Movie Review: Robots
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But by the time Rodney arrives to show his invention, Bigweld is gone, replaced by Ratchet (voice of Greg Kinnear), the new president of Bigweld industries. Ratchet doesn't want to help anyone. Pressured by his mother (voice of Jim Broadbent), he decides the company will no longer provide parts to fix old robots ("outmodes"). They will make money by making perfectly good robots feel bad about themselves so that they will order unnecessary upgrades. Their slogan will be, "Why be you when you can be new?"
So Rodney and his friends have to find a way to bring back Bigweld and make the world safe for the mutts and oddballs, especially the ones with a dream.
As often in animation, the actors provide pleasant but not very distinctive voices and the comedians steal the show. Williams, Brooks, and Jennifer Coolidge (as the appropriately-named "Aunt Fanny") are the highlights. But the star here is the design, as much a part of the story as the plot and the characters.
Families who enjoy this movie will also enjoy Monsters, Inc., Ice Age, and A Bug's Life. They will also enjoy the marvelous books by William Joyce, especially "Santa Calls," "Dinosaur Bob," "A Day with Wilbur Robinson" and "Rollie Pollie Olie". Older family members might like to read the play "R.U.R" by Karel Capek, who invented the term "robot."
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