'Robot Dreams' Review
“Robot Dreams” was an Academy Award nominee this past season for Best Animated Feature, and it won the Annie Award for Best Independent Animated Feature. NEON gave it a limited release to qualify at the end of 2023 and screened it in select theaters nationwide for one night just before the Oscars. Now, one of my favorite animated films of the past decade is finally getting a traditional release, beginning May 31st in New York City and expanding across the country throughout the rest of the summer.
Director Pablo Berger’s “Robot Dreams” is about animals who make-up society. It’s 1980’s Manhattan. Dog lives alone in an apartment. He wants a friend. So he orders a robot off of an infomercial on TV. Robot shows-up and Dog puts him together. They become friends and have a number of experiences. When they get to the beach, something happens that sets the next hour in motion.
“Robot Dreams” a moving film that’s so brilliant in how it didn’t need any dialogue to tell a compelling story. I love the depth in the themes of friendship, lifespans and who you can rely on in life.
The animation is lovely. It’s very detailed. There’s a romance section with some powerful elements. A portion with birds is heartwarming. Gut-punch moments have stayed with me for months and will continue to for a long time. And I will never hear Earth, Wind & Fire’s “September” the same way ever again.
