Not a review: Robot Dreams

How can a robot and a dog teach a human about human emotions?

This is not a review of the movie Robot Dreams. Even though I'm going to write about the movie itself (with spoilers), my goal here is to express the rather complex feelings this story made me feel and to try to get a hold of all the situations and ideas it made me think of. There's so much to process here, that's why I need to write about it.

I want to begin by stating something very obvious, yet very real: This movie is one of the most beautiful pieces of animation I've seen in my life! It melted my heart and my brain thanks to its powerful message about what love and lost is.

This one-hour-forty-two-minutes movie based on a graphic novel by Sara Varon (which I'm forcing myself to buy eventually) conveys a rather common situation that everyone has experienced at least once in their lives. But that doesn't mean this situation is painless or that it doesn't have any impact on our lives. 

I probably won't focus entirely on what happens in the movie, but on what it made me feel. How it broke me just to put me back together again.

Do you remember...

This wonderful movie made something to my heart that can only be explained with the scene where Forrest Gump just stands up and starts running. It happened the same thing to me. I didn't run for over 3 years, but I took a long walk around the neighborhood for several hours because there were a lot things poking my heart, and a lot of ideas flooding my brain. 

The movie tells the love story of Dog Varon and Robot, or to be more precise, it tells the story about how their friendship/romance bloomed just to teach them the hardest lesson about relationships: How to say goodbye.

It all starts with Dog feeling lonely. He has a normal life as any anthropomorphic newyorker animal has in the 80s. The real issue is that he doesn't have anyone to share his normal life with. As he watches TV late at night, he finds an add about robot partners: robots that you put together and become your friend. With no hesitation, he calls the number on screen to fulfill his dream of having a friend.

This first few minutes of the movie just broke my heart because of how personal it felt. Dog saw through his window a cute couple enjoying their TV time together, just sitting on the couch together, nothing else. And that moment made him feel so desperate for a partner, for a friend, with whom he could share those tiny moments in life. I've felt that.

There were moments in my life that made me feel so alone that I wish I could call a phone number, any number, and get a friend delivered to my home. Just like that! Even when people tell you that you can reach them any time you need them, are they actually there when you need them the most? I'm not saying that people are hypocrite (not everyone at least), but think about it. How many of your friends can you actually call right now and tell them your fears, doubts, feelings and such? You probably have at least one person that you can call... Personally, I'm not sure if there's at least one out there for me. And that's how I've been feeling for way too many years.

After a few days, Dog receives a package containing his very own Build-a-Friend. He looks very excited to finally have someone to hang around with, someone to talk to (even though the movie doesn't have any dialogue, we know they talk), someone to do all the things most people do with a partner, someone that can be there for him. Once Dog finished building Robot, the fun begins.

Writing about this made me realize something. All those dating apps out there are pretty much the same as the service that brought Robot to Dog. You "call" someone and then you can meet them, build a relationship, hang out, talk and do a lot of things that people do with a partner. Well, that's the idea behind them. The problem is that you need to be handsome, talented, interesting (whatever the fuck that means), and many more things that just set me up to my failure when I tried to use them... At least that's my experience. Yes, I feel ashamed of using them, but at that moment, I thought it could help me escape my loneliness.

Later on, Dog and Robot have some of their best days in their whole lives! It's just beautiful to see Dog sharing all the things he loves with someone who actually shows interest. Even though Robot starts with like a "baby mind", meaning Dog is showing him the world (or at least his world), Robot looks happy to live all those experiences with him. Like he is legit enjoying them and not just pretending to make Dog happy.

Common interests are important in any type of relationship, but is that all that keeps it afloat? I do believe that you can create a strong relationship with someone who has different hobbies and passions, but there has to be something that connects both ends. From that point on, both can share their passions and find a middle ground where both respects one another even if one person doesn't like something that the other person loves.

I think it's normal to want your partner to like the things you like, nonetheless, everyone should learn to respect each other's passions and also to respect not liking them. I'm not sure if I'm being clear. The thing is to respect liking different things or not liking the same things. This can become a harder task than it is if you keep trying to turn your partner into what you want instead of seeing them as who they really are. At least that's my very own perspective.

Every day is a sunshine, lollipops and rainbows type of day for Dog and Robot; until the dreaded beach trip, when Dog learns a valuable lesson in the hardest way possible. 

The 21st night of September

Dog takes Robot to the beach with the sole purpose of showing him new things and experiences. Even though Dog believes he can do everything with his partner, he soon faces the hard reality of putting a sentient tin can to the extreme environment that a beach is. No, I'm not exaggerating about the beach being one of the most extreme places a person can go and relax. Bear with me: utmost heat or sometimes rainy weather that forces you walk barefoot through sand, rocks and trash that people leaves behind, just to get shaken up by the sea and its waves. And if you can't see what's wrong with that, I would suggest you read more H.P. Lovecraft books. I'm not saying I don't like to spend a day at the beach, I'm just pointing out that it can be an extreme experience from a certain point of view. Anyway...

Robot and Dog spend the whole day swiming, diving, eating hotdogs and pretty much enjoying themselves with another happy day together. Later on, Dog and Robot fell asleep until it's night time. Dog gets up and prepares everything to get back home, but there's one problem: Robot is totally unable to move. Even though he can move his head, the rest of his body is not responding and, given his metal nature, Dog is totally unable to move him. 

Dog feels desperation filling him as he tries to drag, push or lift Robot to no avail. It's late at night, the beach is empty, Dog doesn't have the strength nor the tools to take Robot with him, so he takes the hard decision of leaving his partner behind, but he promises to be back to rescue him. And this is where the real discussion begins.

The very next day, Dog prepares a set of tools that would help him rescue his partner and embarks on a journey that will force him to make another hard decision. Once he arrives to the beach, he discovers that it's closed until next summer (June 1st). Since it appears that there's no one at the gate, he tries to force his entry, but he's busted by a security guard and even taken to jail!

I might be misremembering a few details, still Dog actually spends a night in jail under the premises of breaking and entering. All because he tried to rescue his partner. Soon after, he promises himself to rescue Robot first thing on June 1st next year. In the meantime, life is still happening.

My thoughts are with you

I really don't want to spoil a lot about this movie, so I want to focus on the feelings and thoughts this beautiful story forced into my soul.

I won't dare to say that Dog moved on, but life kept moving forward outside the beach. As days became weeks, and weeks became months, Dog focused on living the moment, on having new experiences and even meeting new people. Robot kept lingering in Dog's mind, but it wasn't something that would stop Dog from living his life.

Eventually, Dog meets a lady duck (who I'll just call Duck) that shows him new experiences related to sports. At first, Dog tried to do more outdoors activities and I would dare to say that it kinda healed him, or at least it calmed the pain of, practically, losing Robot. There's a very important lesson here that the Internet have memed about, but it's the absolute truth: It's essential that everyone go out every now and then and touch grass... Seriously! It's awfully easy to spend the whole day indoors just burning your brain with TV and Social Media, thinking we know the real world when we are just watching shadows and close-mind perceptions of what's out there. Think of Plato's allegory of the cave. For real though, you'll get sick if you keep wasting everyday indoors. I know that all too well.

Duck takes Dog to a lot of new places where he can do new exciting outdoors activities like mountain biking, fishing and even skiing. Even though Dog's not really good at them, he has a lot of fun sharing those moments with Duck. Eventually, Duck has to move out of New York, leaving Dog behind. It seems Dog falls into depresion once more, but now he knows that parting ways with people that you love is part of life. 

Do things alone too. Don't let anyone make you feel like you need a partner to enjoy life. I know that now more than ever it's not difficult to think that everybody has friends to do whatever they want to do or to talk whenever. Maybe I'm just talking from my very own and most personal perspective, but I think most people spend a lot of time alone. Technology made it easier to connect with each other and I know that's fundamental for society to thrive; nonetheless, I still believe there are a lot of things that everybody does alone, but they don't see it that way because they are not thinking about loneliness, at least not in the "sad" way. My point is that most people find it difficult to be by themselves, alone and quiet, or to even do the simpliest things by themselves. Like they need to talk/chat to someone all the time or to post their thoughts and routines on the Internet (I see the irony. Please, don't point it out. Thank you.) to get some kind of interaction or to call all their friends to see if they're available to do something. I know you can find joyfulness, fun and excitement by being with the only person who will never ever abandon you: Yourself. Try it.

Robot is still lying on the beach, waiting for Dog, or anyone, to come and help him out. It's making me sad to remember the awful situations Robot lives on the beach that even makes him lose a leg, so I'll just say that people (even anthropomorphic animals) are the worst. In between these experiences, Robot begins to dream that a miracle has happened and he's able to get back up on his feet, so he walks back to Dog's appartment, but it's just a beautiful dream. 

I read somewhere that the dreams that Robot have while he's stranded on the beach can be interpreted as someone stuck in depression who dreams about getting help from someone or something. As far as I understand, the only one who can help you with your depression is yourself. Yes, friends, family and professionals can absolutely help you overcome this "stranded" state, but it's you who has to do the heavylifting. I know that in this movie, Robot is unable to walk do to a physical impairment, but still the metaphor stands... I just love digging way too deep into the metaphors.

These dreams show the audience that Robot wants to gets better. He yearns for home and his loved one. He wants to get back to the joyful life he once had, which can be interpreted as his will to live. People with depression usually lose this will as sometimes life feels like being stranded without any possibility of moving on. "Usually".

Even though Robot lives a beautiful situation where a mama bird and her babies (not anthropomorphic ones) that gave him a little bit of hope, his body apparently gives up, ending up covered by sand and shutted down. Later, a monkey sneaks into the beach with a metal detector and digs up Dog's stranded friend. The monkey sells Robot's body to a junkyard, where it's later found and bought by a raccoon (an anthropomorphic one) named Rascal.

Rascal is like an engineer or a handyman. He can build stuff with junk, fix electronics, paint... he has the passion and the skills to fix pretty much anything, and so he does! Rascal just has a few original parts of Robot, but that doesn't stop him from reconstructing the broken tinman he found. He takes everything he can use to rebuild Robot, like using a boombox as a new torso and a vacuum cleaner extension as a new leg. After some days of collecting the necessary pieces and putting them together, Robot awakes to find a new friend.

Meanwhile, June 1st arrives and Dog has only one goal in mind: to rescue his partner. He takes his tools and head towards the beach with a lot of hope in his heart, only to find out that Robot is not there. He digs in the spot where he left his friend but the only thing he finds is a broken metal toe.

Only blue talk and love, remember

Now, here's where the most important message of the story kicks in. So far, Dog was pretty much forced to move on with his life while Robot was stranded. But Robot was given a new opportunity, a new life. Their paths went different ways because time is an impatient lady, she's always moving forward.

A very stupid debate boomed on social media about the actions, or inaction, of Dog. Could Dog Varon have done something more? Did he gave up too soon? Some people said that he needed to do more, like look for help or at least he could've visited Robot every now and then while he was stranded, but c'mon! Dog spent a night in jail when he tried to save his friend, it's not easy to overcome the fear of more severe consecuences after that. And I'd like to think that, as any other adult, he has other responsibilities. He can't try to rescue Robot every single day. And I believe that's the point of the story.

Sometimes, life just happens and it's almost impossible to keep track of every single thing that needs radical actions to solve them. What I mean by that is that we all have daily responsibilities that may change depending on certain situations, and some situations might be difficult to complete due to time, energy, tools or whatever. It's not like Dog didn't care anymore about his beloved Robot, but, like I said, life just happens. Everything keeps moving forward and it's not easy to pause your whole life because of something that you can't entirely control. It's not about what people say that "it takes 5 seconds to send a message about being busy", or in this case, about going every now and then to check on Robot. Sometimes, fear itself doesn't allow you to do a specific set of actions and in life, as it keeps moving forward, it's easier to leave some thing for later, when you feel more prepared. Fear, time,energy, availability, life, responsibilities... Dog had to fight against all of them to get his partner back, and it's a fight that not anyone is willing to take, and it's not because there's a lack of love, but because of pretty much everything else. Dog kept living his life, but Robot was always in his mind. Nonetheless, you can't stop living your life because of someone you love gets stranded. 

After some time, Dog finds a new golden Robot, not to replace the one he "lost", but because he still needed a partner to share his life with, and that's okay! I believe there are people that have too much to share that they need someone to be there for them. It's not a bad thing to want to share your life with someone else, it's okay and it's a normal thing to want. 

Dog takes his new partner to do pretty much the same things he did with Robot because that's what he enjoys doing, but this time, Dog knows how to take care of his tin friend. We see Dog taking the new Robot to the beach, but this time he's ready. Dog brings oil and keeps new Robot away from the water, proving that he has learnt from his previous mistakes. In life, messing things up is how we learn the hardest lessons. We learn, we grow, most of the time we move on and that's just life. Of course come of those lessons leave scars inside us, but we must not let them define us nor affect our future. 

On the other hand, once Rascal has completed rebuilding Robot, our metal friend finds a new will to live fueled his new friendship. Robot helps Rascal on his many handyman-type jobs and he utterly enjoys it. Both of them enjoy working and living together. Rascal keeps taking care of Robot to the point where he buys new pieces for him, like a new robot leg. It's very clear that Robot loves his new life without hanging on the past. Also, it's important to notice that Rascal has the will to save and rebuild something he didn't brake, to give someone a new chance in life.

After everything they endured, after all the sadness and loneliness, and even after all the joyful moments, both Dog and Robot found a new meaning of life, a new meaning of what a relationship is supposed to be. New ways to live.

As you can see, by the end of the story, Dog and Robot are happy with their respective new partners, but deep in their hearts, they still miss each other. As we see them begin a new stage in their lives, we get a glance to a What-If scenario.

One day, while Robot and Rascal are having a BBQ on the roof of their building, Robot goes inside to their apartment to get some stuff from the kitchen, when suddenly he looks out the window only to find Dog and his new partner, the golden Robot, walking down the street. The first thing that came to Robot's mind is to run downstairs and follow his former partner. After a quick but very emotional chase, Robot catches up to Dog, who looks at him with so much sadness and repentance, yet also happiness. Both embrace in the most heartwarming hug I've seen in a cartoon, and cry over each others shoulder... But it's not the end.

Robot wakes up from his daydreaming. He didn't go downstairs chasing his former partner. He just stood there, looking at Dog through the window. Even when he's dying to get back to Dog, Robot knows he's happy now. Robot sees Rascal's mixtape inside his boombox body and knows he's happy too. He also finds his mixtape and starts playing "September" by Earth, Wind & Fire just loud enough to get a reaction out of Dog, who's on the other side of the street.

Instinctively, Dog begins to dance just like he did with Robot back at the beginning of the story. Robot follows and both begin to dance as if they were together once more. As the volume of Robot's speakers get louder, their connection feels stronger. During their dance, Dog glances at a window and sees Robot spinning around like they did back in the day. Dog stops and looks directly at the window, but there's no one there now. Robot hides and waits for Dog and his new partner to move on (both literal and figuratively). The golden Robot sees the sadness in Dog's eyes and begins to dance to cheer him up. Dog promptly starts dancing with his new partner as they walk down the street. Even though Dog misses his friend, he knows he can be happy with his new partner. Robot goes back to Rascal now knowing both of them have found a happy new life.

Our souls were singing

After crying my heart out, this story left me thinking about a lot of lessons about relationships. I've already metioned some of them throughout this "Not-Review", but I think the most valuable one here is about letting things go and moving on with your life. It might sound a bit cruel, but it's not bad at all.

We all have had a relationship that left its mark in our hearts. A former lover, partner, friend or whatever that, for any given circumstance, are not part of our lives anymore. I believe this movie is about letting people go, about learning how to let go without feeling hurt, or more like letting go but not letting sadness take over your entire life. You can love someone with all your heart and your soul, but when they can't be part of your life anymore, you have to give them the chance to find their own path, and, of course, give yourself the chance to do things differently. Every day is a new opportunity to find happiness within yourself and the world that is around you.

To love someone is to be ready to lose them. And that's okay! Everything ends, eventually, because that's how life works. Everything has a beginning and an end, but you get to decide how you enjoy the moment, the present. The future is very stressful and uncertain, so we just need to learn to make most out of today with the people we love. They might not be with you tomorrow because life keeps moving forward and not all paths follow the same direction of yours. It's okay to start again. It's okay to find someone new with whom you can share new experiences, or even the same experiences you've lived before, but now they are under a different light. Some things and some people aren't going to be in your life forever, not because the universe is cruel, but because that's life. We got to learn to move on without letting our memories drag us. It's not about forgetting the people we left behind, but allowing the experiences we lived with them become the fuel of a brighter future. That's how we can move on.

Things just end and that's fine.