With the death match between Pixar and Dreamworks for computer animation dominance getting so much attention, it's lucky that 20th Century Fox and Blue Sky Studios can slip under the radar with their second CGI feature, Robots. Their first was 2002's Ice Age, a cute but slight feature that followed a woolly mammoth, a sloth and a saber-tooth tiger in prehistoric times on a quest to save a human baby. Robots is in the same vein, delivering a genial, positive story with plenty of elements that will appeal to kids and some nice-looking, colorful characters.
In a world populated solely by automatons, young Rodney Copperbottom (voiced by McGregor), a wide-eyed dreamer, leaves the hamlet of Rivet Town for Robot City to make it as an inventor. He wants to meet Bigweld (Mel Brooks), the owner of the world's largest company and its biggest star. A sort of benevolent dictator, Bigweld embraces the diversity of robotkind and invites average people to pitch him ideas.
Once in Robot City, though, Rodney discovers that Bigweld Industries has been taken over by the ruthless Ratchet (Kinnear), who's out to destroy all "outmodes"—robots like Rodney who are cobbled together from spare parts and in constant need of repair. Instead, Ratchet wants all robots to get expensive upgrades and look sleek and metallic like himself.
Rodney and the misfit band of friends he makes after he gets to town decide to stand up for the little 'bots, with predictable results. Neither as shrill and calculated as the in-your-face Dreamworks CGI films, nor as warm and captivating as Pixar's, Robots is squarely middle-of-the-road, coasting by on celebrity voices that don't overpower the story (even Williams as Rodney's buddy, Fender, is relatively restrained) and jokes that might evoke a smile but are rarely notably incisive or clever. It's not above the occasional fart joke, but it's more concerned about imparting its simple moral of valuing diversity and friendship over money and power.
Adults may be disappointed that Robots isn't edgy or full of pop-culture references, but they should appreciate the film's striking look, with the wonderfully designed Robot City and distinctive characters. Kids will laugh at the broad humor, and parents won't have to worry about exposing them to crass stereotypes, as in Shark Tale. Robots isn't a home run, but it's a solid double.