Robot Dreams: parents' guide
Best for ages 8 and up. Rated PG-13 for some language and smoking.
A gentle, wordless animated film about friendship that suits most kids from about 8, though its sadness lands hardest on older viewers. A lonely dog in 1980s New York builds a robot friend, then has to leave it rusted on a closed beach for months. The PG-13 comes only from a few rude hand gestures and some cigarette smoking; nobody swears because nobody speaks. What stands out is emotional: abandonment, loneliness, and a robot that loses a leg and is scrapped before being rebuilt. Britain rated it PG once the gestures were obscured. The ending is bittersweet but hopeful.
What's in it
Violence
MildMild and cartoonish. Rabbits remove the stranded robot's leg to patch their boat, it is later dumped on a junk pile and falls apart, and a dog is shoved down a ski slope but is unhurt.
Language
MildThere is no spoken dialogue at all. The rating comes from a few rude hand gestures, including middle fingers flipped in a comic scene, and characters blowing raspberries.
Sex and nudity
NoneNothing beyond a date: the dog goes out with a duck, and the dog and robot hold hands and hug as friends. No nudity or sexual content.
Drinking, drugs and smoking
ModerateSome characters smoke cigarettes, which the MPA cited in its rating. Reviewers report no drinking, drunkenness or drug use.
Scary or intense scenes
MildLittle real peril, but the separation is genuinely sad: the robot lies alone on the beach through the seasons, dreaming of going home. Halloween partygoers in clown and vampire costumes startle the dog. Sensitive kids may cry.
Worth talking about
Dog and Robot each end up with new friends. Talk about whether that is a betrayal or a healthy way to move on, and how it feels when a friendship changes.
On our lists
Similar picks around 8+
Checked October 13th, 2026 against Common Sense Media, bbfc.co.uk, the MPA, Wikipedia. The age is our judgment, not an official rating, and every family draws its lines differently: read the notes, not just the number. Spotted something we missed? Tell us. How we rate.