Mi Amigo Robot

Nominated for Best Animated Feature at the upcoming Academy Awards, Robot Dreams is an achingly bittersweet story about our intrinsic need for connection & companionship while also highlighting the several meaningful relationships we make, cherish, lose & move on from while journeying through the varying seasons of what we call life. Though the story is slightly drawn out and repetitive in its course, the simple animation, sincere emotions & wordless storytelling makes this Spanish-French tragicomedy a worthy sit that speaks directly to the soul, strikes a heartfelt chord and aptly portrays the painful absurdities of fate.

Robot Dreams is a beautiful and heartwarming story that doesn't shy away from tugging at the heart strings. The animation, while simple, is great and features some very memorable shots and scenes. There is no dialogue in the film so most of the emotions, especially from the robot, is communicated entirely through mouth shapes. It is really hard to put into words how much heart is communicated in those scenes, and it doesn't really shine through in the trailer.

There is an underlying tragedy and sadness to the story though. For every heartwarming feel-good moment, you get an equally sad one, with one in particular having been downright soul-crushing to me. It's not a depressing movie by any means, but I did tear up multiple times.

In the end, it left me with a bittersweet, hopeful feeling and the thought that even if you, your life, or the people in it can never go back to being the way they were, there is still happiness and good times ahead, and it's best to face it with a smile.

The movie touches moving, universal themes such as: the power of connection, the essence of knowing someone who helps you discover the world with new eyes, and the painful absurdities of fate. The animation has beautiful details, rich in color and details, delightfully lit. It's amazing that such a simple style of animation can be so deep and intricate.

The story is told without any spoken words and in a beautiful minimalist animation, but yet it brings forward such complex emotions. I felt loneliness, excitement, despair, hope, and tears from my heart. In the end, it is making us reflect on our own experiences, reminding us to appreciate the relationships we have had and we will have.

A thoroughly grown-up movie that has something important to say to children too, and a wistful work of animated art.

Now, I wish I had a robot friend.

I wish all children's films were remotely close to what Pablo Berger has achieved with his animated debut.

A film that manages to be enjoyable for both children and adults. A work that will undoubtedly grow with the younger viewer, since its true story is hidden between the lines.

A superb handling of visual humor, along with some dramatic shots to make them poster and that tear you apart.

At times it doesn't work for me and I feel it gets repetitive or stalls certain sequences too long, time that could have been used to explore a certain character at the end or other tangents, but when, it works, damn, it knows where to play. I wish this animation would come back to the big studios in North America.

I love you crocodile boy.

The characters are super cute. Despite not having any dialogues, it's able to capture a lot of charm about them.

However, this movie is clearly a short story concept idea that was forcibly stretched to 1 hour and 43 minutes.

It's cute, but if you want excitement, this movie isn't it. I feel this is one of those movies you would watch at midnight with less distraction/to go to sleep.

Kids may not get it, but this movie is clearly a symbolism/message/made that people come and go in life (ie: the birds/family); or if you're in a first relationship that you can't get over with (ie: 500 Days of Summer)

The actions of the dog can be pretty frustrating to watch.

Overall, it's a cute "short film" that is pretty overstretched with some mundane scenes; you can interpret the movie to a deeper meaning; if you also live in New York/love New York or love the song 'Earth, Wind & Fire - September' then this movie is for you.