Last week, our bank holiday family viewing was all sorted when we received a copy of Robosapien to review. I have to admit, I'd never heard of it, but the write-up sounded like it would be right up the Madhouse Mini-testers' street : "Henry may not be the most popular kid in school, but he's certainly the smartest and that has its advantages, especially when he comes across a broken robot named Cody. After fixing him, Henry discovers that Cody isn't your average automaton - he's a highly intelligent search and rescue robot who has been set free by his inventor from the clutches of the evil Kinetech Labs, which plan to use him for military purposes. The new friendship looks as though it may be brought to an abrupt end when Kinetech tracks down Cody and take him back to the lab. However, when they also kidnap Henry's mother and Cody's inventor, it's up to one boy and his robot to outwit their captors and save the day!" Not very original but it sounds like a classic kids' movie plotline that is sure to appeal to its target audience.
The robot is apparently based on the hugely popular toys of the same name, which is something else that had totally passed me by ! I like the idea of having toy/film tie-ins though, as it helps children to come up with creative storylines and really imagine their toys in real-life situations that help develop their imaginations. As a child of the eighties (and if you don't believe me, have a look here !), Cody the robot instantly made me think of a cross between ET and Johnny 5, the robot from Short Circuit ("Number 5 is aliiiive !"). The Madhouse Mini-testers automatically associated him with Wall-E though. Have a look at the trailer and make up your own minds.
I thought Cody was very cute and it was great to see the friendship building between the boy, Henry, who is having a hard time being bullied at the start of the film, and Cody, the robot, who helps him build his confidence. It's full of action with some funny moments but also some pretty bad acting and scripting, if I'm honest (which I always am !). I'm not in the target audience though - it's aimed at 5-10-year-olds - and the younger members of The Madhouse did really enjoy it.
star rating : 4/5
RRP : £15.99
- Studio: Kaleidoscope Home Entertainment
- Rating : PG
- DVD Release Date: 27 May 2013
- Run Time: 86 minutes
Disclosure : We received a copy of the DVD in order to write an honest review.
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