“Robots,” the latest film from the makers of “Ice Age,” is supposed to be a heartwarming tale that unfolds in an imaginary world populated by talking, walking machines. The story begins with young Rodney Copperbottom (voiced by Ewan McGregor) leaving his home to travel to Robot City in search of his dreams.

Desperately wanting to become an inventor, Rodney has his eyes set on working at Big Weld Industries, Robot City’s premier institution of creativity and innovation for aspiring inventors. However, when Rodney gets to Robot City, he quickly realizes that things are not what they seem; Big Weld (Mel Brooks), the head of Big Weld Industries and Rodney’s childhood idol, has been forced into retirement and had his position usurped by a young, cutthroat business executive named Ratchet. When Ratchet (Greg Kinnear) changes the company’s production policies so that they sell only expensive upgrades instead of replacement parts to ailing robots, Rodney must take action in order to save his ill father and countless other robots.

A wide variety of far-reaching themes are presented in the movie, such as the ruthlessness of big business or the iniquity of our health care policies, but they are ultimately wasted. Added to the muddle are several satirical parodies of contemporary and classic movies, such as “Bottle Rocket,” “Star Wars” and “The Matrix.” In the mix, jokes get lost along the way, and the film itself falls short of its target. The overriding message of the movie — to follow one’s dreams no matter what the cost — is a cliché that has been explored far too often, and this updated installation brings nothing new to the age-old story.

As bland as the plot is, the animation is nothing short of spectacular. The visual conception of this world inhabited by personified robots is utterly original, and each scene is linked together through a dazzling and surprisingly congruent array of computer generated images. There is constant action in every scene, and subsequent viewings will assuredly lead to new discoveries of background events or subtly placed jokes. Along with the animation, “Robots” also makes good use of the vocal talents of the stars who lent their voices to the production including Drew Carrey, Halle Berry, Amanda Bynes, Paul Giammati and Robin Williams. Among all these talented actors, the true star is leading man Ewan McGregor. Using his voice in a manner reminiscent of the youthful innocence and innate goodness he so deftly displayed in “Big Fish,” McGregor’s intonation artfully captures and constructs the character of Rodney and adapts smoothly as he changes throughout the story.

As good as the vocals and animation are, “Robots” was doomed from its conception due to a bland, trite script. Lacking any semblance of plot or witty comedic elements, most adults might have trouble sitting through this one; however, do not be surprised if many children have a certain affinity for the moments of slap-stick humor or the plethora of fart jokes. The inevitable comparisons to other, better animated releases such as “Finding Nemo” and “The Incredibles” dooms “Robots” to wallowing in mediocrity.

Rating: 2 and 1/2 out of 5 stars