TL;DR – A warm winter hug while the winds blast all around you.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film.

Robot Dreams Review –

One of the many strengths of animation is how easier it is to translate across cultures and languages. There are a lot of examples, maybe most notably, that show that with sound localization, the skies are the limit. But what if not even the language was a barrier?

So, to set the scene, it is 1984 in New York, and Dog sits alone at night eating his microwaved meal. In his loneliness, he sees an ad for a companion robot, and phone orders it right away. One building montage that would put Ikea to shame later, and while pigeons watch, Robot is created. So, Dog takes Robot on a tour of the city, but things go wrong on a trip to the beach when Robot breaks down, and Dog can’t get to him.

To say that the animation in this film is stunning is selling it short. There is a beautiful flow to everything where you can get all these different types of animals to come together and feel like part of a whole. For example, in the opening minutes, we get a drumming octopus to create an opus out of plastic buckets and a slightly reluctant tortoise. You see this even more when they get to the beach, and you get to see everyone playing in the waves.

What sets this apart from most other animated films this year is that Robot Dreams does not have any real dialogue. Sure, there are a lot of squeaks and blips and a remarkable amount of bird song, but no talking. This makes every sound in the film so much more critical, and they understand that here. Every footstep, every beat of a drum, every needle drop has been considered and added with care. This is one of those films where the musical score soars and takes you away to a different world.

A lot of care has also gone into the world of design as they have worked very hard to locate the story in a particular place and at a specific time. It is still odd to see the Twin Towers in a movie like this, but it is the perfect locator for the story. I also liked that they took that extra time to get the tangible items that would have existed at that time into the film. Sure, they get the common TaB drink that everyone used to set up a movie in the 1980s. But they take it to the extreme with Jelly Beans and Chupa Chups and even animal-appropriate Star Wars figurines.

All of these touches with the music and the worldbuilding help ground the narrative that could have gotten out of hand with the animal setting and constant slips into alternate realities. The movie title is quite literal, as many moments are presented as genuine, but they are just Robot dreaming while they are stuck on the beach. All of this combines into a very interesting emotional vibe. Bittersweet is the closest that I can think of, but it does not quite capture what is going on. It is like when you have to walk during winter as the wind is blowing a gale, but you have put on your best sweater, and you are toasty and warm even as snow flows around you.

In the end, do we recommend Robot Dreams? Absolutely. This was a beautiful delight from start to finish. You are captivated by the world and the story, but primarily by two characters whose short time together had meaningful impacts on each other’s lives. Have you watched Robot Dreams?, let us know what you thought in the comments below. If you liked Robot Dreams, we would recommend to you The Wild Robot.

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Twitter Here, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

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Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of Robot Dreams
Directed by – Pablo Berger
Screenplay by – Pablo Berger
Based on – Robot Dreams by Sara Varon
Music by – Alfonso de Vilallonga
Edited by – Fernando Franco
Production/Distribution Companies – Arcadia Motion Pictures, Noodles Production, Les Films du Worso, RTVE, Movistar Plus+, BTeam Pictures, Wild Bunch & Madman Entertainment
Rating – Australia: PG; Canada: PG; Germany: 0; New Zealand: na; United Kingdom: PG; United States: PG-13