ROBIN ROBIN review - A short film that soars

(Reviewed by Melody Werner)

Robin Robin is a 2021 Netflix Original, stop-motion animated short film produced by the extremely talented team at Aardman. It was released ahead of winter holiday season, and clocks in at around 30 minutes including credits. Directed by Dan Ojari & Michael Please, it joins Netflix's peckish offerings for genuinely great animated pictures, alongside The Mitchells vs. the Machines and Klaus. And while that is good company in every respect, Robin Robin has to be one of the best-looking animated films I have seen, short or otherwise.

Aardman has always had a solid reputation, from Chicken Run or Wallace & Gromit to the sleeper Early Man. But they really do level up with the stop-motion in Robin Robin. Goddamn, this is an impossibly gorgeous film from top to bottom. The characters are wonderfully designed and highly expressive; the sets jam-packed with detail have such a lived-in quality that the handcrafted nature of stop-motion generally excels in, but to an extreme comparable to even Laika's best. But so is the cinematography--which favors long, smooth takes that lend its world a feel far larger than itself.

Also consistently engrossing is its audio elements. Such as its very personable vocal performances, with some absolutely characterful line reads that feel pitch perfect for their characters. Erstwhile, I found myself charmed by the musical score. The musical passages didn't wow me in songwriting, but they suit the film's cozy atmosphere well all the same.

Though any adult viewer would likely be able to predict its ending early in, reinventing the wheel isn't the point of Robin Robin, nor is it remotely necessary. Its tried and true execution of its themes are followed through with a sincerity that feels like the film is coating viewers in a warm blanket, and I would argue that this carries a far better message than a stablemate such as the fundamentally whelming Next Gen. Its narrative, simply put, is just undeniably adorable and whimsical. This is the kinda movie I think kids today will be watching repeatedly, and that's a wonderful thought as this one has a lot of soul to it that is bursting at the seams. One could argue that short films leave no room for error, something I'd largely agree with, and RR wisely has a brisk pace where every moment is accounted for and feels honestly additive.

Robin Robin may not be the most original cartoon out there, but it doesn't need to be. It already outclasses its nearest contemporaries in visual splendor alone. But it still manages to put the heart in to make something even better. Absolutely worth seeking this out, especially if you have any young'uns and wanna show them something special, but it's just a great film that grown folks oughta appreciate. I'll give it a 5/5.

Fantastic

Summary:

A marvelous lil short film from the outstanding Aardman house of animation. Utterly blows anything Disney's relatively even more commercial endeavors are doing out of the water.