ROBOT DREAMS

This animation was a big hit with critics, for whom it is a heart wrenching story about friendship.  So I am rather embarrassed to say that I wasn't that taken by it, to the point of almost nodding off during the middle section.

It's set in a 1980s New York inhabited by animals rather than humans. The main character is a dog (let's call him Dog) who is lonely, so he buys a robot companion (Robot).

They hit if off straightaway but their first visit to the beach ends badly when Robot loses power and is stranded there, where he has to stay until the beach is reopened next summer.

So we then get a series of episodes mainly comprising of Robot dreaming of being reunited with Dog, or of Dog either trying and failing to repair Robot or occupying himself some other way.

The ending is a major surprise in that Dog and Robot are not reunited.  

Instead Robot ends up in a scrapyard and gets repaired (in a fashion) by a new owner.  Meanwhile Dog buys himself a new robot companion.  Although Dog and Robot would prefer to get back together they end up having to settle for their new relationships.

I wanted more comic invention and more of a story arc to engage me, given that the animation style is basic (with a colour palette of mainly browns and greys) and that there is no dialogue.

But as I say I am clearly in a minority and must therefore suffer from some inability to feel empathy. 

RATING: x Curb Your Enthusiasm