Robot Dreams vs Metropolis: Metropolitan Robots

(You may hear the sound of cats in the studio this episode, but just think of it as atmospheric background sound effects…) This week, we watch the new, Oscar-nominated animated feature Robot Dreams, which stars anthropomorphic animals living in a stylised 1980s New York and a beautiful, unconventional love story. We’re comparing it to the film that features possibly the first ever robot in cinema, Fritz Lang’s Metropolis from 1927. Two cities, two robots, two eras, and plenty in common. And as a bonus, we’ve read (most of) both of the books these films were based on. But which offers the most authentic portrait of day to day life in a MegaCity? Which presents a version of Elon Musk and a rabble rousing sexbot? And which is really three love stories woven into one?

Plus, we drink in an ad from a sponsor you may already have in your house, make a visit to an Italian archaeological dig, take a journey four light years into space with Netflix, extol the joys of 1.5x, and struggle to pronounce ‘recipe’. And to cap it all off, we have a possible chance to meet Tom Hanks for real… 

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