History WesternAnimation / Robots

** Crank Casey is a [[GrumpyBear sour and pessimistic grump]] who loves to sit around complaining, but his heart is always in the right place at the end of the day. Towards the climax of the film, he admits that he actually wants to try instead of just complain and is very diligent in the Chop Shop battle.

* GoodCapitalismEvilCapitalism: The film portrays the entire spectrum of capitalism. Rodney represents the idealistic side who invents and innovates first and foremost with the goal of bettering the common man. Ratchet is on the opposite, purely cynical side, propagandizing to the masses that they need to constantly shell out as much money as possible for flashy upgrades rather than simply repairing and maintaining themselves and their tools. Then in the middle, you have characters like Bigweld, a former optimist who eventually let the crushing weight of corporate bureaucracy wear him down until he decided to just abandon his company and hide (at least until Rodney helps him regain his confidence).

[[caption-width-right:350:The greatest animated comedy ever assembled!]]

After an accident in a local restaurant results in Herb Copperbottom (Creator/StanleyTucci) going into debt, his ambitious young son Rodney (voiced by Creator/EwanMcGregor) leaves his hometown for Robot City, hoping to show his inventions to his childhood hero, [[BigGood Bigweld]] (Creator/MelBrooks). To his dismay, Bigweld has been displaced by CorruptCorporateExecutive [[TheDragon Ratchet]] (Creator/GregKinnear) who is interested only in selling shiny upgrade parts to robots, leaving anybody who can't afford them to rust.

Rodney finds himself alone and broke in the big city. Luckily (or unluckily) for him, he becomes friends with motormouth and kleptomaniac Fender Pinwheeler (Creator/RobinWilliams), who introduces him to his [[TagalongKid little sister Piper]] (Creator/AmandaBynes) and his misfit collection of friends: [[TheBigGuy Lug]] (Harland Williams), [[SourSupporter Crank Casey]] (Creator/DrewCarey), and Diesel (who needs a new voice chip and is TheUnintelligible for most of the movie.).

** How Wonder Bot defeats Madame Gasket looks like the infamous tail-spin attack from VideoGame/SuperMario64.

** Fender in the chop shop discovering that the upgrades Ratchet sells are being made out of outmodes is similar to the scene in Film/SoylentGreen where Thorn finds out the Soylent Green crackers are being made of people.

** When brainstorming a signal call for Rodney when the two are under-cover, Fender yodels [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-1ik3S6Ct4 "RRRRRRRIIIIIICOLAAAAAAA!!"]]

* ScreenShake: You expect it during explosions and fight scenes. Then there's when Aunty Fanny causes it to happen.

'''Ratchet''': No wait! Please listen to me! You can't do this to me, this job is my life! It means everything to me! You don't know what I've done to get here! The lies I've told, the lives I've ruined! ...This isn't helping me.\\

* GRatedSex: When Rodney's Parents 'Make a baby', they're doing so in the most literal use of the phrase. Robots are born from their parents building them with bought parts and spare parts, confirmed in how Rodney was born. Although, during that montage, they inserted a whole lot of adult humour. ("Making the baby is the fun part", "They always put in an extra piece. We wanted a boy, right?")

-->'''Rodney's Dad:''' He has your mom's eyes, and my dad's nose. I knew we were smart to save those parts.

-->'''Crank''': Oh man. This is my third oil change today. Something's wrong with me!

%%* ByTheLightsOfTheirEyes: Justified because they're robots, and their eyes have built-in flashlights. It only happens in one scene for about five seconds, though.

** Subtle, but Bigweld's domino fixation gives Rodney a really bright way to battle the Super-Sweepers (see above).

* {{Crossdresser}}: Fender ends up in a skirt and heels. Fender GenderBender?
** More like an EasySexChange.
** Also, at one point in his adolescence, [[TheHero Rodney's]] hand-me-downs are from his cousin ''Veronica''. This part of his adolescence is mercifully skipped, and he's only shown wearing it in a single image. At graduation, he throws it away in the air.

--->'''Tinman:''' I must have a heart, 'cause it's a-breakin'.

* UrineTrouble: The fire hydrant is sentient and tells the robotic dog "Don't you dare!"

-->'''Mr. Copperbottom''': [chuckles] We did want a boy, right? [He takes the piece and a hammer] This won't hurt a bit, son. [He hammers the piece in, Rodney cries]

* EasySexChange: Fender. Maybe. He is a robot to begin with, so it's hard to say. Anyway, other characters begin to use feminine pronouns after he accidentally gains a skirt. <No, they don't. Watched it last night. They don't even use any pronouns after the "change".

* RealityEnsues: [[spoiler:Rodney gives his father an instrument in order for him to achieve his dream as a musician. It's then shown a few seconds later that he can't play it. Fortunately, the town steps in to salvage his performance for the ending.]]

** Herb Copperbottom's boss, Mr. Gunk. He's rude to his employees denounces Rodney as the son of a dish washer after the latter inadvertently causes Herb to go into debt. At the end of the film, [[spoiler:Herb finally has had enough of Gunk and quits his job by slamming his dishwasher apron on the rude boss' head. As he leaves, Gunk shouts "You'll ''never'' wash in this town again!" before getting hit by the doors that close on him.]]

* AWorldwidePunomenon: When the movie isn't tossing [[{{Demographically Inappropriate Humour}} jokes aimed at legacy bots]], it's throwing a series of puns at the audience.

* {{Fartillery}}: Aunt Fanny has a cannon powerful enough to [[UpToEleven shake the earth]] and kill nearby bots. It was even lampshaded by Piper:

* GRatedSex: When Rodney's Parents 'Make a baby', they're doing so in the most literal use of the phrase. Robots are born from their parents building them with bought parts and spare parts, confirmed in how Rodney was born. Although, during that montage, they inserted a whole lot of {{demographically inappropriate humour}}. ("Making the baby is the fun part", "They always put in an extra piece. We wanted a boy, right?")

* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler:Cappy, who rescues Rodney when he crashes the Bigweld Ball, and later fights for the Outmodes in the battle in the Chop Shop.]] To be fair, she wasn't approving of Ratchet's plans from the start, and turns to the good side as soon as she finds a solid chance, so she's more of a HalfHeartedHenchman.

** Herb Copperbottom's boss, Mr. Gunk, who takes the Main/MeanBoss aspect UpToEleven. He also denounces Rodney as the son of a dish washer after the latter inadvertently causes Herb to go into debt. At the end of the film, [[spoiler:Herb finally has had enough of Gunk and quits his job by slamming his dishwasher apron on the rude boss' head. As he leaves, Gunk shouts "You'll ''never'' wash in this town again!" before getting hit by the doors that close on him.]]

* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: When Ratchet [[spoiler:subdues Bigweld with the intercom, knocking the big guy out]], he orders his guards to [[spoiler: take him to the Chop Shop]] and to "put my name on his parking space."

** Rodney has a ''major'' one when [[spoiler:he realizes what happened to Bigweld after meeting him for the first time]].

* HumiliationConga: [[spoiler:Ratchet ends up being stripped of all his upgrades like his father.]]

* SheIsNotMyGirlfriend: [[ActionGirl Cappy]] about [[TheHero Rodney]]. (Only once, and offhand.) When Bigweld compliments Rodney, saying he's a genius, he refers to him as her boyfriend. However Cappy deflects this a little before she asks, "He is?!" in reference to the compliment.

* HeIsNotMyBoyfriend: [[ActionGirl Cappy]] about [[TheHero Rodney]]. (Only once, and offhand.) When Bigweld compliments Rodney, saying he's a genius, he refers to him as her boyfriend. However Cappy deflects this a little before she asks, "He is?!" in reference to the compliment.

'''Cappy:''' What? Oh, [[HesNotMyBoyfriend he's not my boy-]] he is?\\