Robot Dreams

Robot Dreams (2023) is a Spanish–French animated tragicomedy directed and written by Pablo Berger, based on Sara Varon's graphic novel. The dialogue-free story follows a lonely dog in 1980s New York who builds a robot companion. As their friendship blossoms—with roller-skating, subway rides, and shared TV dinners—it’s cut short when the robot is accidentally abandoned, triggering a bittersweet journey of loss, separation, and hope. The narrative communicates solely through expressive animation and a nostalgic soundtrack, delivering emotional clarity without words. Visually, Robot Dreams employs a charming 2D style with bold linework and richly detailed urban backdrops evoking 1980s Manhattan. The fluid animation brings toy-like characters to life, capturing subtle emotional beats and period-specific details like Pong games and boomboxes. Composer Alfonso de Vilallonga underscores the film with heartfelt, melodic themes that echo its emotional shifts—joy, sorrow, and resilience. Made on a budget of approximately €5 million, the film grossed about $6.2 million worldwide, a solid return for an independent animated feature. It premiered in the Special Screenings section at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival and garnered awards at major animation festivals including Annecy, where it won the Contrechamp Best Film Award. It also earned Spain’s Goya Award for Best Animated Film and took home the European Film Award for Best Animated Feature. The film continued to earn acclaim on the international awards circuit, winning Best Independent Animated Feature at the 51st Annie Awards and receiving a nomination for Best Animated Feature at the 96th Academy Awards IMDb+15Wikipedia+15Decider+15 . Critically, Robot Dreams is celebrated as a modern classic. It holds a 98% Tomatometer on Rotten Tomatoes and an 84 Metacritic score, with reviewers praising its emotional sophistication, silent-storytelling craft, and the way it captures universal themes of friendship and loss . Critics have called it “one of the best animations in recent years,” highlighting its ability to be both heartwarming and heartbreaking through visual expression alone The Guardian+1Rotten Tomatoes Editorial+1 . The legacy of Robot Dreams lies in its reaffirmation that animation can convey deep emotion without dialogue, and that independent studios can compete aesthetically and thematically with major players. Its success sparked conversations about minimalist storytelling, and its Oscar nomination alongside major studio releases signaled broader acceptance of experimental, silent animation in the global film landscape.