“Robots” is heavy metal, man

I didn’t expect much of “Robots.” After “Shark Tale,” I realized that not every contemporary animated feature was going to be brilliant, not matter how good they might look. The success of the Pixar films, for example, is formulaic, but it’s good formula. It hasn’t yet been Disneyfied, even if Disney was there at the beginning .

But “Robots,” which isn’t Pixar but Blue Sky/20th Century Fox production, is actually pretty good. Like “Ice Age” before it, “Robots” isn’t great. But it is good. The animation is another step into a strange world (even if some of the shots are reminiscent of Hayao Miyazaki ), and the jokes fly by: I counted seven sex references and 21 bathroom/butt jokes.

The difference, though, is Robin Williams . To some, Williams’ career climaxed years ago, what with movies such as “Patch Adams” and “Jack” following his “Aladdin” success. But he works fine here, counterpointing the movie’s otherwise hackneyed plot – much the same plot, really, as “Shark Tale” – with his own particular brand of frenetic funny.

“Robots” may not be “Shrek.” But like the Tin Man, it does have a heart.