5 stars
By Joseph Beyer | August 24, 2024
When the bold, award-winning animated film Robot dreams something to do with it, then old dogs can indeed learn many new tricks. Some tricks are even as complicated as dealing with the tensions of love and loss, the agony of modern loneliness, and the self-care that sometimes comes from leaving the past behind.
All of these aspects blend beautifully to create one of the most unique films of the year, an achievement that is all the more impressive when you consider the skill required to extract this nuance from a film that contains no dialogue (neither dog, nor human, nor machine).
Based on the graphic novel of the same name by American children’s book author Sara Varon. Robot dreams was brilliantly “written” and directed by Spanish animator and later creative Pablo Berger, who also serves as lead producer. His passion for the project, which took five years to produce, is evident in every frame.
The plot is remarkably simple and the impact equally remarkable. The story is set in 1980s New York when a very lonely DOG sees a late night commercial and orders a kit to build a ROBOT companion. Once the DOG activates the ROBOT, they become close and passionate friends, finding meaning and purpose for life in each other. Their connection is so joyful that it even spawns a disco-inspired song and dance that becomes their anthem.
Just when we feel like everything is suddenly OK in this imaginary world, their friendship is torn apart by the separation and DOG and ROBOT must find a way to reconnect or move on with their lives. And if you don’t think you might be close to tears of joy and sadness watching this all play out, just wait until you meet them.
DOG is calm, attentive and considerate towards his friend. ROBOT sees his purpose and his benefit in making DOG happy. Together, life is a dream. When they are unexpectedly separated, both suffer torment. Each desperately searches for the other and their journeys play out on the screen in real, imaginary and magical ways.
All this together creates a rich narrative that speaks volumes about humanity without a single word being spoken, and not a single Homo sapien character in it.
The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for an Oscar for Best Animated Film this year (among other international awards). Edgy distributor Neon secured the North American rights and is presenting Robot dreams in limited theatrical release before streaming on Apple TV+ this fall. I highly recommend you check it out, and I hope kids of all ages enjoy it as much as you do. The project is not rated for ages.
Visually fascinating in a very unique hand-drawn style, Robot dreams speaks in a universal way that anyone can understand, using body and facial language, musical interludes, and a mix of anthropomorphic cues. With characters that are intentionally genderless, audiences can give DOG and ROBOT whatever interpretation they feel, making it even more wonderful.
At a time when our entire world is grappling with the loss of connection, the story of this unlikely friendship across all barriers provides a cathartic edginess that feels like a real relief in the unforgiving world of Hollywood monotony.
