In a delightful twist at San Diego Comic-Con, Mark Hamill<\/strong> made \u2064an unexpected appearance at “The Wild Robot” \u2063panel. Joining director Chris Sanders<\/strong> \u2063 and voice actors Lupita Nyong\u2019o<\/strong> and Kit Connor<\/strong>, Hamill shared his enthusiasm for DreamWorks Animation’s latest feature film.<\/p>\n Hamill, who lends his voice \u2064to a\u2064 grizzly bear \u200bnamed Thorn,\u200c recounted his\u200d initial reaction to being \u200dapproached for the project. “When\u2063 I\u2062 was first asked\u200b to be \u2064involved, I immediately read Peter Brown\u2019s novel on \u200bwhich the film\u2064 is based. I was just knocked out. I thought if they \u2062can capture\u200b just \u200ba small percentage of this effect of this book\u2026 I have to tell you, they just did a fantastic job.”<\/p>\n “The Wild Robot” \u2064follows a hyper-intelligent\u2062 android named Roz<\/strong> (voiced by Nyong\u2019o) who finds herself on an uninhabited island. There, she lives among the wildlife and raises an orphaned baby duckling named Brightbill<\/strong> (voiced \u200dby Kit Connor). The panel treated fans\u200d to\u200c three new clips\u2062 from\u200d the film, showcasing Roz’s crash landing on the island, her \u200dinteractions with the animal inhabitants, and \u2063the poignant\u200d reason she takes on the role of Brightbill\u2019s mother.<\/p>\n One of the\u2063 clips revealed Roz facing off against\u200c the RECOS<\/strong> \u2064(short for reconnaissance \u200drobots), the main antagonists \u200dof\u200d the story sent to capture her. \u2064”You are \u200ddefective,” one of the RECOS declares. Roz’s response, “I feel \u200bfine,” is met with, “You should not feel anything at all.”<\/p>\n Another clip showed Roz being chased by a bear and tumbling\u200d off a cliff. As\u2062 she\u2062 assesses \u200bthe damage, she realizes \u200cher \u200bfall has killed a mother goose, \u2063leaving behind one unhatched egg\u2014Brightbill. This moment marks \u200bthe beginning of Roz’s journey as Brightbill’s \u200bsurrogate\u200b mother.<\/p>\n Nyong\u2019o shared her thoughts on\u200d Roz’s character: “What\u2063 I loved about Roz is she is an adult character but she has\u2064 a beginner\u2019s mind, like a child. She \u200bhas to learn\u200d morality and ethical code.” She added\u2064 that Roz learns from the animals to be “secretive” about how Brightbill\u2019s mother died and instead takes on the role of his mother herself.<\/p>\n Director Chris Sanders reflected on the absence\u2062 of mothers in animated films, drawing from his experience working on 1992\u2019s “Aladdin.” “When I was working on \u2018Aladdin,\u2019\u200c one of\u200b the early versions of \u2064\u2018Aladdin,\u2019\u2063 Aladdin had a mom. \u2064She was in town,” Sanders said. “She\u2062 was in the\u2064 story \u2064for a while and \u2064I \u2063began\u200b to understand why moms aren\u2019t in these movies\u2026 one of\u2063 them is if your mom is an okay mom, she knows better than\u2062 to let you do dumb things. He\u2019d be like \u2018Hey mom,\u200c I\u2019m going to go steal some food from the market.\u2019 And\u200b she\u2019d be \u2064like, \u2018No you\u2019re not!'”<\/p>\n He humorously added, “Moms keep adventures from happening\u2063 in\u200c a good \u2062way.”<\/p>\n The final clip \u200bshown during the panel featured a humorous \u2062”swim test” for Brightbill, who ends up being jettisoned down a hill by Pedro Pascal\u2019s pesky fox named\u200c Fink<\/strong>. This \u2063light-hearted moment provided a \u200bglimpse into the film’s blend of adventure\u200d and comedy.<\/p>\n In \u2062addition to Nyong\u2019o, Connor, and Hamill, the\u2063 film boasts an impressive voice cast, including Catherine \u200cO\u2019Hara<\/strong> as Pinktail and Matt Berry<\/strong> as\u200c Paddler. Their contributions promise to bring a rich array of\u2064 characters to life in \u2064this heartwarming tale.<\/p>\nThe story of ‘The Wild Robot’<\/h2>\n
A\u2062 glimpse into the film<\/h3>\n
The role of mothers in animated films<\/h2>\n
A humorous ‘swim test’<\/h2>\n
A \u2062stellar voice cast<\/h2>\n
Mark your \u200ccalendars<\/h2>\n