How is this world even possible?
Last night I decided to watch and snark at Robots, I regret this decision. For one, how the fuck is this world even possible, how do these things work? I know maybe I should repeat the mantra but it just bugs me.- Their arms are seemingly hydraulic pipes mounted on Bionicle-esque ball joints, how do these ball joints "move"?
- Also the other problems I have with this world is how they seem to use oil as a all purpose liquid, for instance, in one shot a fountain is streaming oil. This suggests that there is no such thing as water in their world, for that matter then, how are there clouds and blue skies? Shouldn't the sky be a sort of black/brown colour? They also treat oil as coffee, milk, everything!
- Following on from that, what sort of idiot thought it was a good idea to have a ball rolling transit system, though they never collided in the movie, did you see how many there were flying through the sky in the rollercoaster scene? Am I supposed to believe that these things never collide?
I would go on about my theories on why the world is inhabited by robots but thats for the WMG page.- Watching any other kids' movies? — That's not enough balloons to lift a house! How are the dragon and the donkey able to have babies? How does the Shrink Ray not violate the Law of Conservation of Mass? How is the robot still working after 700 YEARS!?!?! It's a kid's fantasy movie. Just apply some Willing Suspension of Disbelief, repeat the MST3K Mantra and calm down. As long as the universe follows the rules it has set for itself (which Robots does) other violations of reality are acceptable.
- Questioning the more "unusual/puzzling" aspects of kids' movies is what Headscratchers is all about. Just because there's a Willing Suspension of Disbelief doesn't mean someone isn't going to stop and say "Wait, this doesn't make any sense!" even within the context of the movies' set "rules". The MST3K Mantra can only go so far before people are going to ask things like- "What happens if all the robots start to break down (IE: Who or what fixes them)?", "Where on earth did Baby Godzilla come from?", and the like. People nitpick movies. It's just something they do. Why? Who knows? Who cares? If someone wants to question the logic of a kids' movie, that's their right to do so. Does it make the movie any more or less enjoyable if you nitpick it? No, of course not. You can still enjoy a movie and still go "What the hell were they thinking?" at certain less-than-logical moments.
- If the "less than logical moment" is that "Those aren't real robots!" in a stylized children's movie, then no, it's not a valid headscratcher. That's like going into other Disney movies and saying "Animals don't talk and aren't sentient!" It's not having a nitpick, it's being... I don't even know a proper word for it, but at that point it's fair to respond with "You know, maybe this whole 'fiction' thing isn't for you, stick to documentaries."
- Watching any other kids' movies? — That's not enough balloons to lift a house! How are the dragon and the donkey able to have babies? How does the Shrink Ray not violate the Law of Conservation of Mass? How is the robot still working after 700 YEARS!?!?! It's a kid's fantasy movie. Just apply some Willing Suspension of Disbelief, repeat the MST3K Mantra and calm down. As long as the universe follows the rules it has set for itself (which Robots does) other violations of reality are acceptable.
- Just because they look like ball-and-socket joints doesn't mean they are. They could have internal motors that allow them to move. In fact, there would have to be some kind of opening, in order to make room for the wiresnote to reach their extremities.
- "Robots use oil" doesn't automatically mean that "water doesn't exist." Maybe they put oil in the fountain because they think it's pretty. In addition, water brings the danger of rust; would you put what is essentially a poison in a fountain?
- They're robots. Faster reaction time, maybe?
- Plus, being robots, they've probably done the math.
- The transit system is probably because 1) they are robots who can repair themselves and each other; it might hurt to fall off the tracks, but it's not like they'd die - and Rodney and Fender weren't damaged by their journey physically, were they? and 2) Bigweld probably funded and/or designed the transit system - and the guy isn't exactly limited by sanity, practicality or budget.
- Offscreen precision calculation. They're robots. They can do the maths to make sure none collide. There are no coincidences - everything was calculated with extreme precision before a single ball was launched.
- I'm surprised nobody has questioned the sanity of killing off at least 90% of your entire consumer base in the name of profits. Seriously. They stopped making spare parts, pushed expensive upgrades, outright hunted down and scrapped "out-mode" bots who can't afford upgrades and turned them to scrap metal. Even if they planned on selling this to other companies; wouldn't the government launch an investigation to see where this massive amount of metal came from?
- It's subtle but the movie does mention that the outmodes that are actually turned into scrap are being repurposed into the new models—the shop keeper hints that the main cast can become "something else," and the ingots that come out of the chop shop are bright silver, like the new models. Also, the movie does not conclusively state how many robots are outmodes. There's a lot of them shown coming to be fixed, but, presumably, there's a whole lot more of them who don't need to be repaired and simply don't show up. Even if the ratios did approach 10/90%, Ratchet could, conceivably, just make more shiny robots (and thereby renew the customer base) with the outmode scrap.
- So Ratchet's plan is to use the company's money to make more customers so they give him more money? How is that profitable?
- Upgrades are shown to be a thing of luxury. Something akin to fancy clothing such as tuxedos and cashmere. At the very least the average robot doesn't seem to be able to afford to buy these very often. So it might actually be more like the US situation where only 1% of the people are the "Elites" and can avoid being deemed outmodes.
- And what happens when upgraded robots need repairs, but can not afford more upgrade parts? The rich might run out of money eventually with the lower classes getting scrapped. It is possible that Ratchet wasn't actually after profits, but to help his mother kill a lot of robots.
- You have to remember that it's Ratchet's mom who runs the junkyard. What is almost certainly happening is that this is all a part of his mother's scheme to make their family rich and powerful, damn everyone else; even if 90% of every Robot in the world is outmoded and scrapped, that still means that 10% is wealthy enough to purchase upgrades, which would be made from scrap that almost certainly comes from her junkyard (at least for the main city). So not only is the Company run by Ratchet going to be sucking the wealth from the richest 10%, but then Ratchet's Mom is going to be sucking money from her Sons company through special Contracts that make her the main Scrap Dealer for a high price (and money laundering will also probably be occurring all the time).
- It's subtle but the movie does mention that the outmodes that are actually turned into scrap are being repurposed into the new models—the shop keeper hints that the main cast can become "something else," and the ingots that come out of the chop shop are bright silver, like the new models. Also, the movie does not conclusively state how many robots are outmodes. There's a lot of them shown coming to be fixed, but, presumably, there's a whole lot more of them who don't need to be repaired and simply don't show up. Even if the ratios did approach 10/90%, Ratchet could, conceivably, just make more shiny robots (and thereby renew the customer base) with the outmode scrap.
What authority removed Bigweld from power?
There's a lot of talk about 'profits' over 'charity' as the reason why Bigweld is removed from the company but I don't think there is any kind of higher authority than Bigweld. Sure Ratchet is shown talking to what could be a 'board' but I reckon they look more like executive employees than shareholders who would have authority over Bigweld and even then they seem to be in favour of Bigweld based on the meeting scene. Additionally when Bigweld DOES return everyone immediately buckles to his authority, gets through the gates and into Ratchet's office easy enough and fires Ratchet in a heartbeat and Ratchet takes it seriously enough to cower in fear from him. Hell I'm surprised the security didn't destroy Ratchet when they arrived seeing how Bigweld called for them and seemed to be the boss of everyone else there. So who decided that Bigweld should be removed from the company? It only seems like Ratchet has this profit ideal I have no idea how he could takeover like that.- I thought this over, and perhaps Bigweld stepped down? Perhaps Ratchet pointed out to Bigweld that the current policy was going to sink Bigweld Industries if left unchanged, and Bigweld couldn't find a way to turn a profit without abandoning someone? It wouldn't be a surprise for a philanthropist like Bigweld to be slow to stop manufacturing spare parts that steadily fewer and fewer models use... -DS Piron
- That doesn't really make any sense considering his actions when he did return then. The company makes the world (by selling child kits) and maintains it, it has a monopoly on healthcare and it is actually somewhat affordable based on how many poor robots can afford spare parts. The chopshop existed before Ratchet so presumably recycling was still done then so there's little in a way for them to lose money. Plus if it was losing money then Bigweld would have a legitimate reason to refuse to comeback but he instantly reboots the old policies and ways the second he comes back so it can't have been that bad.
- Maybe he just got bored with running the company and decided to step down to focus on other activities?
- Well it's always an option but it's a bit of a cop out to believe he was that much of a Domino enthusiast to throw the world literally on the scrapheap. Plus I'm pretty sure he says at one point that "Ratchet beat me" implying Ratchet somehow was responsible for removing him from power.
- I always assumed Bigweld was 'on vacation', with Ratchet being the second-in-command when he left. Technically, Brooksweld... sorry, Bigweld is still Head Honcho, but it's Ratchet who runs the game. "He beat me" could mean in spirit, reducing the big guy's morale to nothing and pushing him into a Heroic BSoD, no pun intended.
- Ratchet, then still not in the full administrative position but still with considerable sway and power, convinced most of the board members that Bigweld would eventually run the company into the ground with his outmoded ways. With the board members not angry at but at least not supporting Bigweld as much in his decisions anymore, he was effectively driven from his position by himself when he chose to take a perpetually extended vacation and leave things in the hands of Ratchet. His courage faded considerably over the years as Ratchet revealed the Chop Shop and began his campaign to eliminate outmodes from society. The board members are now wishing they'd never sided with Ratchet in the first place, and can't change their minds out of fear of being sent to the Chop Shop at a moment's notice.
- I agree with the second to last troper above me. Technically, Bigweld wasn't removed from power in any way, he was just out of the picture for reasons nobody knew, and it's actually mentioned a few times that he could come back if he wanted to, which was why Madame Gasket was so adamant that Ratchet finish him off once and for all. When Rodney finally confronts Bigweld over the situation, the latter mentions that he had done this on purpose, as Ratchet's profit-making ideals have made him feel old-fashioned, leaving him feeling that he is not worthy of running the company anymore. To sum it up, Bigweld was in a major Heroic BSoD, and nobody has technically overthrown him at all.
Fender's ribbons
- When Fender escapes the Chop Shop, he has just replaced his missing lower-half with that of a female robot. Okay. When Rodney and the others meet him at the train station later, he suddenly has ribbons on his head and crank. Where did he get those, and why is he wearing them?
- I always thought that they came from the spring he had to escape from.
- One of the commentaries on the DVD reveals that there was a short scene that would have shown the aftermath of Fender escaping the Chop Shop. He would end up in a dumpster, tangled in ribbons. Even though the scene was cut, the animators left the ribbons on Fender's head.
Nonsensical gags around the dog.
When the dog looks at a sentient fire hydrant, the hydrant says, "Don't even think about it". Um.... think about what? It's a robot dog and while maybe robot Dogs Love Fire Hydrants too, they can't love them for the traditional reason, simply because they don't urinate. And why does the dog hide away upon hearing, "Who wants to get fixed?"? I don't think robots can be neutered as we see how they reproduce in the intro.- The dog don't urinate.....but it can "do oil change" (as we saw in the movie , that's basically the equipment of our "number 1 and/or 2") And the dog maybe just don't want to got it's "oil plug"....well , "fixed".
Bigweld Balloon
- Why is there a Bigweld Balloon? Bigweld is a real character within the show. It's equivalent to seeing like an actor balloon in Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. The only exceptions would be Red Ranger and Ronald McDonald because they are fictional live action portrayal. Bigweld, in-universe, isn't a live-action portrayal.
