RECOMMENDED MOVIE: "ROBOTS"
For those of you who like to think "The Incredibles" was a right-wing movie, I give you "Robots". Not only is it a cute little animated movie meant primarily for kids, but with enough puns and references to keep adults amused... it also contains a nice left-wing message.
The protagonist, voiced by Ewan McGregor, leaves his humble home in Rivet Town to sell inventions in Robot City. Big Weld, the Robot City leaver voiced by Mel Brooks, has been replaced by the evil, corporate money-minded Ratchet (Greg Kinnear). The movie's theme, at least as I see it: the only way to change the way things are being run by corporate greed is for all of us to rise up and do something about it.
So, what do the robots do when they rise up? Check out the movie and see for yourself! And don't worry, the involvement of Robin Williams doesn't detract from the film!
3 Comments:
I saw this film last week and thought it brilliant, better than Ice Age. My partner thought it didn't top that film, though. He found Robots predictable at points, mediocre even, whereas I found it utterly charming. I thought Robin Williams made the film, especially the Britney dance and the whole transvestite robot sequence. Big Mama with the huge ass was also very, very funny and the moral behind the story: be yourself, corporates are bad, follow your dreams was, as these things always are, a great moralistic backdrop at odds with the fact that films like these emerge from huge corporations and are aggressively marketed on everything from lunch boxes to shoes. I find it interesting that rebellious, subversive cultural virii can still surface despite completely inhospitable conditions in creative terms.
While I might agree that "Robots" was a bit formulaic, I still could not keep myself from smiling all the way through.
One of my favorite parts of the "Robots" theater experience was the brief short subject/preview (or whatever it was) featuring the little squirrel creature from "Ice Age". The scene reminded me of Roger Rabbit using the Suck-O-Lux vacuum in the cartoon at the beginning of "Who Framed Roger Rabbit". (That's a movie I love, not only for that scene but also for the dueling pianos, with Daffy and Donald. Being a speech therapist, I am particularly fond of both of those characters... !)
I agree that Robin Williams was very good in "Robots". Actually, I think he has done rather well in his recent films, i.e. "Insomnia", "Death To Smoochy" and "One Hour Photo". When he isn't playing a role designed to tug at heart strings, I think he does fine work!
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