DreamWorks Previews ‘The Wild Robot’ Unfinished Footage: ‘A Monet Painting in a Miyazaki Forest’
variety.comCarolyn Giardina Three-time Oscar-nominated director Chris Sandlers and Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o previewed unfinished footage of DreamWorks Animation‘s “The Wild Robot” at CinemaCon — what Sandlers says took inspiration from Disney classics and Hayao Miyazaki’s work, resulting in an original virtual style that he described as “a Monet painting in a Miyazaki forest.” Based on Peter Brown’s book, the story follows Roz, a robot voiced by Nyong’o, who is accidentally marooned on an uninhabited island.
There, the city robot meets and learns from the animals in her new environment. In this rich world, a fox meets and advises Roz. “You need to learn how things work on this island, and kindness is not a survival skill,” the fox says.
Soon Roz watches a baby gosling hatch, who believes Roz is his mother. They form a bond as Roz tries to figure out how the baby can learn to swim and fly.
As the footage concludes, Roz asserts, “This is my home and I am a Wild Robot.” The voice cast also includes Pedro Pascal, Catherine O’Hara, Bill Nighy, Kit Connor, Stephanie Hsu and Mark Hamill.
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