The wonderful ‘Robot Dreams,’ the best animated film of 2023, finally arrives
A robot and a dog make friends — wordlessly — in 1980s New York City in Pablo Berger’s animated delight, which finally reaches theaters this week.
Two of my favorite films that I first saw in 2023, Hit Man and Robot Dreams, are finally reaching audiences this week. Richard Linklater’s Hit Man had a brief theatrical run before hitting Netflix next month, where I expect it to become a cultural phenomenon. That’s not my preferred method of movie release, but at least it’s one with a track record.
Robot Dreams, on the other hand? I have no idea what the rhyme is or reason as to why it’s coming out now.
Pablo Berger’s film, which has earned nearly universal critical acclaim, premiered at Cannes just over a year ago before playing at more festivals in the fall. At the Philadelphia Film Festival in October, where I first heard about it, it drew rapturous notices and won awards. I finally saw it during the For-Your-Consideration period, as part of the famous NEON Box, and picked it as the year’s best-animated film and the 12th-best movie of the year overall.
Besides minimal Oscar qualifying, Robot Dreams didn’t come out in 2023. When 2024 rolled around, it was nominated for the Best Animated Feature Oscar, although it lost to Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron.
It’s not especially rare for Oscar-nominated movies to get U.S. release dates after the first of the year. But I do not remember an Oscar nominee, outside of the International Film category, coming out in late May. And that’s only at the Film Forum in New York; the film will presumably roll out in other places later.
The date June 1, and waiting a very long time for it to arrive, is important to the plot of Robot Dreams, which is the only reason I can think of for that release plan. NEON usually knows what they’re doing; they do have that record of five straight Palme d’Or awards. But I’m at a loss as to what they’re thinking here.
But now that it’s here, Robot Dreams is glorious, and you should see it.
The film is set in 1980s New York, in a Bojack Horseman-like world where animals live human-like lives. The main character is a dog (named “Dog”) who, fighting loneliness, orders a robot from a television ad. The robot (called “Robot”) arrives, and the two become fast friends, galavanting around Manhattan to the tune of Earth, Wind and Fire’s “September.”
Happiness gives way to sadness, especially once Robot gets left on a beach, unable to get away or rejoin his friend. When there was a recent viral photo of a Cybertruck that washed up on the beach and got stuck there, I made the obvious joke:
There’s some real dying-god motif stuff here as the seasons pass slowly, happiness gives way to sadness. The “dreams” of the title, alas, end up very important to the film’s second half. Things take a turn at the end, although probably not the turn you expected.
The other big twist? There’s no dialogue. There's plenty of noise and music—seriously, “September” is the best I’ve seen a classic pop song deployed in a movie in quite some time — but no one speaks.
This is an animated film far from the popular styles of Pixar, Disney, Illuminiation, and the other big animated studios. The characters are rendered well, and the New York it creates is beautiful, including a visit to my favorite Manhattan bookstore, The Strand.
But there’s plenty here for both kids and adults, whether you’re looking for cute animals, nostalgia for 1980s New York, or an emotional tale about learning to let go.