Reviews

Robots is probably the most technically amazing computer-animated movie I've ever seen. When you stack it up against a movie like the original Toy Story, it's astounding how far they've come in about 10 years. There is a scene were a drum of tiny ballbearings falls over, and each ballbearing is rendered perfectly. Amazing.

The voice acting in Robots is just fine, with the ensemble cast providing a nice mix of auditory delights(although I saw Jim Broadbent's (the dad in Bridget Jones') name in the credits and was unable to identify him in the movie. Greg Kinnear did a fine job and Ewan MacGregor was also decent. The biggest question mark was Robin Williams. Before the movie I found myself wondering how he could top the 'Genie' performance in Aladdin. The answer is he doesn't, but his character is responsible for a few VERY funny bits and I think he pulled it off well.

Now humor in the movie... It was clear to me that at least 80% of the adults in the audience weren't getting many of the references. If you are old enough/smart enough to catch these, they are hilarious. My favorite being when Rodney is repairing Bigweld's head and Bigweld is singing 'Daisy' very slowly. Priceless.

All in all a great movie, and I also suspect this movie will improve with subsequent viewings. Where a Shark's Tale just becomes tiresome after one viewing, I am looking forward to viewing this movie again.

Lastly, my 6 year-old son LOVED the movie. We saw it in IMAX and it completely blew him away.

Just watched this again with my kids (40th Anniversary Edition).

Man, what a great show. Other than Van Dyke's atrocious accent, fabulous!

It's definitely true that the Sherman Bros. peaked with Mary Poppins. Each song is a classic, and the tunes are as fresh today as they were when I first heard them as a young child.

I often wonder what has happened to the two actors that played the children in Mary Poppins. The added features on the DVD are a treat as well. They offer up a unique inside look at the creation of such a movie.

This movie tries hard, but ultimately misses in most key areas. It has some funny concepts, and some great cameos, but it just doesn't ever come off that well. Take a contemporary of this movie, Dodgeball, and it's like night and day (Actually I can't believe I'm saying that). For example, the scene where all of the anchormen from the five local stations are getting ready for (and eventually are participating in) a brawl. It just falls flat. Frankly, we were very surprised at how unfunny it all was. Again, things just seemed to 'miss'. That said, we didn't feel cheated, we just didn't feel as entertained as we like to be when spending $25. My wife and I laughed out loud at Dodgeball, but not so much as a giggle escaped our lips after watching Anchorman today.