List of Robots characters
Encyclopedia
The following is a list of characters that appear in the 2005
film
Robots
.
Rodney Copperbottom is the main protagonist.
Ever since he was a young "bot", Rodney dreamed of becoming an inventor and meeting his childhood hero Bigweld. When his father's boss becomes angered by one of his inventions, Rodney decides to leave Rivet Town, to go to Robot City and sell his idea to Bigweld. He finds that Bigweld has been replaced by Ratchet, a smooth-talking but sinister robot. He also meets a beautiful-executive robot named Cappy who works in the Bigweld Industry Company with Ratchet, but doesn't like his scheme and attitude. During the movie, it may seem that Rodney might have feelings for Cappy by the way he smiles at her when Wonderbot accidentally dropped him into the boardroom and how they danced at the end of the movie. Later, after being evicted from the boardroom, Rodney meets the Rusties, a group of "outmodes" (outdated bots with worn out or broken parts). The outmodes befriend Rodney after he is able to fix most of them. He extends this favor to all the broken or crumbling robots in the City. Rodney and Fender eventually discover that Ratchet is the one who stopped the production of replacement parts, in order to force all robots to receive regular upgrades. Ratchet also forced Bigweld into hiding, to keep his plan a secret. Rodney and the other robots then unite to save Bigweld and defeat Ratchet, awaken Robot City, and the outmodes finally receive their much-needed replacement parts. In the end, Bigweld names Rodney as his successor.
Fender Pinwheeler is the co-star of the movie.
Fender first appears when he takes some pictures of Rodney Copperbottom's first moments in Robot City, whereupon he tries to scam Rodney by saying that he must buy the photo for $50. He later meets Rodney again in Robot City and the two become friends. Throughout his role, Fender is whimsical and sometimes melodramatic. Fender has a "sister" named Piper Pinwheeler, with whom he has a sometimes one-sided sibling rivalry
. At the Bigweld Ball later in the film, he meets a female robot named Loretta Geargrinder and he has a crush on her. During a moment of carelessness, Fender is taken to the chop shop
, where he loses his legs. He puts on a replacement, only to find out his new waist once belonged to a female robot. With no time to find another replacement, he uses the new legs to escape the chop shop.
Cappy is another main character in the movie.
Cappy is a young robot, living and working in Robot City as Bigweld Industries' only female co-executive. Unlike Ratchet and his sycophant
s, she sympathizes with the outmodes as their parts are cut off to make way for Ratchet's new plan. Upon meeting Rodney, she quickly begins to develop a crush on him and wants to keep him and Bigweld out of trouble, especially from Ratchet. She becomes Rodney's ally and companion, serving to help him and his friends when they are in danger.
Bigweld is the head of Bigweld Industries. He also owns a television show called "The Bigweld Show", and Rodney follows this show in his childhood. He also enjoys setting up and knocking down dominoes.
Bigweld has two main catchphrases heard in the movie:
When trying to fire Ratchet from the company, Bigweld is hit over the head with a telephone by Ratchet. Rodney is then able to save him and flee. However, Bigweld suffers amnesia and sings songs such as "Daisy" during their escape from Ratchet, but Rodney is soon able to repair him.
He has no legs, but resembles an enormous titanium sphere on which are added arms, a tuxedo-like cover, and a head.
Piper Pinwheeler is the sister of Fender.
Two pigtail-like devices on her head can extend on command to lengths greater than her own height, making them effective semi-projectile weapon. Piper is friendly, outgoing, and generally a happy character, but oftentimes having sibling rivalry
with Fender, though they really are good "siblings". She also has a crush on Rodney and wants to help him when he is in danger.
with a nervous disposition that does not have a speaking part and uses body language, and different pitched noises to communicate.
Wonderbot was designed by Rodney to help complete the task of cleaning dishes for Rodney's father, Herb Copperbottom. However, the Wonderbot was frightened by Herb Copperbottom's boss, who was then dirtied as a result of being startled by the Wonderbot, fired Rodney from his job as a server at the restaurant. Thereafter Rodney traveled to Robot City, where he intended to sell the Wonderbot to Bigweld. There, Wonderbot was discarded by Ratchet and later discovered by Piper Pinwheeler. He later became instrumental in several incidents, such as pointing out possible opportunities to meet the absent Bigweld and his duel with the evil Madame Gasket. In the film's final scene, he is shown throwing Bigweld Industries' obnoxious gatekeeper Tim out of the audience's field of vision.
Wonderbot possesses three long, wire-like limbs that he uses variously as hands or as means of creating pictures for visual communication.
Ratchet is one of the main antagonists of the film. His full name (Phineas T. Ratchet) is mentioned once in the dialogue, when he takes Bigweld's place at an annual dance extravaganza.
After reducing Bigweld to a retired figurehead, Ratchet rises to the head of Bigweld Industries, stopping the sale of spare parts in order to push expensive upgrades (and changing the company slogan to "Why be you, when you can be new?"). When Rodney gets inside of Bigweld industries, he and Wonderbot are booted out by him. Rodney recruited the Rusties and Aunt Fan to defeat Ratchet and his mother in the climax of the film.
Moments after his mother is destroyed, Ratchet is launched into the ceiling, losing his upgrades and coming to rest hanging alongside his father.
Herb Copperbottom is Rodney's father and Lydia Copperbottom's husband.
Herb first appears at the beginning of the movie, wherein he announces enthusiastically that he is to be a father (this being the day of Rodney's creation). It is said that he had wanted to be a musician and that he played pretty well too but his father was worried that Herb would not make a living so he was remodeled to be a Dishwasher, however he became a musician at the end of the film, wherein Rodney gives him a brass wind instrument resembling a French horn
. In the interim years, Herb was a dishwashing machine at a restaurant owned by a cranky robot called Mr. Gunk. Mr Gunk bosses Herb around until the end of the film when Herb has had enough of him and quit his job. Herb begins to disintegrate during Rodney's adulthood, ultimately to be repaired at Bigweld Industries later on. His musical career begins with an off-key song that transmutes into an enjoyable dance number that combines, according to Fender, "jazz
and funk
". The resulting music is called "junk".
Herb wears a white dishwashing machine on his chest until the final scenes, below which is a metal panel resembling an apron
. He is optimistic, but less prone to lie than his wife.
Aunt Fan is a motherly figure to the Rusties, whom she adopted as her housemates when they were homeless. Her name appears to be derived from her gigantic rump, which resembles a snail
's shell and is used as a storage compartment. She is known as being "a little artsy-fartsy" according to Piper. The artsy being OK, but not so much when she gets fartsy (hinting at how flatulent she is). Aunt Fanny appears to have a sentimental crush on Bigweld, who also seems to have a crush on her, allegedly because both have enormous posteriors. In the UK
, her name is changed to "Aunt Fan", because "Fanny" is slang
for female genital
s. In a contest among the Rusties wherein they made flatulence
-like noises (she believed they actually did it, not just making the noises with their arms), she showed her gassiness, as she actually farted, killing a nearby street lamp. She is seen wearing glass with make up on and having square head. She has regular sized arms but has tiny legs under her large rump. On her large buttocks is strip of white that falls down her crack.
Tim is gatekeeper of Bigweld Industries. He resembles a miniature, hand-puppet-like officer of some sort, clad in black. Tim is sarcastic and naughty-spirited in life, in contrast to his comical benevolence in Bigweld's television program, and may become servile when intimidated. When Rodney asks to meet Bigweld, Tim teases him by slamming the door before his face multiple times. Rodney later tricks Tim into closing the gates as Rodney escapes Ratchet's minions, locking them away from their quarry. At the end of the film, Tim is (presumably) invited to Rivet Town for the protagonists' celebration of their victory, only to be thrown from a great height by the Wonderbot as punishment.
Crank Casey (known to his friends as Crank) is a robot.
Staying true to his name, he is constantly complaining about various problems. He prefers the easy course of action, which to him involves sitting around waiting for the worst to happen, and complaining when it does.
Crank is one of the many robots Rodney meets on his journey to Robot City. He lives with Aunt Fanny, Fender, Piper, Lug, and Diesel. He helps find voice/sound chips for Diesel. In the final battle, wherein he temporarily gives up his pessimism
in favor of determination against the common threat, replacing his old wheels with monster truck
wheels and obtains headlights.
Lug is a large robot whose main problem with scavenging for parts is that he can never find them in his size. Later in the movie, he is converted into a professional-wrestler robot in order to fight evil robots.
Lug is one of the many robots Rodney Copperbottom meets on his journey to Robot City. He takes care of Aunt Fanny, Fender, Piper, Crank, and Diesel. He helps find voice/sound chips for Diesel.
, a singer, a cowboy
and Darth Vader
.
He and his friends often look for voice boxes that he can use. A running gag
throughout the movie involves him finding and trying to use different voice boxes, then acting out a pop culture reference for each one. For example, when hearing about Rodney's talent, he assumes a voice box and says "The Force
is strong in this one" in Darth Vader
's voice. In the end, Diesel receives a brand-new voice box from Bigweld, and starts singing like James Brown
. He also wears shoes.
Madame Gasket is one of the main antagonists of the film. She is the mother of Ratchet and the true mastermind behind Ratchet's plot to take over Robot City. She owns an underground
chop shop
for the outmodes collected by her sweepers. Oblivious to this herself, she is also made out of "outmode" material. Despite not appearing much in the film, it is suggested that she is the controlling force that directs an otherwise weak and dim-witted Ratchet, whom she inspires with her own power-hungry ideas and whom she uses as a tool. During the film's climax she is overconfident about her army's power Ratchet has created; she is about to order her armies of Chop Shop Workers and huge Sweepers/Choppers to attack on the protagonists when Piper comes to the rescue, along with all the outmodes that Rodney repaired. During the battle when Madame Gasket attempts to finish Bigweld off, she is outfought by the Wonderbot and it throws her into her furnace, destroying her.
It is not mentioned why or how she became evil or why she is against outmodes.
She is voiced by Jim Broadbent
. It is presumably because of this, as well as her hideous appearance, that Fender (as well as presumably the other robots) mistakes her as a male upon first sight.
Lydia Copperbottom is the mother of Rodney Copperbottom and wife of Herb Copperbottom. She is a housewife and very kindhearted, but can be melodramatic and sometimes plays fast and loose with truth. Early in the movie, she tried preventing Rodney from going to Robot City, believing that he's running away and that she used her 'mother's instinct' to find him at the train station, but his father stepped in, explaining that Rodney actually left them a note that he'll be at the train station, leaving to Robot City to get a job.
Mr. Gunk is the boss of the diner where Herb Copperbottom works. He is strict, mean-spirited, and bossy. He is a cash register with a clock for a nose, hinting at miserliness and insistence on a tight schedule. He is ultimately forsaken as a boss by Herb, whom he always had addressed by his surname. At the ending of the film he stops Herb from going outside to see Rodney and exclaims "Copperbottom! Where are you Going? What about the dishes?" Herb, after putting up with years of being bossed around, takes off his dish washing machine and dumps it on Mr Gunk's head. Herb and Lydia head outside and Mr. Gunk tries to follow them and yells in a tremendous yell "HEY, GET BACK HERE! YOU'LL NEVER WASH IN THIS TOWN AGAIN!!" before getting hit by the doors that close on him.
Loretta Geargrinder is the love interest of Fender.
Loretta is a good-looking, pink female robot that believes that Fender is "an eccentric billionaire" for his clothes at the Bigweld Ball, and becomes his dance partner. After the party, they continue to court one another. She is shown working as a receptionist at Bigweld Industries and later as Fender's partner in the final scene's dance sequence. She presumably does not really care about Fender's new lower half, but that he loves her as she does him, even if he is apparently gender-bent.
2005 in film
- Highest-grossing films :Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top-grossing films that were first released in the United States in 2005...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
Robots
Robots (film)
Robots is a 2005 American computer-animated comedy film produced by Blue Sky Studios for 20th Century Fox, and was released theatrically on March 11, 2005. The story was created by Chris Wedge and William Joyce, a children's book author/illustrator. The two were trying to create a film version of...
.
Rodney Copperbottom
- Voiced by: Ewan McGregorEwan McGregorEwan Gordon McGregor is a Scottish actor. He has had success in mainstream, indie, and art house films. McGregor is perhaps best known for his roles as heroin addict Mark Renton in the drama Trainspotting , young Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequel trilogy , and poet Christian in the...
Rodney Copperbottom is the main protagonist.
Ever since he was a young "bot", Rodney dreamed of becoming an inventor and meeting his childhood hero Bigweld. When his father's boss becomes angered by one of his inventions, Rodney decides to leave Rivet Town, to go to Robot City and sell his idea to Bigweld. He finds that Bigweld has been replaced by Ratchet, a smooth-talking but sinister robot. He also meets a beautiful-executive robot named Cappy who works in the Bigweld Industry Company with Ratchet, but doesn't like his scheme and attitude. During the movie, it may seem that Rodney might have feelings for Cappy by the way he smiles at her when Wonderbot accidentally dropped him into the boardroom and how they danced at the end of the movie. Later, after being evicted from the boardroom, Rodney meets the Rusties, a group of "outmodes" (outdated bots with worn out or broken parts). The outmodes befriend Rodney after he is able to fix most of them. He extends this favor to all the broken or crumbling robots in the City. Rodney and Fender eventually discover that Ratchet is the one who stopped the production of replacement parts, in order to force all robots to receive regular upgrades. Ratchet also forced Bigweld into hiding, to keep his plan a secret. Rodney and the other robots then unite to save Bigweld and defeat Ratchet, awaken Robot City, and the outmodes finally receive their much-needed replacement parts. In the end, Bigweld names Rodney as his successor.
Fender Pinwheeler
- Voiced by: Robin WilliamsRobin WilliamsRobin McLaurin Williams is an American actor and comedian. Rising to fame with his role as the alien Mork in the TV series Mork and Mindy, and later stand-up comedy work, Williams has performed in many feature films since 1980. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance...
Fender Pinwheeler is the co-star of the movie.
Fender first appears when he takes some pictures of Rodney Copperbottom's first moments in Robot City, whereupon he tries to scam Rodney by saying that he must buy the photo for $50. He later meets Rodney again in Robot City and the two become friends. Throughout his role, Fender is whimsical and sometimes melodramatic. Fender has a "sister" named Piper Pinwheeler, with whom he has a sometimes one-sided sibling rivalry
Sibling rivalry
Sibling rivalry is a type of competition or animosity among children, blood-related or not.Siblings generally spend more time together during childhood than they do with parents. The sibling bond is often complicated and is influenced by factors such as parental treatment, birth order, personality,...
. At the Bigweld Ball later in the film, he meets a female robot named Loretta Geargrinder and he has a crush on her. During a moment of carelessness, Fender is taken to the chop shop
Chop shop
In motor vehicle theft, a chop shop is a location or business which disassembles stolen automobiles for the purpose of selling them as parts. It may also be used to refer to a location or business that is involved with the selling of stolen or fraudulent goods in general, an example of the latter...
, where he loses his legs. He puts on a replacement, only to find out his new waist once belonged to a female robot. With no time to find another replacement, he uses the new legs to escape the chop shop.
Cappy
- Voiced by: Halle BerryHalle BerryHalle Berry is an American actress and a former fashion model. Berry received an Emmy, Golden Globe, SAG, and an NAACP Image Award for Introducing Dorothy Dandridge and won an Academy Award for Best Actress and was nominated for a BAFTA Award in 2001 for her performance in Monster's Ball, becoming...
Cappy is another main character in the movie.
Cappy is a young robot, living and working in Robot City as Bigweld Industries' only female co-executive. Unlike Ratchet and his sycophant
Sycophant
Sycophancy means:# Obsequious flattery; servility.# The character or characteristic of a sycophant.Alternative phrases are often used such as:-Etymology:...
s, she sympathizes with the outmodes as their parts are cut off to make way for Ratchet's new plan. Upon meeting Rodney, she quickly begins to develop a crush on him and wants to keep him and Bigweld out of trouble, especially from Ratchet. She becomes Rodney's ally and companion, serving to help him and his friends when they are in danger.
Bigweld
- Voiced by: Mel BrooksMel BrooksMel Brooks is an American film director, screenwriter, composer, lyricist, comedian, actor and producer. He is best known as a creator of broad film farces and comic parodies. He began his career as a stand-up comic and as a writer for the early TV variety show Your Show of Shows...
Bigweld is the head of Bigweld Industries. He also owns a television show called "The Bigweld Show", and Rodney follows this show in his childhood. He also enjoys setting up and knocking down dominoes.
Bigweld has two main catchphrases heard in the movie:
- "You can shine no matter what you're made of!"
- "See a need, fill a need."
When trying to fire Ratchet from the company, Bigweld is hit over the head with a telephone by Ratchet. Rodney is then able to save him and flee. However, Bigweld suffers amnesia and sings songs such as "Daisy" during their escape from Ratchet, but Rodney is soon able to repair him.
He has no legs, but resembles an enormous titanium sphere on which are added arms, a tuxedo-like cover, and a head.
Piper Pinwheeler
- Voiced by: Amanda BynesAmanda BynesAmanda Laura Bynes is an American actress, comedian, singer, and fashion designer. Bynes appeared in several successful television series, such as All That and The Amanda Show, on Nickelodeon in the mid to late 1990s and early 2000s, and in 2002, she starred in the TV series, What I Like About You...
Piper Pinwheeler is the sister of Fender.
Two pigtail-like devices on her head can extend on command to lengths greater than her own height, making them effective semi-projectile weapon. Piper is friendly, outgoing, and generally a happy character, but oftentimes having sibling rivalry
Sibling rivalry
Sibling rivalry is a type of competition or animosity among children, blood-related or not.Siblings generally spend more time together during childhood than they do with parents. The sibling bond is often complicated and is influenced by factors such as parental treatment, birth order, personality,...
with Fender, though they really are good "siblings". She also has a crush on Rodney and wants to help him when he is in danger.
Wonderbot
Wonderbot is a sentient inventionInvention
An invention is a novel composition, device, or process. An invention may be derived from a pre-existing model or idea, or it could be independently conceived, in which case it may be a radical breakthrough. In addition, there is cultural invention, which is an innovative set of useful social...
with a nervous disposition that does not have a speaking part and uses body language, and different pitched noises to communicate.
Wonderbot was designed by Rodney to help complete the task of cleaning dishes for Rodney's father, Herb Copperbottom. However, the Wonderbot was frightened by Herb Copperbottom's boss, who was then dirtied as a result of being startled by the Wonderbot, fired Rodney from his job as a server at the restaurant. Thereafter Rodney traveled to Robot City, where he intended to sell the Wonderbot to Bigweld. There, Wonderbot was discarded by Ratchet and later discovered by Piper Pinwheeler. He later became instrumental in several incidents, such as pointing out possible opportunities to meet the absent Bigweld and his duel with the evil Madame Gasket. In the film's final scene, he is shown throwing Bigweld Industries' obnoxious gatekeeper Tim out of the audience's field of vision.
Wonderbot possesses three long, wire-like limbs that he uses variously as hands or as means of creating pictures for visual communication.
Ratchet
- Voiced by: Greg KinnearGreg KinnearGregory "Greg" Kinnear is an American actor and television personality who first rose to stardom in 1991. He has appeared in more than 20 motion pictures, and was nominated for an Academy Award for his role in As Good as It Gets.-Early life:Kinnear was born in Logansport, Indiana, the son of...
Ratchet is one of the main antagonists of the film. His full name (Phineas T. Ratchet) is mentioned once in the dialogue, when he takes Bigweld's place at an annual dance extravaganza.
After reducing Bigweld to a retired figurehead, Ratchet rises to the head of Bigweld Industries, stopping the sale of spare parts in order to push expensive upgrades (and changing the company slogan to "Why be you, when you can be new?"). When Rodney gets inside of Bigweld industries, he and Wonderbot are booted out by him. Rodney recruited the Rusties and Aunt Fan to defeat Ratchet and his mother in the climax of the film.
Moments after his mother is destroyed, Ratchet is launched into the ceiling, losing his upgrades and coming to rest hanging alongside his father.
Herb Copperbottom
- Voiced by: Stanley TucciStanley TucciStanley Tucci is an American actor, writer, film producer and film director. He has been nominated for several notable film awards, including an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, for his performance in The Lovely Bones...
Herb Copperbottom is Rodney's father and Lydia Copperbottom's husband.
Herb first appears at the beginning of the movie, wherein he announces enthusiastically that he is to be a father (this being the day of Rodney's creation). It is said that he had wanted to be a musician and that he played pretty well too but his father was worried that Herb would not make a living so he was remodeled to be a Dishwasher, however he became a musician at the end of the film, wherein Rodney gives him a brass wind instrument resembling a French horn
Horn (instrument)
The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....
. In the interim years, Herb was a dishwashing machine at a restaurant owned by a cranky robot called Mr. Gunk. Mr Gunk bosses Herb around until the end of the film when Herb has had enough of him and quit his job. Herb begins to disintegrate during Rodney's adulthood, ultimately to be repaired at Bigweld Industries later on. His musical career begins with an off-key song that transmutes into an enjoyable dance number that combines, according to Fender, "jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
". The resulting music is called "junk".
Herb wears a white dishwashing machine on his chest until the final scenes, below which is a metal panel resembling an apron
Apron
An apron is an outer protective garment that covers primarily the front of the body. It may be worn for hygienic reasons as well as in order to protect clothes from wear and tear. The apron is commonly part of the uniform of several work categories, including waitresses, nurses, and domestic...
. He is optimistic, but less prone to lie than his wife.
Aunt Fan
- Voiced by: Jennifer CoolidgeJennifer CoolidgeJennifer Coolidge is an American actress best known for playing "Stifler's mom," the older woman in the film American Pie ; Hilary Duff's stepmother in A Cinderella Story ; Paulette, the manicurist in Legally Blonde and its sequel; the voice of Aunt Fanny in the animated feature Robots ; for her...
Aunt Fan is a motherly figure to the Rusties, whom she adopted as her housemates when they were homeless. Her name appears to be derived from her gigantic rump, which resembles a snail
Snail
Snail is a common name applied to most of the members of the molluscan class Gastropoda that have coiled shells in the adult stage. When the word is used in its most general sense, it includes sea snails, land snails and freshwater snails. The word snail without any qualifier is however more often...
's shell and is used as a storage compartment. She is known as being "a little artsy-fartsy" according to Piper. The artsy being OK, but not so much when she gets fartsy (hinting at how flatulent she is). Aunt Fanny appears to have a sentimental crush on Bigweld, who also seems to have a crush on her, allegedly because both have enormous posteriors. In the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, her name is changed to "Aunt Fan", because "Fanny" is slang
Slang
Slang is the use of informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speaker's language or dialect but are considered more acceptable when used socially. Slang is often to be found in areas of the lexicon that refer to things considered taboo...
for female genital
Sex organ
A sex organ, or primary sexual characteristic, as narrowly defined, is any of the anatomical parts of the body which are involved in sexual reproduction and constitute the reproductive system in a complex organism; flowers are the reproductive organs of flowering plants, cones are the reproductive...
s. In a contest among the Rusties wherein they made flatulence
Flatulence
Flatulence is the expulsion through the rectum of a mixture of gases that are byproducts of the digestion process of mammals and other animals. The medical term for the mixture of gases is flatus, informally known as a fart, or simply gas...
-like noises (she believed they actually did it, not just making the noises with their arms), she showed her gassiness, as she actually farted, killing a nearby street lamp. She is seen wearing glass with make up on and having square head. She has regular sized arms but has tiny legs under her large rump. On her large buttocks is strip of white that falls down her crack.
Tim
- Voiced by: Paul GiamattiPaul GiamattiPaul Edward Valentine Giamatti is an American actor. Giamatti began his career as a supporting actor in several films produced during the 1990s including Private Parts, The Truman Show, Saving Private Ryan, The Negotiator, and Man on the Moon, before earning lead roles in several projects in the...
Tim is gatekeeper of Bigweld Industries. He resembles a miniature, hand-puppet-like officer of some sort, clad in black. Tim is sarcastic and naughty-spirited in life, in contrast to his comical benevolence in Bigweld's television program, and may become servile when intimidated. When Rodney asks to meet Bigweld, Tim teases him by slamming the door before his face multiple times. Rodney later tricks Tim into closing the gates as Rodney escapes Ratchet's minions, locking them away from their quarry. At the end of the film, Tim is (presumably) invited to Rivet Town for the protagonists' celebration of their victory, only to be thrown from a great height by the Wonderbot as punishment.
Crank Casey
- Voiced by: Drew CareyDrew CareyDrew Allison Carey is an American actor, singer, comedian, photographer, sports executive, and game show host. After serving in the U.S. Marine Corps and making a name for himself in stand-up comedy, Carey eventually gained popularity starring on his own sitcom, The Drew Carey Show, and serving as...
Crank Casey (known to his friends as Crank) is a robot.
Staying true to his name, he is constantly complaining about various problems. He prefers the easy course of action, which to him involves sitting around waiting for the worst to happen, and complaining when it does.
Crank is one of the many robots Rodney meets on his journey to Robot City. He lives with Aunt Fanny, Fender, Piper, Lug, and Diesel. He helps find voice/sound chips for Diesel. In the final battle, wherein he temporarily gives up his pessimism
Pessimism
Pessimism, from the Latin word pessimus , is a state of mind in which one perceives life negatively. Value judgments may vary dramatically between individuals, even when judgments of fact are undisputed. The most common example of this phenomenon is the "Is the glass half empty or half full?"...
in favor of determination against the common threat, replacing his old wheels with monster truck
Monster truck
A monster truck is a pickup truck, typically styled after pickup trucks' bodies, modified or purposely built with extremely large wheels and suspension...
wheels and obtains headlights.
Lug
- Voiced by: Harland WilliamsHarland WilliamsHarland Williams is a Canadian actor, comedian, author, artist, musician and radio personality.-Personal life:Harland Reesor Williams was born on November 14, 1962, in Toronto, Ontario, to Lorraine , a social worker, and John Reesor Williams, who worked as a member of the Ontario Provincial...
Lug is a large robot whose main problem with scavenging for parts is that he can never find them in his size. Later in the movie, he is converted into a professional-wrestler robot in order to fight evil robots.
Lug is one of the many robots Rodney Copperbottom meets on his journey to Robot City. He takes care of Aunt Fanny, Fender, Piper, Crank, and Diesel. He helps find voice/sound chips for Diesel.
Diesel
Diesel is a robot who needs voice boxes to communicate or make noises from his mouth. His personality changes to suit the voice box he is currently using. Some of the personalities he uses include those of a dogDog
The domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...
, a singer, a cowboy
Cowboy
A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the vaquero traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of...
and Darth Vader
Darth Vader
Darth Vader is a central character in the Star Wars saga, appearing as one of the main antagonists in the original trilogy and as the main protagonist in the prequel trilogy....
.
He and his friends often look for voice boxes that he can use. A running gag
Running gag
A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling....
throughout the movie involves him finding and trying to use different voice boxes, then acting out a pop culture reference for each one. For example, when hearing about Rodney's talent, he assumes a voice box and says "The Force
Force (Star Wars)
The Force is a binding, metaphysical and ubiquitous power in the fictional universe of the Star Wars galaxy created by George Lucas. Mentioned in the first film in the series, it is integral to all subsequent incarnations of Star Wars, including the expanded universe of comic books, novels, and...
is strong in this one" in Darth Vader
Darth Vader
Darth Vader is a central character in the Star Wars saga, appearing as one of the main antagonists in the original trilogy and as the main protagonist in the prequel trilogy....
's voice. In the end, Diesel receives a brand-new voice box from Bigweld, and starts singing like James Brown
James Brown
James Joseph Brown was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist. He is the originator of Funk and is recognized as a major figure in the 20th century popular music for both his vocals and dancing. He has been referred to as "The Godfather of Soul," "Mr...
. He also wears shoes.
Madame Gasket
- Voiced by: Jim BroadbentJim BroadbentJames "Jim" Broadbent is an English theatre, film, and television actor. He is known for his roles in Iris, Moulin Rouge!, Topsy-Turvy, Hot Fuzz, and Bridget Jones' Diary...
Madame Gasket is one of the main antagonists of the film. She is the mother of Ratchet and the true mastermind behind Ratchet's plot to take over Robot City. She owns an underground
Underground economy
A black market or underground economy is a market in goods or services which operates outside the formal one supported by established state power. Typically the totality of such activity is referred to with the definite article as a complement to the official economies, by market for such goods and...
chop shop
Chop shop
In motor vehicle theft, a chop shop is a location or business which disassembles stolen automobiles for the purpose of selling them as parts. It may also be used to refer to a location or business that is involved with the selling of stolen or fraudulent goods in general, an example of the latter...
for the outmodes collected by her sweepers. Oblivious to this herself, she is also made out of "outmode" material. Despite not appearing much in the film, it is suggested that she is the controlling force that directs an otherwise weak and dim-witted Ratchet, whom she inspires with her own power-hungry ideas and whom she uses as a tool. During the film's climax she is overconfident about her army's power Ratchet has created; she is about to order her armies of Chop Shop Workers and huge Sweepers/Choppers to attack on the protagonists when Piper comes to the rescue, along with all the outmodes that Rodney repaired. During the battle when Madame Gasket attempts to finish Bigweld off, she is outfought by the Wonderbot and it throws her into her furnace, destroying her.
It is not mentioned why or how she became evil or why she is against outmodes.
She is voiced by Jim Broadbent
Jim Broadbent
James "Jim" Broadbent is an English theatre, film, and television actor. He is known for his roles in Iris, Moulin Rouge!, Topsy-Turvy, Hot Fuzz, and Bridget Jones' Diary...
. It is presumably because of this, as well as her hideous appearance, that Fender (as well as presumably the other robots) mistakes her as a male upon first sight.
Lydia Copperbottom
- Voiced by: Dianne WiestDianne WiestDianne Wiest is an American actress. She has had a successful career on stage, television, and film, and has won two Academy Awards, two Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award. Wiest has also been nominated for a BAFTA Award.-Early life:...
Lydia Copperbottom is the mother of Rodney Copperbottom and wife of Herb Copperbottom. She is a housewife and very kindhearted, but can be melodramatic and sometimes plays fast and loose with truth. Early in the movie, she tried preventing Rodney from going to Robot City, believing that he's running away and that she used her 'mother's instinct' to find him at the train station, but his father stepped in, explaining that Rodney actually left them a note that he'll be at the train station, leaving to Robot City to get a job.
Mr. Gunk
- Voiced by: Dan HedayaDan HedayaDaniel G. “Dan” Hedaya is an American character actor. He often plays sleazy villains or uptight, wisecracking individuals; three of his best-known roles are as Italian Mafia boss Tony Costello in Wise Guys, a cuckolded husband in the Coen brothers' crime thriller Blood Simple, and the scheming...
Mr. Gunk is the boss of the diner where Herb Copperbottom works. He is strict, mean-spirited, and bossy. He is a cash register with a clock for a nose, hinting at miserliness and insistence on a tight schedule. He is ultimately forsaken as a boss by Herb, whom he always had addressed by his surname. At the ending of the film he stops Herb from going outside to see Rodney and exclaims "Copperbottom! Where are you Going? What about the dishes?" Herb, after putting up with years of being bossed around, takes off his dish washing machine and dumps it on Mr Gunk's head. Herb and Lydia head outside and Mr. Gunk tries to follow them and yells in a tremendous yell "HEY, GET BACK HERE! YOU'LL NEVER WASH IN THIS TOWN AGAIN!!" before getting hit by the doors that close on him.
Loretta Geargrinder
- Voiced by: Natasha LyonneNatasha Lyonne-Early life:Lyonne was born Natasha Braunstein in Manhattan, New York City, the daughter of Yvette Lyonne, a product licensing consultant, and Aaron Braunstein, a native of Brooklyn who worked as a boxing promoter. Lyonne grew up in an Orthodox Jewish household...
(note: for the British release Loretta was voiced by Cat DeeleyCat DeeleyCatherine Elizabeth "Cat" Deeley is an English television presenter and model. Since 2006, Deeley has also been the host of So You Think You Can Dance in the United States, for which she received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition...
)
Loretta Geargrinder is the love interest of Fender.
Loretta is a good-looking, pink female robot that believes that Fender is "an eccentric billionaire" for his clothes at the Bigweld Ball, and becomes his dance partner. After the party, they continue to court one another. She is shown working as a receptionist at Bigweld Industries and later as Fender's partner in the final scene's dance sequence. She presumably does not really care about Fender's new lower half, but that he loves her as she does him, even if he is apparently gender-bent.