“Robots” was one of this year’s CGI blockbusters. Like many of the CGI films that have been released, “Robots” scored big with the audience, providing a comic and kids view of a science fiction film. While movies like “Serenity” and “The Island” are bombing, resulting in the industry analysts saying no one wants to watch science fiction, movies like “Robots” scored big.

In its theatrical release, “Robots” was really a cute movie. However, I was much more engrossed in the production design. Building the world of the robots was a fascinating journey, and it resulted in a breathtaking production design. In fact, the biggest downside to the DVD is that you have to watch it on such a small screen. Even if you have a 150-inch plasma hi-def screen, it doesn’t hold a candle to watching it on a theatrical screen 20 feet tall.

I never saw “Robots” in the IMAX format, and I regret that now, especially after seeing how much the film lost in its compression to home video. Still, there’s a lot of great stuff in the movie to enjoy.

The film tells the story of a young robot named Rodney (Ewan McGregor), full of inspiration, who travels from the small town to Robot City in search of his dreams. Of course, the harsh city dashes his dream quickly and send him into the gutter. The savior of the city, Bigweld (Mel Brooks), is nowhere to be seen, and Rodney is left to help repair the old robots. When the traitorous Ratchet (Greg Kinnear) tries to take over the city, Rodney and his friends help to fight for what’s right.

The cast is a great ensemble. There are a few worthless casting choices, like Halle Berry as Cappy. However, the rest of the cast fits their parts well. Taking a snapshot from the Pixar formula, “Robots” relies on a group of rag-tag friends, featuring an excellent voice cast that includes Robin Williams, Drew Carey, Harlan Williams and Amanda Bynes. Jennifer Coolidge also steps in for some great laughs.

Probably one of the best voice cast members is Jim Broadbent as the evil Madam Gasket, who’s intent on gobbling up the outmoded robots and melting them down to scrap.

The “Robots” DVD is loaded with bonus features, which you’ve probably come to expect from a CGI film. There are two feature-length commentaries, one with director Chris Wedge and production designer William Joyce, and the other featuring the Blue Sky Studios technical gurus.

I’ve said before that one of the best things about “Robots” the film is the production design and the virtual sets. With both the techno-geeks in one commentary and the production designer in the other, there are plenty of great tidbits of technology to go around. It really makes you appreciate how much thought and effort goes into making a film like this work.

There are a couple deleted scenes, one which is really more of an extended scene. They’re decent, but nothing to write home about. Like most deleted scenes, it’s understandable why they were left out. A “Meet the Bots” interactive profile lets you tap in to text and interviews about each characters. There’s also a documentary about the entire filmmaking process that’s pretty extensive.

There are three desktop games and activities to occupy your time. The Fender Photo Shoot is a fun video trivia game that actually tests your knowledge a bit. The Robot Dance is the weakest of the three, featuring the dancing robot in different moves. Finally, the Invent-A-Bot game allows you to build a robot for yourself. It’s not a tremendous game, but it can be fun for kids.

The best features on this DVD are the original test film that was used to see if they could animate something like “Robots,” a sneak-peak at “Ice Age 2” that features that little rodent trying to hide an acorn in a glacier, a new animated short called “Aunt Fanny’s Tour of Booty” and a featurette on the music of the film starring the Blue Man Group. After watching this piece, it was interesting to go back and see how much of the Blue Man Group’s music was in the film.

Families will want to pick up a copy of this DVD for the kids. It’s a cute little film, and it definitely plays well to a family audience.



Specifications: Dolby 5.1 Digital Surround. DTS 5.1 Sound. Widescreen (1.85:1). French and Spanish language tracks. Spanish subtitles. English language subtitles for the hearing impaired.