Film Forum

A tender, affecting tale of friendship, the animated ROBOT DREAMS is set in a 1980s NYC populated solely by pigs, birds, cats, and other animal clans. Yet Dog leads a lonely existence, eating TV dinners in his East Village walkup. When he sees an infomercial for a robot-building kit, he seizes the chance for the perfect city buddy: Dog and Robot eat hot dogs together on 5th Avenue, roller skate in Central Park, venture to Coney Island — to the groove of their song, Earth, Wind & Fire’s “September.” But when Robot gets stranded at the beach, Dog is helpless to rescue him; and, as the seasons change, they both endure a separation that will change them forever.

2023     102 MIN.     SPAIN / FRANCE     NEON

Reviews

CRITIC’S PICK. “THE OSCAR-NOMINATED CHARMER…A SILENT WONDER THAT SAYS EVERYTHING ABOUT LOVE. Set in 1980s Manhattan, Pablo Berger’s all-ages, wordless wonder of a cartoon…Berger, who also adapted the screenplay, expands Sara Varon’s short graphic novel of the same name into a minor epic…It’s marvelous how the film is able to sketch so much soul from such simple lines. The characters are drawn bluntly, just as they are in the book. Yet Berger, directing his first animated feature, already boasts the creativity of a master.”
– Amy Nicholson, The New York Times

“BREATHTAKING. UNIQUELY MIRACULOUS, EFFORTLESSLY HEARTBREAKING AND LIFE-AFFIRMING. Expands on its source material with cinematic cunning, from a nod to Buster Keaton’s most famous stunt to a Busby Berkeley-style musical number…the details with which a bygone era of New York is rendered are astonishing, from the fashion of the populace to the ambiance of the First Avenue subway station, to the fact that Dog and Robot rent THE WIZARD OF OZ from Kim’s Video.”
– Rob Humanick, Slant

“WHIMSICAL AND GENTLY EXISTENTIAL. A sweetly wistful little movie that, like a good pop song, expresses something profound without wasting a word.”
– Jake Coyle, Associated Press

“WONDERFUL. Beautifully detailed. Bolstered by the resilience of New York City, this is one of the loveliest movies you will see this year, animated or otherwise.”
– Tomris Laffly, The Wrap

“Grade: A.  A delightfully bittersweet animated wonder that embodies the medium’s most purely cinematic qualities. With its soulful tin heart, ROBOT DREAMS moves us to appreciate the fortune of having a precious pal.”
– Carlos Aguilar, Indiewire

“Stirring and delicate…[Berger] subverts the common expectations for robot movies through savvy inventiveness, winking references, and an unfettered heart.This is a vibrant, rich film whose clean line and bright hues pop across a New York canvas, managing to succinctly capture the visual and sonic verve of the city… its radical sweetness arises from a wellspring of empathy.”
– Robert Daniels, The Playlist