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'Robots' is a clunker: Visuals dazzle, but humor has a screw loose

"Robots," the newest 3-D animated film from the creators of "Ice Age," longs to meld the smarmy, Shrek-ish pop culture references, scatological humor and celebrity stunt-casting of DreamWorks releases with the heartfelt emotion of every Pixar film from "Toy Story" to "The Incredibles." Sadly, it comes up short.

Blue Sky Studios 'Robots' 2 out of 5 stars Director: Chris Wedge Starring: Voices by Ewan McGregor, Mel Brooks, Greg Kinnear Run time: 90 minutes Release date: March. 11, 2005 Rating: PG for some brief language and suggestive humor See showtimes On the web Official movie site View the trailer   -- Trailers require Quicktime Rate "Robots":   Go see it   Make it a matinee   Wait to rent   Don't bother Voter Limit: Once per Hour View Poll Results

The film begins promisingly enough with the birth of Rodney Copperbottom (Ewan McGregor). In this all-robot society, childbirth is literally a delivery, involving a truck, a cardboard box and a "sign here, please." We fast-forward through Rodney's youth as he bonds with his dishwasher dad and dreams of becoming a famous inventor who will someday travel to Robot City. There, he hopes to work with his idol, Big Weld (Mel Brooks), a Walt Disney-ish inventor.

These early scenes are visually deceptive, resembling the simple design of children's TV favorite "Rolie Polie Olie" (that show's creator, William Joyce, is this film's executive producer). But once the action moves to Robot City, "Robots" becomes a feast for the eyes -- a smorgasbord of Rube Goldberg-esque, springs-and-pullies contraptions with towering skyscrapers; a spiffier version of the art-deco, retro-futuristic cityscape of Fritz Lang's "Metropolis." But that 1927 film had one advantage over "Robots" ... it was a silent film and, thus, Robin Williams couldn't junk it up.

Recycling the schtick he's made infamous at countless awards and talk shows (and, one imagines, picking up dry cleaning), Williams' Fender is never as funny as he thinks. His constant riffing whiffs so much of creative desperation that it's hard to believe he ever seemed so refreshing as the Genie in "Aladdin." The other voice talent is nondescript (who thought Ewan McGregor, Halle Berry and Dianne Wiest would make good cartoon voices?) with the exception of Brooks, and Nickelodeon favorite Amanda Bynes as Piper, a tomboyish, teenage girlbot with a crush on Rodney.

Young children will enjoy this film. There are lots of passed-gas gags and the borderline excessive adult humor will go over their heads. It's visually arresting; the chase scenes where the 'bots bounce around Robot City as if it were a giant pinball field are amazing. But older kids and adults are likely to be disappointed.

What's made every Pixar film truly great is the story. The script for "Robots" feels like it could have been written by one.