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The Wild Robot is a 2024 American animated science fiction survival drama adventure film based on the book series of the same name by Peter Brown, produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Universal Pictures. The film was written and directed by Chris Sanders, produced by Jeff Hermann, and executive-produced by Sanders' longtime collaborative partner Dean DeBlois. It stars Lupita Nyong'o as Roz, the title character, alongside an ensemble voice cast including Pedro Pascal, Kit Connor, Bill Nighy, Stephanie Hsu, Matt Berry, Ving Rhames, Mark Hamill, and Catherine O'Hara.

DreamWorks announced an animated film adaptation of the book series The Wild Robot in September 2023, with Sanders, Hermann, and DeBlois attached. Sanders took inspiration from Disney animated classic films and the works of Hayao Miyazaki. It would be the final film to be animated entirely in-house at DreamWorks, as it was reported in October 2023 that the studio would be shifting away from producing films in-house to relying more heavily on outside studios after 2024. Kris Bowers composed the film's score, marking his first score for an animated film.

The Wild Robot is scheduled to premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 8, 2024, and to be theatrically released in the United States on September 27, 2024.

Plot[]

In a futuristic Earth, a Universal Dynamics cargo ship runs aground on an uninhabited island during a typhoon. Only one of its ROZZUM all-purpose utilitarian robots survives the crash, Unit 7134, which is accidentally activated by the local wildlife. Calling herself "Roz" for short, she attempts to advertise her services but only succeeds in terrifying the animals and injuring herself. Roz activates a learning safe mode that translates the animals' language over several days but still cannot find anyone who requires her help. She decides to signal her manufacturers to retrieve her but accidentally crushes a goose nest after falling off a cliff, leaving only a single egg. After Roz defends the egg from a hungry fox, it hatches, and the newborn gosling imprints itself onto her and breaks her communication transponder. Pinktail, a mother opossum, drives Roz to accept the task of raising the gosling with three primary requirements – feeding it, teaching it to swim, and ensuring it can fly before the annual winter migration. Roz recruits the fox, Fink, for help finding food and constructing a shelter; as the three begin cohabitating, Roz names the gosling Brightbill.

Once Brightbill has grown, Roz and Fink try teaching him how to swim. He meets the rest of the island’s geese, who belittle him for his smaller size, awkwardness, and his relationship with the "monster" that killed his original family. Brightbill scorns Roz and leaves, angry at having the truth kept from him; she returns to the cargo ship’s crash site to learn more about her intended purpose and replaces her transponder. Longneck, an elder goose, encourages Roz not to give up on Brightbill, and she recruits the falcon Thunderbolt to help with flying lessons and endurance training. Brightbill masters flying just as the geese leave for the migration, and he departs with Longneck; distraught at his departure and unnerved at her newfound sentience, Roz reactivates her transponder but shuts it off again just as the signal reaches Universal Dynamics headquarters.

A thunderstorm forces the geese to halt the migration and take shelter inside an enormous greenhouse, where its ROZZUM robots attack them. Longneck orders Brightbill, the only goose not scared of the robots, to lead the flock to safety while he sacrifices himself. Roz awakens to find Fink hiding in their shelter from a severe snowstorm, and she depletes her batteries rescuing as many animals as she can and bringing them to the shelter. Before Roz fully powers down, she and Fink urge the squabbling prey and predators to stop fighting until spring; once the terrifying grizzly bear Thorn agrees to the truce, the others comply. Roz awakens months later to find the animals still following the peace and the geese returning, who hail Brightbill as a hero. Before she can work up the courage to meet him, a Universal Dynamics dropship suddenly arrives to recover her. The retrieval robot Vontra attempts to lure Roz onto the ship, stating that Universal Dynamics is highly interested in studying her changed programming, but Fink convinces her to flee.

All the animals band together to fend off Vontra’s army of hostile ROZZUM units, but she captures Roz and causes a massive forest fire by self-destructing the dead robots. Brightbill leads the island's birds in an attack on the dropship as the other animals work to extinguish the fire, but he finds that Vontra has already cut Roz’s power and wiped her memories. However, Roz’s love for Brightbill reactivates and restores her systems, and the two manage to destroy Vontra and escape the dropship before it explodes. Although the animals celebrate their victory, Roz chooses to leave anyway to protect the island from future attacks. Before Roz summons another dropship to retrieve her, she promises the animals that her manufacturers cannot take away her sentience and that she will find a way to return. Sometime later, Brightbill sneaks into a greenhouse and approaches Roz, who appears to have been reset to factory settings; however, she reveals she still has her memories and emotions, and the two embrace.

Voice cast[]

Production[]

Development[]

On September 28, 2023, DreamWorks Animation announced an animated film adaptation of the book series The Wild Robot by Peter Brown, with Chris Sanders set to write and direct, Jeff Hermann set to produce, and Sanders' longtime creative collaborator Dean DeBlois set to serve as executive producer. Other crew members were revealed, including production designer Raymond Zibach, editor Mary Blee, and head of story Heidi Jo Gilbert.[2]

Casting[]

On March 5, 2024, with the release of the film's first trailer, Lupita Nyong'o, Pedro Pascal, Catherine O'Hara, Bill Nighy, Kit Connor, Stephanie Hsu, Mark Hamill, Matt Berry, and Ving Rhames were announced to be starring in the film.[1][3]

Animation and design[]

At CinemaCon 2024 in April, Sanders said he took inspiration from Disney classic animated movies and the works of Hayao Miyazaki, resulting in a stylized CG visual style that he described as "a Monet painting in a Miyazaki forest".[4][5]

The Wild Robot would be the final film to be animated entirely in-house at DreamWorks, as Cartoon Brew reported on October 6, 2023, that the studio would be shifting away from producing films in-house in their Glendale campus to relying more heavily on outside studios after 2024.[6]

Music[]

Kris Bowers would compose the film's score, marking his first score for an animated film.[7]

Marketing[]

The first trailer for the film, featuring a rendition of Reuben and the Dark's cover of "What a Wonderful World", and poster, were released on March 5, 2024.[8] The trailer would debut in theaters three days later in front of screenings of DWA's Kung Fu Panda 4.[9] Writing for Polygon, Tasha Robinson compared the design of Roz to familiar film robots such as BB-8, WALL-E, Baymax, and The Iron Giant, and notes that the only words spoken in the trailer - "Sometimes to survive, we must become more than we were programmed to be" - evoked the message of The Iron Giant (1999).[10]

A second trailer and a new poster were released on June 11, 2024.[11]

Release[]

The Wild Robot is stated to premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2024,[12] and is scheduled to be released in theaters in the United States on September 27, 2024.[13] It was previously scheduled for a week earlier,[14] but was pushed back to avoid competition with Paramount Animation's Transformers One.[13]

As part of Universal's deal with Netflix, the film will stream on Peacock for the first four months of the pay-TV window, before moving to Netflix for the next ten, and returning to Peacock for the remaining four.[15][16]

Gallery[]

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Universal Studios Wiki has a collection of images and media related to The Wild Robot.

Trivia[]

  • This is the final DreamWorks film to be fully animated in-house by the studio before they begin to rely more outsourcing to other animation companies.
  • The film has a similar style to Puss in Boots: The Last Wish.
  • The film will mark the return of Chris Sanders in the director's chair for a DreamWorks film following The Croods.
  • This is the second DreamWorks Animation film to be released in September following Abominable (2019).
  • Ving Rhames and Chris Sanders had previously worked in Walt Disney Animation Studios' Lilo & Stitch franchise.
  • Lupita Nyong'o, Pedro Pascal, and Mark Hamill all co-starred in the Star Wars franchise. Additionally, Matt Berry also made a guest appearance in The Book of Boba Fett.

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Reul, Katie (March 5, 2024). "The Wild Robot, Animated Film Starring Lupita Nyong'o and Pedro Pascal, Gets Gorgeous First Trailer". IGN.
  2. "Director Chris Sanders Returns to DreamWorks Animation With 'The Wild Robot' (Exclusive)". TheWrap (September 28, 2023).
  3. "First Trailer: The Wild "Robot"". Dark Horizons (March 5, 2024).
  4. "DreamWorks Previews 'The Wild Robot' Unfinished Footage: 'A Monet Painting in a Miyazaki Forest'". Variety (April 10, 2024).
  5. "CinemaCon: Universal Reveals Unfinished The Wild Robot Footage from DreamWorks, Sneak Peek at Despicable Me 4". Animation Magazine (April 10, 2024).
  6. "Dreamworks Shifting Away From In-House Production In Los Angeles; Sony Imageworks Is A New Production Partner". Cartoon Brew (October 6, 2023).
  7. "Kris Bowers to Score Chris Sanders' 'The Wild Robot'". Film Music Reporter (March 5, 2024).
  8. "Watch The First Trailer For Chris Sanders' Upcoming Dreamworks Feature 'The Wild Robot'". Cartoon Brew (March 5, 2024).
  9. "Watch the beautiful trailer for The Wild Robot"..
  10. "DreamWorks' new movie The Wild Robot blends Star Wars, The Iron Giant, and more", Polygon (March 5, 2024). 
  11. "'The Wild Robot' Trailer Sees DreamWorks Channel 'Bambi' and Miyazki for Hand-Drawn Aesthetic". IndieWire (June 11, 2024).
  12. Jeremy Kay, "Toronto film festival world premieres to include ‘Nightbitch’, Elton John doc, ‘The Wild Robot’". Screen Daily, June 18, 2024.
  13. 13.0 13.1 "DreamWorks Animation's 'The Wild Robot' Will Go One Week Later In The Fall". Deadline (April 23, 2024).
  14. "DreamWorks Animation's 'The Wild Robot' To Bring Life To Early Fall 2024 Box Office". Deadline Hollywood (December 19, 2023).
  15. Hayes, Dade (December 9, 2021). "NBCUniversal's New Theatrical Window Scheme To Bring Films To Peacock After As Few As 45 Days Of Release"..
  16. Moon, Mariella (July 14, 2021). "Netflix extends exclusive rights to Universal's animated films in the US". (en) Engadget.


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