3 firm snouts facing upward for Robots on IMAX. I liked it very much. I really did. True to expectation, the computer-animated film created an amusing and fascinating world of robots and the many problems they face.
What I did not expect was yet another in a spate of animated films (following Monsters, Inc. and Shrek) cleverly critiquing corporate culture (the 4 Cs). Listen I know corporations are the bad guys in my world (that’s why I’m starting one, but that’s for another column), but since when did CEOs of corporation seeking profit become the most evil creatures imaginable?
Even more interesting than demonizing the pursuit of profit, this movie takes on the essence of the consumer culture: the idea that products and to a certain extent people are disposable and replaceable and inherently imperfect. The motto of Big Weld, the company taken over by the evil Ratchet CEO, is changed from “No matter what you’re made of, you can shine” to “why be you, when you can be new?” a slogan designed to stop people from fixing things (themselves) and change to buying new bodies–a not so subtle zing at cosmetic surgery.
The movie is filled with exciting whizzing and zooming and special effects that seem particularly intense in IMAX (I would have been perfectly happy with a regular screen version I think). The movie’s plot is completely predictable and the dialogue passable. But the notion of fixing things triumphing over throwing them away is a winner of theme, one that I am drawn towards.