ROBOT DREAMS: 4 STARS. “tells the story with images, no dialogue necessary.”
LOGLINE: Set in 1980s Manhattan, this animated film sees a lonely dog build a robot companion. Set to a soundtrack of blaring boomboxes and Alfonso de Vilallonga’s jazz piano score, the two bond instantly as they explore New York City’s graffitied streets and attractions. They are inseparable until one Labour Day while sightseeing at Coney Island, when Robot’s metal parts begin to rust. Can their friendship survive this new development?
CAST: Written and directed by Pablo Berger, based on the 2007 graphic novel of the same name by Sara Varon.
REVIEW: An odd couple, buddy flick, “Robot Dreams” is a lyrical study of loneliness, loss and the ties that bind. Presented without dialogue, it’s a tender, if unconventional, relationship drama between a Dog and a Robot, that gets the job done with unassuming but beautiful visuals. The film’s look is unpretentious, but the simplicity is deceptive.
Director Pablo Berger fills the screen with surreal 80s homages to NYC. Octopus drummers busk on the street, while punks populate alleyways and a magical snowman takes Dog bowling. It’s a magical world, a colorful background that echoes the spirit of artistic freedom that 80s NYC embodies. It’s there that Dog and Robot learn and grow about life, and discover some hard truths about friendship.
Their nonverbal performances harken back to the days of silent movies. Like an animated Laurel and Hardy, Dog and Robot tell the soulful story with images, no dialogue necessary.
Younger audience members should enjoy “Robot Dreams’s” animation and characters, but there is a depth to the story that will strike adults differently. As an allegory for evolving relationships, it touches on grown up themes of finding a place in the world for yourself, that may fly over the heads of the kids but should resonate with older members of the audience, particularly in light of the post-pandemic loneliness epidemic.
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