THE WILD ROBOT and its DreamWorks team were greeted by a hyper enthusiastic crowd at this year’s Annecy Animation Festival as first clips of Universal’s long-awaited release, due to arrive in cinemas this Autumn, finally hit the big screen.
Inspired by Titus Wong and Studio Ghibli and based on Peter Brown’s 2016 bestseller The Wild Robot is directed by Oscar-nominated Chris Sanders and brought to life by DreamWorks’ 54 animators and 10 artists as a powerful story about the discovery of self, a thrilling examination of the bridge between technology and nature and a moving exploration of what it means to be alive and connected to all living things.
The main focus is kindness and empathy as a tool for survival in a Bambi-style parable. Refreshingly, there are no real villains or cultural associations just a bunch of feral forest animals with tender and relatable emotional beats that will appeal to all audiences.
The DreamWorks creative team with Margie Cohn (President) and The Wild Robot’s director Chris Sanders (both far right)
Joined by a lively cast of Bill Nighy and Pedro Pascal, Lupita Nyong’o voices ‘Rozzum 7134’, a robot that’s clueless and vulnerable when she blows off course and lands on a remote island totally unprepared for what comes next.
The film also features the voice talents of Emmy winning pop-culture icon Mark Hamill (Star Wars franchise, Matt Berry (The SpongeBob Movie franchise) and Golden Globe winner and Emmy nominee Ving Rhames (Pulp Fiction).
The Wild Robot combines a timeless quality with a message of hope when ‘Roz’ is forced into a motherly role of guiding a fledging gosling in its first days of life.
Blending 2D and 3D images the DreamWorks design-team have created a unique aesthetic with painterly handcrafted images and with an original score by Chris Bowers. @MeredithTaylor
THE WILD ROBOT in UK cinemas from 18 October 2024