History YMMV / Robots

** It's also a darker and more mature version of ''WesternAnimation/LittleRobots''; a blue robot that likes to fix up other robots that are need of repair with a cast of colorful characters. Even the designs of Little Robots don't look out of place of Creator/WilliamJoyce's work.

** It's also a darker and mature version of ''WesternAnimation/LittleRobots''; a blue robot that likes to fix up other robots that are need of repair with a cast of colorful characters. Even the designs of Little Robots don't look out of place of Creator/WilliamJoyce's work.

* SpiritualSuccessor: This is arguably the closest there is to a movie adaptation of ''VideoGame/{{Scrapland}}'', which came out a year prior to this movie.

** Diesel wouldn't be the [[Film/{{Transformers}} last sentient robot who would speak through the radio.]]

* SignatureScene: The marble train scene is extremely well-remembered, for perfectly illustrating the movie's crazy, yet very inventive nature.

* SpiritualSuccessor: This is arguably the closest there is to a movie adaptation of VideoGame/{{Scrapland}}, which came out a year prior to this movie.

** Music/TomWaits' [[Music/{{Swordfishtrombones}} "Underground"]] for when we first see the Chop Shop, which sadly wasn't included on the soundtrack album. But fortunately, we do see it in the end credits.

** The fact that Bigweld was [[MrAltDisney modeled after]] Creator/WaltDisney got a whole lot funnier when it was announced that Creator/{{Disney}} was purchasing Creator/TwentiethCenturyFox (and therefore Blue Sky) in 2017 and finalized in March of 2019. The fact that Bigweld is played by Creator/MelBrooks, who famously made [[Film/{{Spaceballs}} a parody]] of one of Disney's [[Franchise/StarWars big name acquisitions in the deal]], make it that much funnier.

*** Take a look at Bigweld and say that he doesn't look quite a lot like a prototyped [[Film/StarWarsTheForceAwakens BB-8]].

** Likewise, it won't be the last time Harland Williams [[WesternAnimation/MeetTheRobinsons voiced a robot character]].

* ItWasHisSled: [[spoiler:Rodney wins, Madame Gasket dies.]]

* SugarWiki/NoProblemWithLicenseGames: The tie in video game is a surprisingly solid [=3D=] CollectAThonPlatformer that manages to tie in the plot of the movie to the levels rather well.

* StrawmanHasAPoint: A minor example with Mr. Gunk in his second scene. We're supposed to see him as unreasonable for not letting Herb go out to see Rodney after so long, and him having Herb's dishwasher dunked on his head is meant to be taken as justified because of how much of a prick he has been beforehand, but there is in fact some merit to his argument, since Herb was about to walk away from his job without asking if he could leave first, something that employees don't exactly makes themselves look good through doing. Yes, it's hard to completely take his side because he was being his usual MeanBoss self, and Herb by this point had had more than enough of that kind of attitude from him, but once you see the point Mr. Gunk had underneath it all, you can't un-see it.

* HarsherInHindsight:
** That one scene where Fender's arms fall off becomes less funny when nine years after the movie was released, Creator/RobinWilliams, who voiced Fender, committed suicide by hanging himself.
** The core plot of the film: Old model bots struggling to stay alive because the villain stopped making spare parts and wants them to stop fixing themselves, so that they are forced to pay huge sums of money for shiny new upgrades. These days there's an ongoing legal battle with large technology companies like Apple versus ordinary users and repair shops, with the companies trying to make it effectively illegal for people to repair their own devices through anything less than a certified technician from the manufacturer, lest they instantly void the warranty. "Official" repairs can often cost FAR more than any local repair shop may offer, and it's not uncommon for a certified technician to suggest total replacement of a device even when the problem is incredibly mundane and fixable in a few minutes without any additional parts. Vehicle makers like Tesla and John Deere use digital systems built into the machines to force the stranglehold even harder by being able to remotely lock down the vehicle until official technicians take a look at them.

%%* ClicheStorm: One of the main criticisms from the movie's detractors.

* FanficFuel: Who built the robots? Unlike ''WesternAnimation/{{Cars}}'', where the world-building is quite unfinished, ''Robots'' has clear rules about how a robot is "born" and the cities are clearly built by them. Is it an AfterTheEnd scenario or merely an AlternateUniverse? And in both cases, who was the first robot?

* SpiritualAdaptation: This is arguably the closest there is to a movie adaptation of VideoGame/{{Scrapland}}, which came out a year prior to this movie.

* ValuesResonance: As stated above under HarsherInHindsight, the core plot of the movie- a company forcing its customers to pay through the nose for expensive upgrades and cracking down on low-cost repair business- is actually far ''more'' powerful in TheNewTwenties than it was back in 2005, given how nowadays many people are struggling with these same issues (albeit thankfully not with actual ''body parts'', but often with devices like cars and phones that are often critical for their jobs).

* WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids: Not as bad as most animated films of the time, but the movie has some surprisingly raunchy humor in the form of innuendos. See the [[Radar/{{Robots}} radar page]] for more.

* ValuesResonance: As stated above under HarsherInHindsight, the core plot of the movie- a company forcing its customers to pay through the nose for expensive upgrades and cracking down on low-cost repair business- is actually far ''more'' powerful in the New 20's than it was back in 2005, given how nowadays many people are struggling with these same issues (albeit thankfully not with actual ''body parts'', but often with devices like cars and phones that are often critical for their jobs).

* {{Fanon}}: Some people believe that Fender is trans or has an AmbiguousGenderIdentity, since he doesn't seem to mind dressing up as a woman.

* TransAudienceInterpretation: Many fans often interpret Rodney as a trans man due to the fact that he had to wear "hand-me-downs," as in body parts, from his female cousin around the time a human would start puberty. He's clearly embarrassed by this, and he gets rid of them upon becoming a young adult.

** Was Tim always a {{Jerkass}} NiceCharacterMeanActor, or was he originally a decent and friendly guy who TookALevelInJerkass after working under the corrupt and uncaring Ratchet for a long time?

** [[spoiler:Madam Gasket's last words consist of first a panicked "What are you doing!?" when her son clings to her then firmly yelling "Do as I say! Get ''off!''" While one could take this to mean she's still as overbearing as ever, the situation they're both in--namely swinging dangerously close to the incinerator--makes one wonder if she was trying to ''[[AngerBornOfWorry protect]]'' Ratchet, telling him to let go of her because she knows if he doesn't, he'll die. Maybe fails to make her sympathetic, since she basically planned to destroy all the outmodes, but definitely reminds us that EvenEvilHasLovedOnes]].

** Music/TomWaits' [[Music/{{Swordfishtrombones}} "Underground"]] for when we first see the Chop Shop, which sadly wasn't included on the soundtrack album.

* JerksAreWorseThanVillains: Ratchet and Madame Gasket are the villains of the film, but both of them are compelling and entertaining to watch because they both have plenty of funny moments (especially Ratchet, who frequently ScreamsLikeALittleGirl and veers into AmbiguouslyGay territory), and their mother-and-son relationship is actually slightly heartwarming sometimes. Mr. Gunk and Tim, on the other hand, are not evil, but both are obnoxious {{Hate Sink}}s. Mr. Gunk is a grumpy MeanBoss to Herb and Rodney, as demonstrated in the scene where Wonderbot inadvertently wrecks the kitchen. The incident only happened because Mr. Gunk shouted at them upon entering the room, and Wonderbot, being easily startled, got a bad fright from it ([[FridgeBrilliance effectively making it Mr. Gunk's fault in more ways than one]]). And then, when Rodney tries to explain that all had been going well beforehand and prevent his father from taking all of the blame, Mr. Gunk fires him and scoffs at his dream of becoming an inventor. Tim is a particularly notorious showcase of this trope, too; the scene of him slamming the front gate to Bigweld Industries in Rodney's face says it all, and so does the scene afterwards of him taking delight in Rodney's misfortune after the latter becomes magnetized. Thankfully, both of them get hit by [[LaserGuidedKarma karma]] at the end -- Mr. Gunk gets Herb's dishwasher dunked on his head, and Tim gets kicked out of the Rivet Town dance party by Wonderbot as payback for his mean treatment of Rodney.

* WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids: Not as bad as most animated films of the time, but the movie has some surprisingly raunchy humor in the form of innuendos.

** A lot of memes center around pointing out how the movie features some genuinely profound social commentary, while also having scenes like an armpit fart contest and a woman with a comically large butt killing a man by farting.

* ValuesResonance: As stated above under HarsherInHindsight, the core message of the movie- that companies which force users to pay through the nose for expensive upgrades and crack down on low-cost repair business are a serious problem- is actually far ''more'' powerful in the New 20's than it was back in 2005, given how nowadays many people are struggling with these same issues (albeit thankfully not with actual ''body parts'', but often with devices like cars and phones that are often critical for their jobs).

* SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome: Considering the amount of detail and texture put into the robots and the metal environment they live in, this is easily one of Blue Sky's best-looking films, and the animation has aged surprisingly very well since 2005.

* ClicheStorm: One of the main criticisms from the movie's detractors.

** Bigweld himself recently has become popular with being portrayed as an invincible god-like entity or anime character who can rival or is even seen as more powerful than [[Franchise/ScoobyDoo Shaggy]].

** A lot of memes center around pointing out how the movie features some genuinely good social commentary, while also having scenes like an armpit fart contest and a woman with a comically large butt killing a man by farting.