These days, as technology continues to advance, we seem to have become so distracted by the latest creations to come from mankind that we too often forget to acknowledge the gifts that have already been provided to us in nature. Luckily, there is a new film coming out soon that could very likely be the reminder we need about the importance of appreciating the natural world. Curiously, however, the story is told from the perspective of an unnatural being, and is called The Wild Robot.
From DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Universal Pictures, the futuristic, sci-fi family film looks like it could be an animated adventure unlike anything audiences have seen in recent memory. However, do not just take our word for it. Learn more about all there is to know so far regarding The Wild Robot in our guide below.
What Is The Wild Robot Release Date?
Audiences of all ages who are intrigued by The Wild Robot will not have to wait very long to experience the story for themselves as the film, thankfully, has a spot on the upcoming 2024 movies schedule and is set to release in theaters on Friday, September 20, 2024 — almost exactly a year after it was first officially announced by Dreamworks Animation, as reported then in an exclusive by The Wrap.
See Nature Through A Machine’s Eyes In The Wild Robot Trailer
It is rare that a dystopian science-fiction film offers such a vibrant, picturesque, and heartwarming depiction of the natural world but, based on the first official trailer for The Wild Robot, it appears we can expect exactly that from the family adventure.
Set to a rousing and aptly robotic-sounding cover of Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World” by Reuben and the Dark, the teaser straps us in to the titular character’s astonishing journey to become “more than [it was] programmed to be” while exploring its new, unfamiliar surroundings. Words could not do justice to the sights presented and emotions invoked by the clip, so check it out for yourself, below:
Additional footage from The Wild Robot that has yet to be released to the public made its debut during the Universal Pictures panel at CinemaCon 2024 in April. A report by Variety revealed that the clip offers more insight into our mechanical protagonist’s relationship with the baby gosling, which the trailer above gave an inkling to. Without giving too much away, the footage also seems to provide hints at a conflict brewing in the wilderness, if it is to follow the trajectory of the source material.
An Animated Adaptation Of Peter Brown’s Book Series About A Shipwrecked Robot
The Wild Robot borrows its title and plot from the first book in a series of novels by award-winning author and illustrator Peter Brown. The story follows an AI-generated machine called ROZZUM unit 7134 (but is referred to as “Roz” for short) which accidentally finds itself stranded on a far-off island that's uninhabited by any lifeforms… who are human, that is, leaving Roz to rely on its own instincts to figure out how to adapt to an environment unlike anything it has witnessed before.
Roz learns much that it knows about this new world from the island’s animal inhabitants and finds unlikely kinship with them, especially with a baby gosling in need of a family.
Brown — who is also known for writing and illustrating more acclaimed children’s books like The Curious Garden and Creepy Carrots! — first published The Wild Robot through Hachette Book Group’s Little, Brown Books for Young Readers banner in 2016. He followed up the New York Times bestseller the following year with The Wild Robot Escapes and completed the trilogy in 2022 with The Wild Robot Protects.
Lupita Nyong’o Leads The Wild Robot Voice Cast
The best DreamWorks Animation movies have always been revered for having talented actors breathing life into their characters, and the Wild Robot voice cast is certainly no exception. Check out who from the star-studded ensemble voices whom and learn a little more from what we know about their characters, below.
Lupita Nyong’o (Roz)
Leading the Wild Robot voice cast as Roz is Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong’o, who earned said honor for her performance in the Best Picture Oscar winner, 2013’s 12 Years a Slave. The Kenyan MCU star (having played Nakia in the Black Panther movies) has also mastered voice acting as Maz Kanata in the Star Wars movies, Raksha in 2016’s The Jungle Book, and Asha on Netflix’s Big Mouth and its spin-off, Human Resources.
Pedro Pascal (Fink)
Nyong’o is joined by another Star Wars universe vet and future MCU actor, The Mandalorian star and upcoming Fantastic Four reboot cast member Pedro Pascal, as the voice of a fox named Fink. The three-time Emmy nominee — also known for leading HBO’s The Last of Us cast — is making his cinematic voice acting debut with The Wild Robot, having previously starred in the video game Dishonored 2, in an episode of audio-based horror anthology TV show, Calls, and an episode of HouseBroken as Claude.
Catherine O’Hara (Pinktail)
Playing an opossum named Pinktail is Catherine O’Hara, who is certainly no stranger to voice acting, having played the likes of Sally in The Nightmare Before Christmas and, most recently, Brook in Pixar’s Elemental, to name just a few notable examples. You may also recognize the Canadian comedy legend and SCTV veteran’s face from Beetlejuice as Delia Deetz (whom she is reprising in the upcoming sequel, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice) or from the Schitt’s Creek cast as Moira Rose.
Bill Nighy (Longneck)
As a goose named Longneck, we have Bill Nighy, whose own most notable voice acting roles have also been animals, such as Rattlesnake Jake in Rango and the not-so-villainous rat, Whitey, in Flushed Away. The English Academy Award nominee’s (for 2022’s Living) best-known live-action credits include the 2003 romantic-comedy classic Love Actually, the 2004 horror-comedy classic Shaun of the Dead, and the blockbuster Pirates of the Caribbean movies as Davy Jones.
Kit Connor (Brightbill)
Brightbill, a gosling, is only the latest of multiple voice acting credits the 20-year-old Kit Connor has acquired, including the shape-shifting Pantalaimon in HBO’s His Dark Materials and several roles in video games, such as Xenoblade Chronicles 3. His film career includes 2014’s Mr. Holmes, Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One, and the 2019 Elton John biopic, Rocketman, but Netflix’s coming-of-age, LGBTQ+ romance series, Heartstopper, is his top claim to fame at the moment.
Stephanie Hsu (Vontra)
Voicing a fellow robot named Vontra is Academy Award nominee Stephanie Hsu, whose impressive performances in Everything Everywhere All At Once, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and Joy Ride have made her one of the top Asian-American Actors of her time. Some may also recognize her voice from recent Netflix original family movies The Monkey King and Leo, or animated series like Blue Eye Samurai and The Second Best Hospital in the Galaxy.
Mark Hamill (TBA)
Voicing a currently undisclosed role is one of the most prolific voice actors of his time, Mark Hamill, who has disguised his voice flawlessly to play various characters — including, arguably, the definitive Joker portrayal on Batman: The Animated Series and other titles. Of course, he is best known for playing Luke Skywalker in various installments of the Star Wars franchise.
Matt Berry (TBA)
Also voicing an unknown role in the Wild Robot cast is Matt Berry, who has leant his unmistakable baritone voice to many unforgettable roles, including when he joined the Star Wars Universe as 8D8 on The Book of Boba Fett. In live-action, the British comedian has turned in now iconic performances as Douglas Reynholm in The IT Crowd, the title role of Toast of London, and the vampiric Laszlo Cravensworth on one of the funniest shows on Hulu, What We Do in the Shadows.
Ving Rhames (TBA)
Ving Rhames of Pulp Fiction and Mission: Impossible movies fame also has a mystery role in The Wild Robot. Highlights of his own voice acting include Cobra Bubbles in Lilo & Stitch, Netflix’s Wendell & Wild, and narrating Arby’s commercials.
Chris Sanders Writes And Directs
At the helm of and handling the screenplay for The Wild Robot is one of today’s most esteemed veterans of animated cinema: Chris Sanders. The filmmaker has three Academy Award nominations to his name for directing two other DreamWorks Animation hits — How to Train Your Dragon and The Croods — and Disney’s Lilo & Stitch. He also tried directing a live-action film with 20th Century Studios’ 2020 adaptation of The Call of the Wild, starring Harrison Ford.
Producing The Wild Robot is someone who has also had his hand in a few animated hits from both DreamWorks and Disney: Jeff Hermann. After serving as production manager on the first two Kung Fu Panda movies, he was promoted to co-producer for the third installment and went on to produce The Boss Baby 2: Family Business. He was also a production assistant for Disney’s Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Mulan.
See if The Wild Robot manages to activate your emotions when it hits theaters in September!