Robot Dreams: 'utterly charming' animated feature is 'laced with comedy'
The film follows the relationship between a lonely dog and the robot he builds for company

"Robot Dreams" is a largely silent cartoon from the Spanish director Pablo Berger, and though it doesn't have the production values of an animation by the likes of Pixar or Dreamworks, "it will capture your heart", said Deborah Ross in The Spectator.
Based on a graphic novel by Sara Varon, it is set in the 1980s in a New York populated by anthropomorphic animals. Our hero is a lonely dog called Dog, who spends his evenings in his apartment eating miserable microwaveable meals and watching TV. One night, he sees an advert for a "build-your-own-robot", and orders one. Once constructed, Robot proves "curious, kind, thrilled by everything", and "devoted to Dog".
The film is beautifully made – "every frame offers a detail that didn't have to be there but is, whether it's the cloud of red dust that rises every time anyone opens a bag of Cheetos, or the adverts on the subway". And though it could be shorter, it's utterly charming and so moving that I found myself welling up.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Delightfully animated, the film is "laced with comedy, tenderness" and "sweetness", said Cath Clarke in The Guardian. Arguably, it is a bit too "soft-hearted", but still, I defy anyone to watch its "final moments without a lump in the throat".
The film's evocation of "body-popping, boombox-blaring, graffiti-strewn New York" in the 1980s will surely give many adults "a Proustian rush", said Tom Shone in The Sunday Times. But I wonder if Robot Dreams will appeal to many children. Under-12s "are not much inclined to melancholy meditation on the transitoriness of human relationships"; certainly my ten-year-old was not impressed. "It's too everyday, too slice-of-life," was the verdict.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Can US tourism survive Trump's policies?
Today's Big Question The tourist economy is 'heading in the wrong direction'
-
September's books tell of friendship in middle age, teachers versus fascists, and Covid psychosis
the week recommends September books include Angela Flournoy's 'The Wilderness,' Randi Weingarten's 'Why Fascists Fear Teachers' and Patricia Lockwood's 'Will There Ever Be Another You'
-
'Total rat eradication in New York has been deemed impossible'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
6 blooming homes for gardeners
Feature Featuring a greenhouse in Illinois and 13 raised garden beds in New Mexico
-
The Great Art Fraud: a 'riveting' tale of a disgraced art dealer
The Week Recommends BBC2 documentary explores extraordinary story of 'class-A grifter' charged with fraud
-
The Roses: Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch star in black comedy reboot
The Week Recommends 'Acidly enjoyable' remake of the 1980s classic features a warring couple and toxic love
-
Film reviews: The Roses, Splitsville, and Twinless
Feature A happy union devolves into domestic warfare, a couple's open marriage reaps chaos, and an unlikely friendship takes surprising turns
-
Music reviews: Laufey, Deftones, and Earl Sweatshirt
Feature "A Matter of Time," "Private Music," and "Live Laugh Love"
-
Woof! Britain's love affair with dogs
The Explainer The UK's canine population is booming. What does that mean for man's best friend?
-
Millet: Life on the Land – an 'absorbing' exhibition
The Week Recommends Free exhibition at the National Gallery showcases the French artist's moving paintings of rural life
-
Thomasina Miers picks her favourite books
The Week Recommends The food writer shares works by Arundhati Roy, Claire Keegan and Charles Dickens