Susan Granger’s review of “Robots” (20th Century-Fox)
Once upon a time in Rivet Town, the Copperbottoms (voiced by Stanley Tucci and Dianne Wiest) assembled a bright young son named Rodney (voiced by Ewan McGregor). Rodney grew up idolizing Big Weld (voiced by Mel Brooks), a brilliant inventor who never shuts the gate on new ideas, encourages those around him to believe “You can shine, no matter what you’re made of” and advises them to “Look around for a need and then fill it.” But Rodney’s dream to work with Big Weld is thwarted by the evil Ratchet (voiced by Greg Kinnear) and his greedy mother (voiced by Jim Broadbent) who want everyone to buy a shiny new upgrade, condemning Rusties (old, obsolete robots) to the chop shop. Can Rodney and his metalhead friends (voiced by Halle Berry, Robin Williams, Drew Carey, Amanda Bynes, Jennifer Coolidge) prevail? Director Chris Wedge (“Ice Age”), co-founder of the White Plains-based Blue Sky Studios, the award-winning digital animation company, has collaborated with children’s book illustrator-author William Joyce (TV’s “Rolie Polie Olie”). Their inventive characters are fun to watch and, for a juvenile audience, there are moral/ethical lessons to be learned, culminating in a musical finale that’s a fusion of jazz and funk, appropriately called “junk.” Despite his co-star billing as a scrounger, Robin Williams steals the show with his rendition of “I’m Singin’ in the Oil.” Sad to say, however, the biggest laughs are elicited by ro-bodily function jokes, along with a few off-color comments that are oddly inappropriate in a family-friendly context. Also, at times, the mechanical pace could definitely use a lube job. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Robots” cranks out with a colorful, clanky 7. Nuts and dolts – yes – but wonderbot, it’s not.
