This is my favorite brickfilm! I think the LEGO medium really works in the story's favor without becoming a direct metaphor or something, which is a hard balance to strike. As a result, I think it works well not only as a brickfilm but as a short film one might show to an outsider of our community.

I really enjoy the worldbuilding of the story and how we're thrown into this world with all of its own rules but without having it explained to us.

Robota is a brickfilm that I sort of have a love/hate relationship with.

It's a great work of art, don't get me wrong, and, is one of just three brickfilms that I always redirect to newcomers interested in the hobby. However, there are a few things that, for me, keep this film from being a contender for my #1 favorite brickfilm of all time.

The first, and most prominent of my dislikes, is the ending song. It just breaks away the attitude and tone that the film had obtained up until that point. One minute, I think I'm watching a masterpiece of dialogue-less, otherworldly cyber-punk, and the next minute it feels like the ending of an episode of Rolie Polie Olie. It just doesn't seem to fit.

The other thing I don't really care for is the sound design. For what it's worth, it's pretty good. However, I just can't help but feel that, If I had helmed the editing, I would have been much more particular with each little sound effect. Again, it's more a matter of taste, but, I just think some of the pings, cranks, and zooms are just a bit loud. I'd try to keep everything at a bit more of a quieter volume, letting the visuals help the music (and specific sound effects) to pop - instead of just boosting the sound to compliment the visuals.

But, I really think that everything else is spectacular! Where the film (in my opinion) fails, it seems to bounce back even stronger someplace else. I don't like the ending theme, but simply adore that opening screech. Where I hate the sounds of the 'outdoors' shots, I love the sounds of the rowdy crowd for the inside scenes.

Perhaps the greatest weakness Robota has is it's technical limitations. I'd just love to hear this in a 5.1 surround sound mix, on a large screen, in 1080p or above! I think it would suit the film better, and make it much more memorable.

As it is, though, Robota is great. It's still inspiring, and, even if I must mute right at the end, I still find it an enjoying watch. For a film that doesn't feature minifigs, it certainly still makes you feel for the characters. Its sets never seem too cramped or empty, perfectly sucking you into its fictional world. That sci-fi grunge seems like a perfect mashup between Blade Runner and Robots. I love it, and am glad that I saved it before it did temporarily go offline.

This is a film that desperately needs to be saved for future brickfilmers to enjoy. I'm glad that the Brickfilm Archive team was able to make certain of that! It would have been a great loss if this film would have been lost to cyberspace. I'm glad it's saved, and, I'm still glad that I can watch it over and over again.

Once the film finally finished downloading ( ), I got to watch it for the first time. I had heard of this film, but never seen it until today.

I did not find anything wrong with this film at all. The animator was a very talented person, and really put life into those gigantic LEGO characters. A film of this scale is very impressive, and I wish we could have more films using a large scale today (of course, an obvious reason we aren't seeing them is because of the limitation of funding to purchase a large enough LEGO brick collection). The animation, lighting, story, and sound design were great (in fact, I found the ending song extremely fitting).

Not to say this film is perfect, but there is a difference between "not finding anything wrong with it" and perfection. Not that there aren't mistakes and small things that could have been improved, but those can be easily overlooked. Sure, we all wish that our favorite brickfilms were playing at a theatre in super HD quality with the very best audio, but that's impossible, so I'm just going to be content with viewing it as it is.

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"Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." - 1 Corinthians 10:31b

I think you're missing the point. You said Dr Jobs was a perfect film, seemingly because of good technical work, and you're picking apart Robota as a film you "hate" in some ways, primarily on the basis of small technical foibles and the fact that it wasn't made with technology that wasn't available when it was made.

It comes across as an absurd degree of pretentious nitpicking and misses what makes a film worthwhile to anybody outside of the bizarre world of the Bricks in Motion forums, where the worst crime a filmmaker can commit is light flicker.

{spoilery discussion continues...}

Robota, to me, is a high point in our community and I am glad it has a chance to shine again as Brickfilm of the Week. Just a short time ago someone had mentioned on the forum that the link was down and the film was gone. My heart did a little flip flop as I ran to my pile of burned CDs and searched fruitlessly. There was something in how I felt right then that helps convey the emotional attachment I have with this movie.

If my friends have had time in the past to see a good brickfilm Robota was always amongst the ones I chose and the feedback for the film was always positive. My children love it for different reasons. My son especially loves the end where the singing starts and he laughs when "the dart shoots out the bird butt". (sic) My daughter who is a bit older enjoys the scenery-the city has an expansive feel to it. She knows just from playing with our own collection how big these robots and sets really are.

I really enjoy the little movements that Beurteaux achieved to breathe some life into the puppets. The small point the main robot uses to choose a winning bird and the large robot who gets hurt so bad his eyes go in opposite directions are small yet creative ways to tell the story and they're humorous too.

The subway animation is my favorite part of the film - how believable it is. It rolls and stops on the outside (and the doors almost don't let him in!) and lurches/jumbles about inside-this is a great scene. And as a group of animators here-it's nice to notice the subway set (interior and exterior) only make up about 15 seconds of the ten minute running time. The robot could have easily rolled across the street from the gambling hub and there would be no need for a subway. I like the challenge it implies and opens up the possibility of an even bigger world in our minds.

The robot designs-they're awesome. If you needed some ideas or just wanted to be inspired to build-Marc's creations excite. Each has their own personality within the bricks that make up their faces and bodies.

The entire film we see a robot pushing himself around. By the end of the film the robot has legs-something to sing about! The song was different and meaningful and humorous and (dare I say it?) literal. The robot rejoicing and the animator who made it shouldn't be making you question your views-you're doing that yourself. Moods are meant to be shattered and lifted as the creator sees fit. The film reached the end that, to me, worked perfectly.

-Jared

A wholeheartedly agree that it does try to build upon it's limitations. (all films must, unless they literally had an infinite budget) I'd also agree that Robota is huge, ambitious, and is executed very well.

Sidestepping limitations isn't as effective in filmmaking as embracing limitations is. When you 'work around' limitations, I feel that it's still ignoring the problem. If you don't have a lot of bricks for walls - and decide to shoot your film with a lot of close ups (just for example) that's not specifically a solution if the story doesn't match the situation. However, if you 'crafted' your story around a very emotional - and character driven focus, you'd justify using close ups...

Again, I feel that I'm approaching a very, very grey area in my approach to film-making, and, just as a viewer, what does and doesn't work for me. Robota works, but, seems to (not 'age,' per se, but rather...) fade with each viewing. It's still great, but, It's just not inspiring. And I love to watch inspiring things.

I like bad movies when I can learn from them, and I love good films when I can strive to obtain the greatness that they gave to me... I'm not talking about remaking Citizen Kane; I'm talking about making a film that, to me, would give off the same feelings that I alone had in my singular and specific reaction to that film.

It certainly does seem like that on the surface, as, I do often look at films from a sort of 'in between the lines' approach. However, whenever I have given brickfilms the same guidelines as I give to feature films, I often find that they can hold up. (and, both can fail as well)

It's sort of a sixth sense feeling, I guess. When I talk about an emotional connection, or even story investment (to a small degree) - Robota falls short, for me. However, that's not to say that it's bad...

This is where I think that everyone is misunderstanding me... I think that every film has it's best suited formatting. The Chaplin films are best without sound, and in black and white, and on film because they just are. Would "The Tramp" work in a modern setting - no. It has to be done in the style that it was done in... And I'm not talking about historical limitations at all. I'm saying that, if someone decided to make a short with Chaplin's "The Tramp" character today, they should do it just like it was done. Not for continuity, but just because it works best there.

Inception, on the other hand, would have failed in 1920's film. Even if it was in color, and was still in Imax (and somehow transcended through time) It would simply be too different. In a world of silent pictures, something achieving too well would be, in my opinion, a burden, ironically enough.

To put it more simply - Some directors will always shoot all of their films for their entire career in 16:9 or 4:3 or 1.85:1. And (in a modern sense, I'm talking) I don't like them. There shouldn't be just one aspect ratio, or approach, to filmmaking. Each film should be different, and, hopefully, be done in the best way possible. I'm doing my Sliders The Animated Series in 4:3, will do Johnny Thunder in black and white and 1.37:1, and will do Alpha Team in 2.35:1. I don't care if the bouncing letterboxing would look ackward on a collection DVD... If it's best for the individual film, then, don't go against the grain.

I feel that, especially since Marc Beurteaux has been involved in 'professional' TV and shorts, he could have shot Robota differently. If he couldn't have, perhaps he should have taken a bit more time to polish it up, and perhaps, even re-shoot a scene or two. Perhaps I'm wrong... perhaps he couldn't do that, or even, perhaps he purposely shot it that way to make it 'seemingly' mix in a bit better with the other few brickfilms online around that time... And, if that is the case, then I must be just missing the point with his original intentions.

But, that's why I have the thoughts that I do on Robota. - If I am interpreting it wrong, then so be it. That's why there's the disconnect. That's why, while others think I'm being too nit-picky, I'm actually just trying to comprehend why I don't much care for a film that, deep down, I do admire and love. That's just the best way that I can explain it...

I agree. Robota is uncommon, and original. While I didn't really find anything that I could 'learn' from it, exactly, I do think that brickfilms (in their own way) should be respected just how hollywood films are respected, if not more. I find Doug Vandegrift's Pirates, Zach Macias' Hypothetical Possibilities, and Philip Heinrich's Unrenewable more enjoying than Jaws, Man of Steel, or even The Wizard of Oz. And, I feel that I'm not the only one.

If brickfilms can have that much of an impact on anyone, then, they should strive to do so. Robota doesn't top Atlantis: The Lost Empire in my opinion... Yet, something like Nathan Wells' Driven easily equals it in fun.

For what it's worth - While Robota just doesn't do it for me, I do hope it does for others. It's nice to see that a 10 minute brickfilm can spark a 30 minute conversation! That's certainly, in one way or another, the sort of impact that storytellers can only hope to achieve; Interest that outlasts the subject itself.

I agree and disagree with Dyland.

I think that every Brickfilm should be made to the best of 1) the animator's ability and 2) the level of technology they own.   That said, I'll watch Robota as a postage-stamp sized live recording of a film projection if it's how he was able to best make a digital copy.  Like Smeagol said, the storytelling is paramount.  On the technical side, make the best film you can with what you have.  This film is years old and the available technology has dramatically improved in just the few years since its release.

At the same time, I love the grand scope of the story, and consider it a masterpiece.  But I have the same gripe with the storyline: