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Robot Dreams Movie Review

Robot Dreams is a 2023 Spanish animated tragicomedy film directed by Pablo Berger. It is one of the greatest animated movies of the decade.

In 1980s New York City, Dog assembles Robot as a companion, and they become best buddies. On a Labor Day outing to Coney Island, Robot’s metal parts rust, and he can’t move. The two eventually fail to reconnect. This film came out of nowhere and ended up receiving a Best Animated Feature nomination. Upon finally seeing it, I agree with its critical assessment and I find it to be the best animated film of 2023 without a doubt.

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Pablo Berger made a name for himself with his silent drama ‘Blancanieves’. That movie was incredible and it showed his knack at truly cinematic storytelling with no words spoken or required. He repeats that achievement once again with Robot Dreams, which is his first animated effort and hopefully a sign of more to come.

This movie should be a textbook example of how to properly execute a simple premise. This story sounds simplistic on surface, but the end result is a film that moved me to tears in its final scene, which is a testament to Berger’s storytelling prowess. This is a timeless tale about friendship, but one that is actually audaciously honest about how human relationships work in the real world. It was unexpected to find so much humanity and realism from a movie about a dog and his robot companion, but their relationship is very much rooted in reality.

The film tells us that time is our worst enemy and friend. As time goes by, old grievances are still wounds, but they become more bearable. The movie truthfully posits that life is unpredictable and so many different circumstances can lead you and your friend or significant other on a different path or timeline, which makes the relationship unfeasible. It was a harsh, but impressively honest take on human relationships and how time affects them.

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The first act is all about Dog and Robot’s beautiful friendship and it’s the most slice-of-life part of the film. The movie is set in early 80s NYC and it transported you to that place and time period effortlessly well due to an incredible soundtrack and gorgeous animation. Earth, Wind & Fire’s September serves as the leitmotif of the entire movie and it was perfectly utilized as a time capsule in and of itself. The movie achieved genuine emotional resonance in its usage of this song, especially in that final sequence.

The overall score was fantastic and the film’s editing and pacing are terrific as well. One of the technical highlights is its visual presentation. It features hand-drawn animation that is colorful in aesthetic and intricate in detail. The character designs are simple, but elegant. The NYC cityscape was breathtaking and the movie’s world building was incredible – I genuinely felt as if I just went to the city myself. The beaches, the parks, the buildings, street life and various activities inside or outside – it all felt very much lived in and oh so charming.

The movie benefits from excellent humorous gags and a great utilization of sounds and visuals to tell the story with no dialogue spoken. Every sound is very evocative and unique to its surroundings while the situations that the characters get themselves into range from humorous to suspenseful all the way to genuinely tragic. Robot is the childlike part of the duo as he has so much joy for the world and others. Dog is the more capable, but lonelier one. The two shared a truly timeless dynamic that brings to mind classic movies like ‘Wallace and Gromit’. They are instantly iconic animated creations, simple and yet believable creations full of life and wonder.

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Whereas the first act was so cozy and charming, the second act introduced a conflict. What could have admittedly been just a sweet short film was extended into a feature film that suddenly went from just being a charming family flick to a beautiful ode to friendship. The second act consisted of the titular dreams as Robot imagined the reunion with Dog in all the different scenarios. There scenes were uniformly touching, though at times slightly repetitious. But the third act introduced new companions for both of our protagonists, leading to lives of lost opportunities, but lives with a renewed sense of hope and purpose.