Original-Cin Q&A: Director Pablo Berger, on Why the Oscar-nom Robot Dreams is Like Lasagna

If you build it, it will come.  The delightfully animated, dialogue-free Robot Dreams is a  story about the miracle of true friendship between a dog and a robot.

The hand-drawn film by Spanish filmmaker Pablo Berger – which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature - is based on the 2007 graphic novel by Sara Varon, set in New York City in the 1980s.  We meet Dog, who decides he needs a friend. So he orders one through the mail, bringing Robot into his life.

The two become instant best pals, but with all friendships not everything is perfect.

Bonnie Laufer spoke with writer/director Pablo Berger about bringing Robot Dreams to life.

Robot Dreams opens in theaters June 7. Read out review of the film.

ORIGINAL-CIN: The film is based on the graphic novel. What about it struck you when you read it and made you think it would make a great film?

PABLO BERGER: I'm a live action director and  have made many live action films, but I was looking to do something different.  I read this graphic novel around 10 years ago and I fell in love with it. When I got to the end of the book, it moved me and I think it's a rare feeling when you read a graphic novel that really moves you.

So a decade went by, and when I had to make my next film, I was in my office and I took out this graphic novel again, read it again and all those feelings I felt the first time I read it came flooding back.  So,  I went to my producers with an animation idea  and they said, let’s go for it.

O-C:  All your films are so different and now you have added animation to your resume. How did you first approach this new challenge, especially delivering a film with absolutely no dialogue?

BERGER: Directors are always afraid when we start a new project. I like the idea of taking a risk every time, I like the idea of a challenge. I think every film is like a circus act, let's make it even more complex.

So the idea to make an animated film was something that never I never thought about. I wanted to tell this story with a robot and dog in New York in the ‘80s and to tell this story about friendship. This movie is very important because I have lived in New York for 10 years. So this movie was also my love letter to New York City.

Director Pablo Berger

O-C: I loved taking the journey with these two characters, it really does speak about the power of friendship and how important it is. The film really moved me and  I can't imagine that through making this film you didn't have some tears going down your cheeks.

BERGER: Well, yes, I am the dog at heart. (Laughs). I'm the protagonist.

I'm always the protagonist of my films. Living in New York I have had my lonely times and I have also had my great times.

I fell in love, and sometimes the relationship fell apart. I fell in love again. So it talks about friendship, it talks about relationships and it talks about some people that you lose on the way.

I did a storyboard and some basic animation which I worked on for one year. I worked on it to make sure that there was going to be an emotional response to what we were going for. I'm the type of director or the type of audience that when I go to the movies, I like to cry, I like the catharsis. I like this idea of the crying that cleanses you and makes you feel better. Sort of like a rest button.

O-C: I am the same way. Who doesn’t need a good cry?

BERGER: Exactly! When we premiered at some film festivals, early reviews of the film mentioned that people need to bring a package of Kleenex along when they come see the film. But also get ready to laugh and get ready to be surprised.

I liked the idea that the film not only lets you travel back in time, but it will also make you feel, just by watching these characters who do not speak one word of dialogue.

I like the idea of a journey where once you pay for your ticket, you get to sit down in the dark room in that seat, and you're going to be surprised. You're going go to an amusement park, and then after two hours the lights go off, you go home and reflect on your experience.

O-C: Another element in that film that surely connects the audience is the use of music. The fact that you chose Earth Wind and Fire’s “September”  was brilliant. You simply can not have a smile on your face  when you hear that song. Why was that particular song so important? It really connects the two main characters. 

BERGER:  I had a lot of liberty making this film. But there was a moment when I was writing the script, it just clicked. 

The thing is that the book takes place in one year and the movie takes one year. And in the graphic novel, it had some kind of intertitles that said, “September, October, November,” which I used in the film. But the first one was September.

So at that moment the song came to me and it was just bingo. It's not that in the movie the song September appears only once. It is the main theme of the film. I wanted it to be like if you think about Casablanca, and you immediately connect with the song As Time Goes By.  I hope that when people think about Robot Dreams, they will always connect with Earth Wind and Fire’s “September.”

O-C: Robot Dreams is a movie for everyone. Families can watch it together and no matter what age you are, everyone will take something different from it.  How do you want it to be interpreted?

BERGER: I have this theory that Robot Dreams is a lasagna film. A lasagna film means that it has a layer for everybody.

Cinema is a popular art and needs to be enjoyed differently by everyone who goes.  When I was a kid I went to the cinema and I would watch the same thing with my parents or my grandparents.

I like the cinema that is open so that everybody gets their layers. Kids will see a friendship story, others will think about love and loss but no matter what people take from it I am just thrilled that this is a true homage to cinema.