FILM · 2005
Robots
36 archived facts 4 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (36)
- #001
The producers wanted the score to sound as if it had been recorded by the "Robot Philharmonic." To that end, they hired the Blue Man Group, performance artists known for playing instruments built from industrial pipes and other found objects, to create custom percussion effects.
- #002
In the DVD commentary, Chris Wedge reported that Robin Williams performed the scene in which Fender and Rodney try to outdo Tim eight times, doing it in eight different accents, including as a Polish butler.
- #003
A special machining tool was created to randomly place caterpillars on each domino in Bigweld's workshop.
- #004
A contest was held in Australia for Australian children to win a voice role in the film. The lucky winners were chosen to voice one of the robots selling watches at the train station.
- #005
A robotic version of Sid the Sloth from Ice Age (2002) appears when Rodney first enters Robot City, as he approaches the street performer.
- #006
Rivet Town was designed after Watertown, New York, where director Chris Wedge grew up.
- #007
The film's original concept was a 1930s-style screwball comedy featuring musical numbers.
- #008
This was Robin Williams's first voice role since Aladdin and the King of Thieves (1996).
- #009
This was Blue Sky Studios' first non-franchise film.
- #010
The team behind My Life as a Teenage Robot (2002) attended a screening of this film.
- #011
According to Twitter user UntitledJunk, an older "director's cut" of the film is believed to exist with a slightly longer running time, removed characters and scenes, and much better-developed characters such as Cappy. It even led to a trend known as #ReleasetheChrisWedgeCut, in which people sought out and shared deleted scenes from the film on Twitter that were leaked by people who worked on the film, its merchandise and its marketing. In the DVD commentary, Chris Wedge noted that he would be interested in releasing a director's cut of his film at some point, as he pointed out alternate takes of scenes that were probably changed due to studio interference. The trend itself was also a nod to the notorious #ReleaseTheSnyderCut trend and a tribute to Blue Sky Studios after its controversial closure by The Walt Disney Company.
- #012
Jack Hammer, the owner of the hardware store, is based on a character from an early test made during development to test the look the filmmakers wanted. He was a director working on a scene with an actress. The actor was also to appear in the final film as a background character at the beginning. Screenshots from the test appear as pictures hanging in Aunt Fanny's house. Coincidentally, the music used in the test was archived from Down with Love (2003), which starred Rodney's voice actor, Ewan McGregor.
- #013
This was the first film to include the official trailer for Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005), which also starred Ewan McGregor; Star Wars fans were reported to have bought tickets to see the film either to leave when the trailer ended or to watch the whole film, just to hear Ewan McGregor's performance in it.
- #014
At the beginning of the scene in which Rodney is at the Rivet Town train station, the "ticket taker robot" can be seen picking his nose and examining his finger behind the window of his booth. In the DVD commentary, one of the commentators notes that this is a hidden reference.
- #015
Sid from Ice Age makes a cameo in the background as a "sloth bot."
- #016
Along with the Star Wars releases, this is the only film released by Fox that includes a playable demo when the DVD disc is inserted into the original Xbox video game console.
- #017
The box the baby is born in has a net weight of 3.5 kilograms. This means Rodney's birth weight would be seven pounds and eleven ounces.
- #018
This was the first time Ewan McGregor used an American accent in a feature film.
- #019
When Fender and Rodney arrive at the ball trying to get past Tim, we get a look at the guest list. The names on the list are Mr. Vandersmelt, Forge, Silvia Goldbot, Cappy, Mme Goldie Van Bot, Ann Droid and Mr. Silverleaf.
- #020
The green clunky robot's name is Lug, though the film never mentions it. It was, however, mentioned in a deleted scene in which Fender introduces the gang to Rodney while straightening his neck.
- #021
In the opening scene, as Mr. Copperbottom walks through Rivet Town, one of the vendors is selling ice cream called "Auntie Freeze." (This is a reference to radiator coolant/antifreeze, a chemical used in the radiators of vehicles in countries exposed to low temperatures or snowy weather.)
- #022
Ewan McGregor voices a role in a theatrical film for the first time. He went on to voice the title character of Valiant (2005), the spirit of Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, Lumiere the Candlestick in Beauty and the Beast (2017) and the Wish Collector in The Land of Sometimes (2026).
- #023
One of the coffee pots on Aunt Fanny's coffee pot tray is the same pot the wonder robot was built in.
- #024
Along with Ice Age (2002), this is the only Blue Sky Studios film to be released on VHS (excluding the international releases of Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006)), because the company's remaining films were released only on DVD.
- #025
The film is dedicated to the memory of David Boyd Brown (1938-2003), founder and CEO of Blue Sky Studios. Blue Sky's first animation was a commercial for Braunn, after which it became an FX house. As he planned to move into major feature films, he needed financing, which resulted in Blue Sky Studios being sold to 20th Century Fox in 1997. The result was the hugely successful Ice Age (2002), which fulfilled his dream just one year before he died, as Robots was getting well underway. Two of his most notable achievements were the development of software for creating CGI objects as solid shapes rather than complex polygonal structures, and the development of rendering software capable of producing smooth metallic textures. The ultra-realistic rendering of both "new" and "aged" metal and painted objects (that is, all the imagery in Robots) was a groundbreaking achievement. If one wants to compare these characters with their sources of inspiration, an internet search for 1950s outboard motors provides an "aha" moment for viewers.
- #026
At one point a sound box is found in which Darth Vader's voice was recorded. Rodney Copperbottom's voice is Ewan McGregor, who played Obi-Wan Kenobi in numerous Star Wars films, including Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005), released the same year as this film.
- #027
This is one of two 20th Century Fox films, along with Monkeybone (2001), that includes Joe Ranft, who died after this film's premiere. Afterwards, Corpse Bride (2005), Sony Animation's first film Open Season (2006), and the Disney films Chicken Little (2005) and Cars (2006) were dedicated to his memory.
- #028
This is the first Blue Sky Studios film with no humans in it.
- #029
After Fender steals Rodney Copperbottom's foot, Fender delivers the line "Foot, don't fail me now!" similar to the phrase "Feet, don't fail me now!" popularized by Stepin Fetchit.
- #030
This is one of the first major feature films to use the sound of the West African udu drum in its score. Composer John Powell used this traditional clay drum to create the tabla-like "whoop" sound heard in various musical cues and themes throughout the picture.
- #031
The phone booth's message about so many minutes a month, nights, weekends and the like is a nod to the recent deregulation of the telephone industry. Breaking the Bell Telephone monopoly paved the way for multiple long-distance carriers to join in, and it filled TV channels with constant ads promoting one service or another. The above references to minutes, weekends, etc. were features of these TV commercials.
- #032
After turning down many voice roles in films throughout the 20th century, Mel Brooks voiced a role in a theatrically released film for the first time. He went on to voice Albert Einstein in Mr. Peabody & Sherman (2014), Old Vampire Vlad Dracula in the Hotel Transylvania films, the toy elephant Melephant Brooks in Toy Story 4 (2019), the cat Shogun Toshi in Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank (2022) and the Postman in The Land of Sometimes (2026).
- #033
Seth MacFarlane, Seth Rogen, John Goodman, Steve Martin, Steve Buscemi, David Cross, Will Forte, Paul Giamatti, Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy, James Franco, Larry the Cable Guy, Michael Peña, Ricky Gervais, Bruce Willis, Rob Paulsen, Jason Alexander, David Spade, Billy Crystal, Ryan Reynolds, Jon Cryer, Samuel E. Wright, Randy Quaid, Pauly Shore, Danny DeVito, Nathan Lane, Dave Thomas, Denis Leary, David Hyde Pierce, Martin Short, Hugh Laurie, Steve Zahn, Simon Pegg, Chris Rock, Peter Dinklage and Jack Black were considered for the role of Fender.
- #034
According to the United States Postal Service, the mailbox voiced by Al Roker is named ODIS.
- #035
Steve Carell, Zachary Levi, Chris Pine, Garry Shandling, Jason Lee, Sean Faris, Owen Wilson, Michael J. Fox, Matthew McConaughey, Leonardo DiCaprio, Nicolas Cage, Adam Sandler, Topher Grace, James Marsden and John Cusack were considered for the role of Rodney Copperbottom.
- #036
It is Blue Sky Studios' second feature film.
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