The Irritating Underutilization of Cappy from Robots (2005)

Written by Shelby-Liza Ndumbi

Hey Cupcakes!  

Since we’re on the theme of sentient machinery, what better way to keep the merriment going by talking about a character, whom I think they’ve done dirty in one of my favorite movies of all time. Robin Williams was phenomenal in this one as Fender. May he rest in peace.  

Going back to rewatch this movie as many times as I have, I’ve noticed that Cappy was on the DVD cover, yet her presence feels limited, almost as if the story could proceed without her, which makes matters worse. Clearly, at first glance, you’d think she was only here to be the main character, Rodney Copperbottom’s, love interest and nothing else. I saw the word "bland" associated with her.

••• 

Who is Cappy?  

Her full name is Cappy Ann Cappadorkus. Many would have continued to be unaware if I hadn’t searched it up. Despite her shiny disposition, she doesn’t come from a prestigious family. Her parents are quite regular, like Rodney’s, except hers are fused together to share a body. Her father was a vacuum cleaner, while her mother were the attachments.

That detail about her background isn’t explored, nor talked about at all. To the point where on her profile, her family is marked as “unknown”, or someone found out their names were Stevia and Zilliax Ka McMissile. Whether that’s accurate or not, I don’t know. She’s described as strong and integral, but I would also say she’s sympathetic, sophisticated, kind, loyal, fashionable, fiery and caring. 

I nearly forgot to mention that she loves skating. Another piece of information they didn't address.   

God knows when she started working at Bigweld Industries, but she’s an executive on the board of directors. When you watch her introduction scene, she’s the only female at that meeting surrounded by male robots. It’s very evident that the story’s antagonist, Phineas T. Ratchet, is infatuated with her, so much so that he controlled the possibility of them working closely together to push his new slogan: “Why be you, when you can be new?”  

What makes Cappy so underutilized is not only her presence, but the restriction on her speech patterns. Never mind that Halle Berry voiced her, and she had the likes of Reese Whitherspoon, Idina Menzel, Anne Hathaway, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Mandy Moore and others being top contenders for the role.  

I counted the scenes she’s in, and I concluded there to be 10 in total... such a low number. She even randomly stops talking at a given point. Amongst the lines you hear her say are: “It gave me chills... but why would robots buy new upgrades if parts are so much cheaper?”, “Oodles.”, “You don’t want to look bad in front of your people, do you? And when I get back, I’ll show you my casual, fun-loving side.” to mention a few. Hearing her say “oodles” always made me laugh. The sheer disgust on her face when Ratchet was hovering behind her. Priceless.  

That was a funny side of her that needed to be more potent in the film. Cappy could have been the perfect contrast between glossy, upgraded robots and outmodes. Since I said she has a sympathetic personality, her parents might have the same plights, she demonstrated that not all shiny robots are greedy and rejecting. They hinted at that angle, but they never ventured further into it. Why? 

I wish I knew how she transformed herself as we know her now. Unfortunately, her minimal lines reminded me of Cloe from Bratz 2007, the terrible Live-Action film. I grew up watching Bratz, so when Cloe’s overly talkative self and alluring aura was strangely toned down, I took multiple double takes with my neck because I was confused. She felt underwhelming and unfamiliar. Unlike Cloe, Cappy doesn’t have a previous version to compare to, but you get what I mean. They share an odd, meager existence within their respectable properties.  

I made my way to YouTube and found a deleted scene that I suspect takes place after the Bigweld Ball, when Cappy visits Rodney at Aunt Fanny’s boarding house. There was another where she kicked Ratchet in the ass. The scene after she helps Rodney escape the party, so they could see Bigweld, she mentions on their drive there about herself back in high school. A faint memory ill-discussed.

For some weird reason, this conversation was taken out. If they had kept it in, not only would we have more scenes with Cappy, but further connectivity between her and Rodney. I choked when I realized that she disappears for far longer than she should after she’s introduced. More than 20 minutes go by without her onscreen creating a big ass gap. For someone who’s meant to be the main character’s love interest, you’d think they’d be more in the forefront. I find it insulting.  

I’m guessing they were compensating for that by designing three outfits we see her wear throughout the movie. Her executive suit, her dress for the Bigweld Ball, and a laid-back ensemble during the final showdown against Ratchet and Madam Gasket in the image above. If they had added the angle I spoke about earlier, I think the length would have been a tad longer, which is good. Obviously, the story is great enough to encourage me to watch it more than once, but I believe it could have been stupendous if other ideas were added and/or not removed.  

••• 

Which brings me to the point where, sadly, the film can move without Cappy... according to other fans. I bumped into a Wattpad story titled: “The Case Against Cappy from Robots”. I haven’t read it, and I won’t, but I’m aware of its creation.  

I reckon this individual, along with a third of the fanbase, desperately wanted Rodney to be shipped with Piper, Fender’s YOUNGER sister. From the jump, you can tell that Piper liked Rodney the moment she noticed his “cute” features and reduced her hostilities towards him for assuming he knocked her brother’s head off. Even with that in mind, she came across as an underage child crushing on an older guy. Remember! The creative team made it abundantly clear that Rodney graduated from high school, hence making him a legal adult, while Piper was not.  

He displayed obvious discomfort when he caught onto Piper’s flirting and wanted none of that. But it isn’t so much about age gaps. I must admit that while watching the anime Witch Hunter Robin, I found myself shipping 15-year-old Robin with God-knows-year-old Amon... He must be between 24 to 31, or so. The reason why I find Amon and Robin remotely acceptable is because I genuinely like them together, whilst Piper and Rodney, I do not.  

Make no mistake! I’m not always this lenient with age gapped relationships, yet if they can manage to make them healthy, even likeable together, I start enjoying their union a little more than I should. It really, REALLY depends on the ship itself. Another example of an age gapped

couple I hate would be Aria Montgomery and Ezra Fitz. Those two... make my skin crawl.  

Pretty Little Liars made it their business to ship their 16 to 17-year-old protagonists with boys between 20 to 26. I didn't like it unless the guy was decent. Since I hated Ezra with every fiber of my being, I shipped Aria with Jason DiLaurentis. He wasn't emotionally manipulative, creepy and two-faced. She always had a crush on him, but they did nothing further with it, except for a few secret rendezvous here and there. That's the only kind of bliss I can get...

I can sense authentic romantic intent between Robin and Amon, but Piper and Rodney simply make me dizzy. Fans hate Cappy because she ended up with someone she hardly spent time with compared to Piper. What they fail to see is that, although Piper was mostly present, there was no reciprocation from Rodney to even bother initiating anything. The second he saw Cappy, that’s where his heart went. They were also closer in maturity and having a certain life aspect, which people tend to ignore.  

Credit to the artist: @polochka_art on X

Piper was always meant to be his friend and nothing more. Further proof of this is during the successful aftermath when they defeated Ratchet and Madam Gasket. When both ladies ran to hug Rodney, he explicitly placed his left hand on Cappy’s waist to imply intimacy, and he had his other hand on Piper’s shoulder to demonstrate a platonic connection. I mean, where else are you supposed to put it, really?   

At the end of the day, I can understand we all want our ships to sail, but when it doesn’t make sense, it doesn’t make sense. Simply if not because I hate it. I don’t ship characters out of the blue, or for narrow reasoning, but it’s calculated and well thought of due to countless hours, if not years, of observation.  

Fun fact: Rodney and Cappy get married outside of the official story. I wish I saw them dating more before that.

It’s your choice if you still don’t like Cappy after reading this, but I’ve made my point that she’s my favorite character and deserved better than this.  

Well, that’s it for me. See you soon, Cupcakes! 

Related links:

• Wattpad story: https://www.wattpad.com/story/257502573-the-case-against-cappy-from-robots-2005  

• Cappy mentions high school at 9:08 and kicks Ratchet at 9:30: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uckMBCwx6W8