Neon Releases First U.S. Teaser For Wistful And Endearing Spanish Feature ‘Robot Dreams’
Indie powerhouse distributor Neon has released the first U.S. teaser for Robot Dreams, the wistfully endearing hand-drawn Spanish animated feature directed and written by Pablo Berger and based on the graphic novel by Sara Varon. The dialogue-less film is Berger’s first work in animation, though he is widely known for his live-action work, particularly his idiosyncratic 2012 adaptation of Snow White called Blancanieves.
The teaser indicates that the film is “coming soon” though no release date has been announced. The distributor’s official synopsis reads:
Dog lives in Manhattan and he’s tired of being alone. One day he decides to build himself a robot, a companion. Their friendship blossoms, until they become inseparable, to the rhythm of 80’s NYC. One summer night, Dog, with great sadness, is forced to abandon Robot at the beach. Will they ever meet again?
The $6 million production opened last month in Spain, and despite a sterling critical reception, it has earned just over $200,000 after one month of play in its home country. The film isn’t an easy sell. When I first saw images from Robot Dreams last year, I immediately assumed it was a children’s film based on the production design. As it turns out, it’s anything but a kids film, though it happens to be perfectly appropriate for younger audiences, too. It’s a rich, multi-layered story that speaks on many levels, and it’s not only one of my favorite films of 2023, but also among the emotionally richest animated productions of the year, right up there with Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron.
Director Pablo Berger spoke about how people perceive the film in an interview with Cartoon Brew last month: “For us, it was never a kids’ movie. Sara’s book wasn’t meant for kids either. Of course, it’s got kid-friendly designs and colors, and I think kids will enjoy the film, but we never considered adding anything or leaving anything out for kids. For me, the most important audience for any of my films is me. That may sound selfish or egocentric, but I make all of my films with myself as the main target, and after me is the team I’m working with.”
Neon hasn’t made much of an awards push for the feature this season, which is a bit puzzling because it’s an incredibly strong contender. Not to mention that Neon’s last animation release, Flee, was nominated for three Oscars. The film has been a hit everywhere it has screened – it won Annecy’s Contrechamp competition, earned a special jury prize at Animation is Film, and won the audience award at Bucheon. Just last month, it won the European Film Award for best animated feature of 2023 and it is currently nominated for four Goya Awards in Spain.
Neon also released a poster for the film today:
