Robot Dreams
Year: 2023
Rating: PG-13
Length: 103 minutes / 1.72 hours
I first heard of Robot Dreams (2023) when it was nominated for Best Animated Feature at the Oscars. When I looked into it, I learned that there is no spoken dialogue in this film. This creative decision is always intriguing to me (almost as much as the one-shot technique) because it requires emphasizing body language and other “show, don’t tell” techniques in filmmaking. For this reason alone, I wanted to see it. What I got out of it was a somewhat philosophical treatise on relationships.
While the animation in Robot Dreams is crisp, it’s not trying to do anything extraordinary here. And while having most of the characters as animals or other non-human beings was also a creative decision, the only thing I got out of it was a few jokes tied to the characteristics of these animals. And ultimately, I think the lack of dialogue in this movie was right at the edge of being too artsy as it seemed to leave out a few details that would have been better understood if they were spoken.
Despite some of these weaknesses, the strength of Robot Dreams is in its message. Even if it starts with the idea that you can “buy” friends, Robot Dreams handles some tough concepts like loneliness, rejection, and moving on. While most people want relationships (romantic, or otherwise) to last, it’s not always achievable. We bear the scars of broken relationships, even if we still have fond memories of our time together. Each individual we share life with contributes something to our personality that we then carry into our next relationship. What’s most important is realizing that an ended relationship may not be entirely the fault of either side, but just the result of bad timing.
A deep message about relationships without ever saying a word, I give Robot Dreams 3.5 stars out of 5.
1/2
