ROBOT DREAMS

The utterly charming and wonderfully animated Robot Dreams effortlessly sweeps you along from one anecdotal scene to the next, until the film cheats you out of the uplifting finale you want.

Movies don't need dialogue to draw emotion from the audience, as the entirely wordless Robot Dreams proves. Within minutes you'll find yourself rooting for the leading dog and his best friend, a robot who with gusto savours every new experience in the world.

Tradiationallly 2D-animated in a clear, colourful style, the picture works best in its first half hour, which sees the two protagonists enjoying each other's company in a variety of settings, from a laugh-out-loud rollerskating moment in New York's Central Park to a day at the beach.

It's at the latter location that Robot Dreams takes a dramatic turn, as the robot becomes immobile and is heartbreakingly stranded at the beach until it re-opens the following summer. From hereon in the picture loses focus as it breaks into two seperate, anecdotal story strands: one which sees the robot dreaming of escape, the other chronicling the dog's efforts to find new friends.

Each scene is fun and contains some inventive animation, yet the sum of the parts is not enough to sustain your attention throughout. Which wouldn't be too worrisome if Robot Dreams had built up to a tearful, emotional, feelgood finale.

Alas the picture chooses a denouement that teases the perfect ending, only to pull the rug out from under it in favour of a more nuances, far less satisfying ending. Sometimes to be successful you just have to give the audience what it wants and in its finale Robot Dreams frustratingly doesn't.

release: 2023

director: Pablo Berger

starring: -