| Director: | Chris Sanders |
| Producer: | Jeff Hermann |
| Editing: | James Ryan |
| Music: | Kris Bowers |
| Production Companies: | DreamWorks Animation |
| Distributor: | Universal Pictures |
| Runtime: | 101 minutes |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
The Wild Robot is an upcoming American animated science fiction survival 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, 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 on September 8, 2024, and to be theatrically released in the United States on September 27, 2024.
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 announced, including production designer Raymond Zibach, editor Mary Blee, and head of story Heidi Jo Gilbert.[2]
Cast members, Lupita Nyong'o, Pedro Pascal, Catherine O'Hara, Bill Nighy, Kit Connor, Stephanie Hsu, Mark Hamill, Matt Berry, and Ving Rhames, were revealed on March 5, 2024, with the release of the film's first trailer.[3]
According to Hamill, who voiced Thorn, he learned about the film after reading the book The Wild Robot. Hamill says that The Wild Robot reminded him of his first feelings about Star Wars (1977), in which he originated the role of Luke Skywalker.[4]
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".[5] [6] 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.[7]
In March 2024, Kris Bowers was revealed to be composing the score, marking his first score for an animated film.[8] Additionally, two original songs were announced to be made for the film performed by Maren Morris and written by Morris, Ali Tamposi, Michael Pollack, Delacey, Jordan Johnson and Stefan Johnson: "Kiss the Sky" and "Even When I'm Not", with the former scheduled to be released on August 28, while the latter, along with the full soundtrack album, would be released on September 27.[9] Morris and her team of co-writers were inspired to write a second song for the film, "Even When I'm Not", which is featured in the film's end credits, when they screened the finished film.[9]
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.[10] The trailer would debut in theaters three days later in front of screenings of DreamWorks' other new film Kung Fu Panda 4.[11] 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).[12]
A second trailer and a new poster were released on June 11, 2024.[13]
The Wild Robot is slated to have its world premiere as the opening front runner of the Toronto International Film Festival Grand Opening celebration on September 8, 2024.[14] [15] It is scheduled to be released in theaters in the United States on September 27, 2024,[16] and in the United Kingdom on October 18.[17] The film was originally scheduled for September 20, 2024,[18] but was pushed back a week later to avoid competition with Paramount Animation's Transformers One.
As part of Universal's long-term 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.[19] [20]