Wire Cutters

Meet a new addition to the list of cute, humanised robots in the vein of Johnny 5 and Wall-E. You know how it works: it's those eyes that instantly force your empathy, with their expression of sadness and loneliness and childish innocence despite being mechanical.

This short story is perfectly told, first introducing our gentle hero, with its silent and emotionless companion truck that looks like an old cartoon guard dog. Then the encounter, the "friendship", the conflict, the chase... In its futuristic setting, Wire Cutters seems, at times, to be paying tribute to the oldies, to the Tom & Jerry and other classics of the 1940s.

It is indeed very amusing, but what really got me is that it's also quite a tragic story, and so I found myself laughing and saddened at the same time. Yes, simultaneously. And about machines. I call that a very, very good job.

That characteristics of humour nature transferred into machines. They team up, they work successfully together using each others special set of skills only for one moment of madness. An argument over a tiny issue which could of been avoided with common sense, of course like humans make a mountain out of a mole hill and the worse things happen. Sad tragic end consequences.

In 9 short minutes, creator Jack Anderson cements with 'Wire cutters' what more renowned sci-fi tales have imparted over greater length: Given a modicum of anthropomorphic expression, robots are just as sympathetic of characters as any human.

Cody Bursch's musical themes, though not especially complex, add considerable weight to this small story. It's cute in its quick progression, but also startling - and a little sad. The theme of cooperation, as not just a boon of mutual benefit but a necessity, is impressed upon us very heavily.

The design of the robots, rooted in familiar equipment we might see in our lives, is clever in its simplicity. That, too, boosts the air this puts off - it's impossible not to feel a little tug on our heartstrings for these little workers on a distant planet.

There's not much more to say. 'Wire cutters' is both sharp in its presentation, and touching. Not even 10 minutes long, this is certainly worth a quick watch.

remembering Wall-e, it is a story about solitude, duty, humanized robots, friendship and rivalry, with crumbs of so many stories with same cocktails of states and fascinating way to transform the story in nice and useful parable about small things defining near reality. and, sure, a great animation, seductive for "something" who remains only a lovely state of soul.

Two robotic devices are part of a mining operation. At first they butt their robotic heads, competing over what was available. The little guy, however, has a kind of infrared ability to discover the green minerals they are after. So when they work together, the big guy crushes the rock and the little one extracts the minerals. The problem is that even between machines, apparently there is greed; and that is what proves an undoing.