve ever seen. This movie makes me glad that I am a movie reviewer and an animation lover. This film is a perfect example of how animation can be a medium to tell stories without dialogue or big-name celebrities. It's the kind of film that makes me wish there were more like this one. It is meant to be fun and make you think while caring about characters with raw emotional depth despite being drawings on a screen. I love this movie, and it may just be one of the best-animated films that came out in a year full of excellent animated features.
(Final Grade: A)