[10] Robot Dreams had its world premiere at the 76th Cannes Film Festival on 21 May 2023, in the Special Screenings section.

After seeing a TV advertisement, Dog decides to order a robot friend, which he assembles upon delivery and then takes out to explore Manhattan, such as rollerskating in Central Park to the song "September".

As the summer comes to an end, Dog takes Robot to the beach, where they spend a long day playing in the water and later fall asleep.

Dog returns the following day with repairing tools, only to discover that the beach has been closed until 1 June of the following year.

After some failed attempts to get inside the beach, Dog relents to wait until he can go and rescue Robot next year, placing a note on his refrigerator as a constant reminder.

When 1 June finally arrives, Dog returns to the beach but is only able to find Robot's discarded leg.

Later, a raccoon named Rascal visits the junkyard and discovers Robot's head and remaining limbs.

[15] Initially, Berger wanted to work with Cartoon Saloon to animate the film, but abandoned plans in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The website's consensus reads: "As heartbreaking as it is heartwarming, Robot Dreams is the stuff good animation is made of.

"[32] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 87 out of 100, based on 30 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".

[33] Paula Arantzazu Ruiz [es] of Cinemanía rated the film 5 out of 5 stars, deeming "[the relationship between] Dog and Robot to be the most amazing and beautiful friendship of the year".

[34] Robbie Collin of The Telegraph awarded the movie five stars out of five, writing that "this wonderful tale of friendship will enchant and amuse children – and leave grown-ups in tears".