Robots / Ice Age / Garfield The Movie (DVD)

Robots (Dir. Chris Wedge, 2005): Rodney Copperbottom, voiced by Ewan McGregor, is a small town robot who has a gift for inventing things and a hope of moving beyond his quaint surroundings. He works side by side in a restaurant with his dad who is a dishwasher - literally a dishwasher. You open his chest and load in the dishes. Rodney has dreams of something greater. Armed with his unique talent for inventing, Rodney embarks on a journey to Robot City to meet his idol, the majestic inventor Bigweld, voiced by Mel Brooks. An iconic figure in all of Robot City, Bigweld has spent a lifetime creating things to make the lives of robots better. Once in Robot City, Rodney finds that things are not quite as he expected, and his quest may be a lot harder than he imagined. As he tries to navigate his way around this new city, Rodney befriends the Rusties, a ragtag group of street-smart bots who know the ropes. One of the Rusties, Fender (voiced by Robin Williams), immediately becomes Rodney's best friend and even lets his spunky kid sister Piper Pinwheeler (voiced by Amanda Bynes) tag along. They take him in, and for now, at least, Rodney has a home in Robot City. Rodney also meets Cappy (voiced by Halle Berry), an executive at Bigweld Industries who takes an instant liking to Rodney and sees a lot of herself in him. Along their adventures, Rodney and his new friends encounter unsavory characters who try to derail Rodney's plans to find Bigweld and save Robot City. The result is a timeless, comedic tale that pushes the boundaries of animation while introducing characters rich with humor and soul, and a heart-warming story proves that a robot can shine no matter what he is made of. In addition to Ewan McGregor, Robin Williams, Halle Berry, Mel Brooks and Amanda Bynes, 'Robots' boasts the following ensemble cast: Drew Carey, Jim Broadbent, Paul Giamatti, Jay Leno, Dianne Wiest, Stanley Tucci, Jamie Kennedy, and many others. Ice Age (Dir. Carlos Saldanha, 2002): A star-studded cast provides the voices for the prehistoric creatures in this computer-animated feature set 20,000 years ago as the Ice Age approaches. Seemingly anti-social Manny, a woolly mammoth (voiced by Ray Romano), acts as if he just wants to be left alone. When he meets Sid (voiced by John Leguizamo), a sloth, the two become unlikely traveling companions. The plot thickens when the duo finds a human infant and decides to try to return the child to its "herd". Manny slowly but surely reveals his heart of gold, while Sid continues to provide comic relief. Diego (voiced by Denis Leary), a saber-tooth tiger with ulterior motives, soon joins them in their search for the humans. Ultimately, this group of misfits becomes its own herd, learning about friendship and loyalty as they brave snow, ice, freezing temperatures, predators, hail, and even boiling lava pits. All the while, a saber-tooth squirrel, Scrat, provides comic relief as he valiantly struggles with an acorn. A well-written, humorous script and endearing characters mesh well with the state-of-the-art technology and effects. Other stars lending their voices to the feature include Goran Visnjic, Jack Black, and Jane Krakowski.