Robot Dreams

Review: In my ongoing quest to watch as many of this year’s Oscar nominated films as I could my most recent stop was ‘Robot Dreams.’ A film set in in ‘80s New York about a lonely dog who finds a friend in a robot, this film is extremely visually pleasing. It’s an accurate depiction of loneliness and the importance of friendship that manages to convey it’s message without a single world being spoken throughout the film. Typically, this would be a turnoff for me, however, the clever use of music and other sounds makes it less noticeable than you may think. Spoiler Warning: My main quarrel with the movie was with the narrative itself. The ending greatly upset me. I understand (or at least like to think I do) what the filmmakers were trying to convey and why the two main characters didn’t reunite, but I personally would’ve enjoyed it more if they did. This honestly knocked the movie down a couple points in my rating.

High: Great visuals which lead to beautiful scenery and also the hilarity and enthusiasm that can only be found in animated characters.

Low: Other than the ending (see above), my main concern with this movie was the runtime. At a very modest 102 minutes, it is by no means too long, but I do think it could’ve been 10-15 minutes shorter.

Rating: 6/10