2023 Chicago International Film Festival Movie Review: Robot Dreams

Robot Dreams is a very sweet and heartwarming silent animated tale about a dog, a robot, and finding your person.

Based on the popular graphic novel by Sarah Varon, Robot Dreams is set in 1980s New York City somewhere in the East Village. We are introduced to Dog alone in his apartment playing Pong on Atari against himself. Yearning for a companion, he sees an advertisement on TV for the Amica 2000, a robot who instantly becomes your friend once assembled. Dog orders the Amica 2000, puts it together, and the two immediately become friends. They go rollerblading, dance, get hot dogs, go on walks. They are basically inseparable and could not be happier.

One day, Dog and Robot go to the beach together and are having a blast until they realize Robot’s battery is drained and he cannot move. Too heavy for Dog to carry by himself, Dog sprints into action and grabs tools and instructions to fix Robot, only to find that the beach has closed for the season and won’t open again for months. This leaves Robot incapacitated and alone on the beach and Dog without his best friend. The film then shows the proceeding months as they wait for the beach to open.

Robot Dreams takes place in a world with no people, only animals, and the occasional robot friend but they are animals and robots that do regular human activities. Animals of all kinds from lions to flamingos to raccoons go about living their lives in New York. They commute to work, go out to eat at restaurants, watch the New York Mets, and go through the rigmaroles of everyday life. This setup is fun and inventive and the world is so layered, it makes you want to revisit it and explore more and learn more about it.

The hand-drawn animation is stunning and looks like Varon’s comic came to life. The animators got creative with their animal designs. You know exactly what animal you are looking at, but there are unique twists to them that don’t make them look super realistic. The animators also didn’t forget to add small animal details like Dog’s tail going a mile a minute when he is happy or how an anteater’s tongue moves. The 1980s New York setting is detailed, colorful, and bright.

While being a silent film with no dialog, Dog and Robot is loaded with emotion. You’re happy when you see how happy Dog is, you get sad when you realize Dog can’t get Robot from the beach, and you get worried when a group of troublesome pigs encounter Robot with only bad things on their mind. It was a rollercoaster of emotions and at the very end of it, my heart was swooning. This is a beautiful movie about companionship and trying to find the right person in your life.

Robot Dreams does run longer than it needs to, however. At just over 100 minutes, the film could have easily been ten or fifteen minutes shorter, and it would have been just as effective emotionally. The scenes of Dog trying to find new companions to replace Robot and Robot’s dreams of being free from the beach felt repetitive and made the middle of the movie drag a little. The film had a great opening act and ended strong in the third act, but it stumbled in the second for me.

Robot Dreams is a silent animated film that features no dialog and only music, with a big portion of that music being Earth, Wind, and Fire. While it runs a little longer than it should, it’s a wonderful film that will slap a smile on your face that won’t leave until after the credits roll.

Robot Dreams played in the Spotlight category at the 2023 Chicago International Film Festival.

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