As if the jugglers and their fellow performers weren’t enough, blue confetti would squirt into the sky every so often, floating down and covering whoever happened to be on the red carpet at the time. Publicists had to work double-time to make sure the stars weren’t photographed or interviewed with blue tissue sticking out of their hair or other assorted embarrassing places.
Making their way down the crowded red carpet, the voice cast of “Robots” looked like they were ready to have fun and party. Casual clothing was the order of the day, with Oscar-winning beauty Halle Berry showing up in jeans and a jersey-style shirt. Ewan McGregor wore a black motorcycle jacket, provoking one interviewer to ask if he’s planning another road trip similar to the one he took last year with his actor buddy, Charley Boorman.
Also working the red carpet was the usually manic Robin Williams who confessed he was still getting over being sick. “Robots” marks Williams’ return to animated films almost a decade after providing the voice of ‘Blue Genie’ in Disney’s “Aladdin.” In “Robots,” Williams takes on the job of voicing Fender, a robot who looks like a coffee pot and is constantly losing parts of his anatomy. In the film, Williams sings a little ditty and even does a few of the more recognizable voices from his stand-up routine. Not letting his recent illness get him down, Williams responded to questions about the “Robots” script by saying he used the script as a jumping off point and then went off on his own riffs.
The red-hot Ewan McGregor, who’ll next be seen in a little movie quietly sneaking into theaters called “Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith,” laughed about the references to “Star Wars” in “Robots.” Chuckling, McGregor admitted, “Yeah, there’s a couple that were very funny and made me laugh. They weren’t in the script when I first read it.”
McGregor brings Rodney Copperbottom, an ordinary robot who becomes a hero, to life in “Robots.” Rodney’s a kind of boy-next-door robot who only wants to be an inventor and help other robots. Rodney’s also able to fix anything, and his skill with a wrench keeps his fellow mid- and lower-class robots from being sent to the scrap heap. McGregor admitted that in real life there are certain technological inventions that stump him. Asked to name one, McGregor immediately confessed his laptop continues to confuse him.
McGregor has seen “Robots” and is ecstatic about the finished film. “I love it. I really like it. I forgot that it was me doing the voice for him after 10 or 15 minutes. I really enjoyed.”
So how difficult was doing voice work in a booth by yourself without any actors around compared to playing Obi-Wan Kenobi and having to work in front of a green screen? McGregor confessed he didn’t find doing voice work difficult at all. He loved being able to just have fun in a less stressful environment.
One of the few drawbacks to working on an animated movie is the lack of interaction between the actors who voice the characters. The cast of “Robots,” which includes five Oscar winners as well as Emmy and Tony honorees, never got the chance to work together. Academy Award-winner Halle Berry says the group didn’t get a chance to get together until they did the promotional rounds for the movie. Williams said he regretted not working with everyone, especially the gorgeous Berry. McGregor acknowledged it’s a shame the cast didn’t get to meet.
“Robots” voice actor Harland Williams, the voice of a likeable robot named Lug Nut, also made the red carpet rounds. Williams summed up the appeal of “Robots” by saying, “Kids are going to love the gadgetry of this, and the personalities. They’re going to find these metal things have a human heart and warmth and personality. Kids are going to be drawn to their story, their characters.”
"Robots" opens in theaters on March 11, 2005. "Robots" was directed by Chris Wedge and Carlos Saldanha and is rated PG for some brief language and suggestive humor.
