Pinwheel

Robots is a 2005 American animated science fiction comedy film directed by Chris Wedge and written by David Lindsay-Abaire, Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel. Produced by 20th Century Fox Animation and Blue Sky Studios, it stars the voices of Ewan McGregor, Halle Berry, Greg Kinnear, Mel Brooks, Amanda Bynes, Drew Carey and Robin Williams. The story follows ambitious robot inventor Rodney Copperbottom, who seeks employment at the company of his idol Bigweld in Robot City, but discovers a plot by its new CEO Phineas T. Ratchet and his mother to forcibly upgrade the city's populace and eradicate struggling robots, known as "outmodes". Development of the film began in 2000, following a failed attempt by Wedge and children's author William Joyce to adapt Joyce's children's book Santa Calls. They instead decided to create an original story based on robots. The project was approved by executive producer Chris Meledandri in 2001 and production began the next year. Robots premiered at the Mann Village Theatre in Westwood, Los Angeles, on March 6, 2005, and was released in the United States on March 11 by 20th Century Fox. The film received positive reviews from critics, with praise for its humor, animation and performances, while its story was deemed somewhat formulaic. The film was commercially successful, grossing $262.5 million worldwide against a $75–80 million budget. A sequel was discussed but never produced due to the studio’s heavier focus on its flagship franchise, Ice Age.