“Do you remember, the 21st night of September?”
Underground Spanish director Pablo Berger brings to life a relationship between a Dog and his Robotic Companion living in 1980s New York City. While also done in a semi-silent storytelling narrative, it truly is a realistic embodiment of our journey through friendship.
Robot Dreams follows DOG living a lonely life in Manhattan. One day, he decides to buy himself a robot companion. From there, DOG and ROBOT’s friendship starts to flourish with hits from the 80s. The summer passes by with it looking like the two becoming inseparable until DOG is forced to leave ROBOT behind at the beach one summer night. The two would then undergo separate journeys during their time apart. Will the two ever reunite?
Although the movie is a cartoon, being told through this charming, silent, and simple style, it doesn’t feel like it’s being catered to a very young audience or alienating a very mature one. It’s told in a melancholic tone that anyone can watch and enjoy. Also, the movie feels alive as there is always something happening in the background or etting. I am aware that this film was released last year with the rest of the 2023 film catalog and made it to this year’s Oscars. I cannot contain my excitement and admiration surrounding this film. As soon as I saw it, it quickly became one of my favorite films of the year and one of my favorites ever made. The message and themes behind this movie gripped me in a way that spoke to me personally. How in life, you’re not always going to make it by the end with the same person you started with, reach out to people more, and that sometimes to show our genuine care for a person, we have to let them go.
Overall, Robot Dreams is a genuinely well-crafted piece of art with simple characters, a relatable story, and messaging. While the animation style isn’t too eye-popping such as the Spider-verse movies, its simplicity is enough to keep audiences interested and not be too discarded. I believe it’s a movie people should go check out for themselves with either their friends or just themselves. “There is still happiness and good times ahead, and it’s best to face it with a smile.”
✭✭✭✭✭ (5 stars out of 5) – Robot Dreams (2024)
