You walk into the cinema and sit amongst children, feeling somewhat out of place. 102 minutes later, you leave the cinema feeling shaken and wonder if the kids next to you were capable of comprehending the profound emotions that were so subtly expressed, without the utterance of even a single word. Robotic Dreams is more sophisticated than what you would expect from a children’s film, but going back to the purest of audiences might just be the best way to approach its subject.

Set in the 1980s, the New York of Robotic Dreams is a city inhabited by humanoid animals. Dog, the protagonist, lives a lonesome life consisting of late nights in front of the TV with microwave macaroni and cheese. One such late night brought about an infomercial for a robot friend, which Dog swiftly orders. Under the watchful eye of his windowsill pigeons, Dog assembles Robot, whose wide eyes and tube-like limbs lead the two into blissful summer months in New York as they swayed to the most aptly chosen beat of Earth, Wind & Fire’s September. However, Robot loses mobility in his joints after a decadent day at Coney Island. Dog had no choice but to leave his friend for the winter as the beach closed for the season the next day.

So began the waiting game. Dog had no choice but to spend winter alone, ponderous, hesitant, and continuously confronted with new possibilities. Robot lay motionless, only able to see his friend in fanciful, elaborate dreams. Summer rolls over and their reunion doesn’t go quite as planned. Instead of a happily-ever-after fairytale ending, Robot Dreams tenderly pushes its viewers to understand the reality that some things don’t last forever. As we watch Robot and Dog dance again to September at long last, separated but also profoundly connected, we come to realize that the ending of one chapter doesn’t make it a failure and even brings about the opening of a new one. It’s the story that counts, not the ending.

Much like other children’s films, the moral of the story aims at being universal, which is further enhanced by the fact that none of the characters have any spoken lines throughout the entire film. While some of the screen time is filled up with side plot lines that seem too haphazard and too elaborate than necessary, they serve to hold a tender enough rhythm for its younger viewers to keep up. Nevertheless, director Pablo Berger’s choice for a simple and sharp animation style coupled with a soothing color palette, in addition to an immaculate soundtrack selection, still make the film a beautifully pleasing watch for the more seasoned minds in the audience.

Written by Isabella Pang