"I sat in my seat for 90 minutes enthralled by the look of the film and laughing continually at the endlessly clever jokes. Robots is wonderful family entertainment." Mike McGranaghan, AISLE SEAT "Robots is brilliant and warm family fun! The animation is eye-poppingly beautiful!" Emily Blunt, BLUNT REVIEW "Finding a movie that parents and children find equally entertaining is a rare gem, but Robots definitely shines." Stefan Halley HERO REALM "A frolicsome and endlessly creative animated feature." Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat SPIRITUALITY AND HEALTH "Futuristic cityscapes animated to cutting-edge perfection and a narrative paced like a well-oiled machine." Jeanne Aufmuth PALO ALTO WEEKLY

"Like Finding Nemo, this is a movie that is a joy to behold entirely apart from what it is about." Roger Ebert CHICAGO SUN-TIMES "....clever writing, ingenious throwaway sight gags, in-jokes galore, good messages and cute characters" Laura Clifford REELING REVIEWS "A gem of pacing, humor and fun... for those of you keeping score, that's exactly how a movie should be made." David Foucher EDGE BOSTON "That Robin Williams sure is something else! He is the perfect goofball sidekick to the soft-spoken, thoughtful Ewan McGregor in this delightful adventure." Jeanne Kaplan KAPLAN VS KAPLAN "...innocent, charming, colorful and vibrant, and made all the more rich by a narrative plunge that engages audiences of several ages" David Keyes CINEMAPHILE

The Inside Story Parents will have plenty to rejoice about with the release of the 'G' rated "Robots whose season will carry it through the Easter 2005 break and into the end of first term school holidays. Helmed by Academy Award® winning Director Chris Wedge who also happens to be a key executive at Blue Sky Studios, the company who produced the wonderful animated tale "Ice Age", "Robots" is a fabulous kaleidoscopic feast for the eyes and an inspiring tale for youngsters with a strong message. 'Follow your dream. Never give up!' So which came first, the chicken or the egg? In the case of "Ice Age" and "Robots" the idea for "Robots" came along first but it was "Ice Age" that made it to the big screen first. "There have been many movies with robots, many of them science fiction, but Bill Joyce and I wanted to create something different", Wedge says, "a whimsical, colorful world of mechanical people." "I once told a friend the thing that would make me happiest would be the chance to design an entire world," says Executive Producer William Joyce. "And with "Robots" I got the opportunity to do just that." It's history that "Ice Age" was a smash hit with cinemagoers both young and old so did the experience Wedge and his team gained on that film provide a leg-up when it came to making "Robots"? "Robots is a far more complex film than Ice Age," says Wedges Co-director Carlos Saldanha. "The story, characters, setting, everything, was on another level versus what we had done before. With ICE AGE, we had vast areas colored white in the background with only three principal characters; with "Robots" we created a massive, multi-leveled city and many more characters. And each of these characters has tremendous detail, like little bits of rust or chipped paint." To be expected, there are some pretty clever 'characters' in "Robots", so have a guess where the team researched the film. Amongst other places, Junkyards! Joyce, who is also the Production Designer explained he and Wedge, "researched ideas and concepts at junkyards, factories, second hand stores, even his own kitchen, where he found inspiration from waffle irons and a meat grinder. We visited places that were machine-oriented." One exceptional point about the film is its 'look'. These robots are, in many cases, just like humans, showing their age. A little rust here, a few dents and wear and tear in their joints. The colorful and bright appearance of the film is thanks to "Blue Sky's proprietary technology, the cornerstone of which is its ray tracing renderer, CGI Studio ™. The renderer, the fastest and most advanced of its type, allowed the filmmakers to manipulate their animated environments as if they were working with real lights on a real set, working with materials that behaved the way they do in the 'real' world." But for all the wizardry, there's more to making a film than just technology. You still need a good storyline and more importantly, the right voice cast. There's certainly a lot of heart in the story "Robots" and, some very good laughs thanks to veteran screenwriters Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel the comedy writing team whose work includes "City Slickers" and "Splash". "We had a great time working on the relationship between Rodney and his father, how Rodney leaves home, with his dad's blessing, to pursue his dreams," says Lowell Ganz. "That material was partly based on our own experiences leaving New York and going to California to become writers. Rodney's trip to Robot City to fulfill his dreams communicated a sense of possibility that reminded us of our own journeys." Mandel adds, "It's a coming-of-age story in many ways. It's about Rodney believing in himself and trying to make a sharp-edged turn from adolescence into adulthood. Who can't relate to that?" One question many might want answered is how different is it working on an animated film in comparrison to a regular production? "With live action, you are limited in the amount of fine-tuning you can do once the film is in production," Ganz pointed out. "It's like a truck going downhill with no brakes. But with animated pictures, the filmmakers can stop and rethink a scene visually. So we found ourselves in situations where we could write the same scene again, only different. It was very exciting and something very different for us." With a theme, state of the art technology and two premiere scirptwriters on board, all they needed was the right voices for the films robot characters. Everything in "Robots" revolves around and evolves around Rodney Copperbottom. The voice for Rodney is provided by Scottish actor, Crieff native and star of Moulin Rouge!, Ewan McGregor. Wedge says he "was looking for someone who could be appealing and funny, and maybe provide a little something extra. Ewan McGregor was all that and more. He brings an edge to Rodney that brings another dimension to the character. His melodic, expressive voice was perfect for Rodney." Rodney comes from a working class background as does his love interest in the film. Oh yes, even robots fall in love in the world of makebelieve. Rodneys dad Herb is a struggling dishwasher class robot while Cappy's dad was a vacuum cleaner, and her mom was the attachments. Supervising Animator Michael Thurmeier admits that designing Cappy was a huge challenge, after all he says, "How do you make a robot beautiful?" Cappy is voiced by Academy Award winning actress Halle Berry. "Halle obviously is an amazing actor," says Wedge. "Her talent just comes up out of her, and you can hear that in her voice." There are so many wonderful robots with voices adults will find easily recognizable, like comedian and television star Drew Carey, the inimitable icon Mel Brooks, the great Stanley Tucci and youngster Amanda Bynes to name just a few. Like "Ice Age", "Robots" will win its way into the hearts of viewers of all ages. It's easy to follow, it's colorful and very lifelike. Best of all it's great family entertainment and rated 'G'. That in itself is something for every parent to cheer about. Who's Voice Is That? "ROBOTS" stars .......
Ewan McGregor ["Moulin Rouge!", "Black Hawk Down", "Down With Love" and "Big Fish"]; Stanley Tucci ["Sidewalks of New York", "Road To Perdition", "Maid in Manhattan", "The Core", "The Life and Death of Peter Sellers" and "The Terminal"]; Dianne Wiest ["Edward Scissorhands", "The Birdcage", "The Horse Whisperer", "Practical Magic" and "I Am Sam"]; Mel Brooks ["Silent Movie", "Look Who's Talking Too", "Robin Hood: Men in Tights", "Life Stinks" and "Dracula: Dead and Loving It"]; Halle Berry ["Race the Sun", "X-Men 2", "Monsters Ball", "Gothika" and "Catwoman"]; Jim Broadbent ["Iris", "Vera Drake", "Vanity Fair", "Bridget Jones's Diary" and "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason"]; Greg Kinnear ["Nurse Betty", "The Gift", "Auto Focus", "Stuck On You" and "Godsend"]; Jennifer Coolidge ["Plump Fiction", "A Mighty Wind", "Legally Blonde 2" and "American Pie III"] Paul Giamatti ["Big Fat Liar", "Confidence", "American Splendor", "Paycheck" and "Sideways"]; Drew Carey ["Coneheads"]; Amanda Bynes ["Big Fat Liar", "What A Girl Wants" and "Lovewrecked"] and Robin Williams ["Bicentennial Man", "One Hour Photo", "Death To Smoochy", "Insomnia" and "The Final Cut"] as Fender. Crew Bytes "ROBOTS" was .......
directed by Chris Wedge ["Balloon Guy", "Bunny", "Ice Age" and "Gone Nutty"] and Carlos Saldanha ["Ice Age", "A Simple Wish", "Fight Club" and "Ice Age"]; casting by Christian Kaplan ["Dora Was Dysfunctional", "Wing Commander" and "From Hell"]; production design by William Joyce ["Buddy", "Rolie Polie Olie: The Great Defender of Fun" and "Rolie Polie Olie: The Baby Bot Chase"]; edited by John Carnochan ["Independence Day", "Heartbreakers", "Beauty and the Beast" and "The Road To El Dorado"]; original music by John Powell ["Face/Off", "Antz", "The Road to El Dorado", "Chicken Run", "Evolution" and "Be Cool"]; produced by Jerry Davis ["Robots"] and John C Donkin ["Ice Age" and "Gone Nutty"]. ROBOTS was written by Lowell Ganz ["Working Class Man ", "Vibes", "Greedy", "Forget Paris" and who was series writer on TV's "The Odd Couple", "Happy Days" and "Laverne and Shirley"] and Babaloo Mandel ["Night Shift", "Spies Like Us", "Parenthood", "A League of Their Own", "Multiplicity", "Ed TV " and "Where The Heart Is"]. What It's All About After twelves hours of labour, Rodney Copperbottom has finally made it into the robot world and no-one could be prouder than his mother and his father Herb. Growing up in Rivet Town is not easy for young Rodney. It seems he is destined to a life of hand me downs and secondhand parts. His father would love to be able to provide him with new parts but he is a dishwasher class robot and the income he receives is only enough to scrape by on. Never the less, Herb loves his son Rodney and encourages him to pursue his dreams of becoming an inventor and making a valuable contribution to robot society. Rodney inspired by inventor Mr Bigweld, much to his mothers dismay he decides to leave home and head for Robot City. When he arrives he finds it much different from what he imagined. It seems Mr Bigweld has been pushed onto the scrapheap by Rachet who plans to replace all existing robots with a generation of new ones. Rodney decides to fight back and return the robot benefactor Mr Bigweld to his position as head of Bigweld Industries. The Verdict "Colorful, imaginative, creative and fun, "Robots" will delight both young and old alike. A spectacular feast for the eyes. A rich tale with an inspirational message. Never give up! "Robots" is one movie you must go see. If you have one, take the whole family. Very Recommended." The Voice Cast

Ewan McGregor Stanley Tucci Dianne Wiest Robin Williams Mel Brooks Halle Berry Jim Broadbent Lowell Ganz Lucille Bliss Terry Bradshaw Amanda Bynes Drew Carey Jennifer Coolidge Dylan Denton Will Denton Marshall Efron Damien Fahey Paul Giamatti Dan Hedaya Jackie Hoffman James Earl Jones Greg Kinnear Jay Leno Natasha Lyonne Brian McFadden Tim Nordquist Jansen Panettiere Al Roker Alan Rosenberg Stephen Tobolowsky Harland Williams

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Rodney Copperbottom Herb Copperbottom Mrs Copperbottom Fender Bigweld Cappy Madame Gasket Mr Gasket Pigeon Lady Broken Arm Bot Piper Crank Aunt Fanny Youngest Rodney Young Rodney Lamppost/Toilet Bot/Bass Drum/Microphone Stage Announcer Tim the Gate Guard Mr Gunk Water Cooler Voice Box at Hardware Store Ratchet Fire Hydrant Loretta Geargrinder Trashcan Bot Tin Man Younger Rodney Mailbox ack Hammer Bigmouth Executive/Forge Lug

The Crew Directed by Chris Wedge & Carlos Saldanha Co-Produced by Jerry Davis & John C Donkin Executive Producer William Joyce Original Music by John Powell Film Editing by John Carnochan Casting by Christian Kaplan Production Design by William Joyce Art Direction by Steve Martino Production Manager Maria Criscuolo Set Designer William H Frake III Storyboard Artist Steve Moore Run Time 90 minutes Rated G [AUST] Copyright ©2005 - 20th Century Fox - All Rights Reserved Copyright Protected © 2005 - Impact Internet Services - All Rights Reserved