Thoughtful Gems
First of all I choose not to compare movies, I take them on their own merit. We can compare these stories all over the place, but then again we can find similarities everywhere we look if we really want to. Let's empty our cup for this movie, and express from the heart for a moment, because that's what Robot Stories is all about.
The movie starts with a tiny segment which runs during the opening credits, a cartoon short about little robots with red faces spitting out binary numbers, ones and zeroes float up the screen, at different pace... then one looks around and his face goes blue and he pops out a 2... he looks around, the rest of the little robots stop and before you know we have all the colors of the rainbow spitting out all the numbers... what a simple yet poingnant way to explain the beauty of diversity... at least I enjoyed it... so I settled in to watch Robot Stories, with a smile on my face.
Story 1:My Robot Baby is about 2 parents in Japan who want to adopt a baby, they are made to practice on a robot baby first. This segment stars Tamlyn Tomita who I have always loved. You might know her from Joy Luck Club or Day After Tomorrow where she played a reporter. It's a cute story.
Story 2:The Robot Fixer begins in a hospital. The first thing you hear is a female voice over the loud speaker, "Doctor Blair..." That's actually the introduction to the song Operation Mindcrime by Queensryche, not sure why it's in there but I recognized it instantly.
A boy is in a coma because he got hit by a car crossing the street. His sister and mom come to help, and mom decides to get in touch with her estranged son by fixing all of his old toys, his prized possessions from childhood. It's endearing and an original story I've never seen anything like before. We watch the story develop as mom seeks to fix his toys and come closer to understanding him, she takes responsiblity for the part she played in the distance that set them apart, it's a very beautiful story.
"There's a change that even with regret cannot be undone." -Division Bell Pink Floyd.
Story 3:Machine Love takes place some time in the near future with the Gi9 Person. A coder tech robot named Archie who delivers himself, does his work, like a clockwork orange, until he meets a female robot, and discovers something outside his perameters, love. The story symbolizes how we limit each other's capabilitlies, and each other, in a world without limits, without boundaries, without definitions. Too cool.
Story 4:Clay. In 2027, scientists make the first perfect digital copy of the human brain. When you die, you are uploaded into a collective consciousness where you live forever, knowing everything... kind of sounds like a pleasant yoga session to me. Very Zen.
Overall nice stories with thoughtful premises.