Anthomation Assesses Ron’s Gone Wrong

Howdy guys, Anthomaton here. Today I shall go into the future and look at Ron’s Gone Wrong.

Ron’s Gone Wrong is a 2021 animated film. It is the first film from Locksmith Animation and was distributed by 20th Century Studios, serving as the company’s first animated film to release since the closure of Blue Sky Studios on April 10, 2021.The film was theatrically released in the United Kingdom on October 15 and in the United States on October 22, 2021. The film has grossed $33.3 million worldwide and received generally positive reviews from critics.

Barney is a socially awkward schoolboy who receives a robot named Ron — a walking, talking, digitally connected device that’s supposed to be his best friend. Barney is excited to finally have his own robot — until his new toy starts to hilariously malfunction, drawing the attention of a shady executive who wants to protect his company’s stock price at all costs.

The story combines two very familiar plotlines: the main character and his misunderstood friend, and a future full of technological advances. Call it this year’s version of Next Gen (2018). But unlike that film, this one has a decent combination of humor and heart. For a simple film about a boy and his pet robot, things get serious. For example, Barney and Ron decide to run away into the woods after creating a robotic mess at his middle school. And they don’t return until Barney is in need of severe medical attention. So much for parental guidance. The story does fall into the same trap as other modern animated films of trying to squeeze in as many subplots as possible. There is the human and robot relationship, the kid and parent relationship, the kid and his old friends, and the corporate bad guy has no compassion. 

The animation is well done on all fronts. Being that this is the first film from Locksmith Animation, there must have been some pressure to make sure that they make a good first impression. From a visual standpoint, they did good! The backgrounds look good, and the character expressions look nice. The character models might look a bit wonky at first, but they are easy to get used to. My favorite part was how it could range from bright and colorful to almost no lighting. In a scene revealing Barney’s phobia of the dark, Ron uses his lighting to help him sleep better. In doing so, the film takes full advantage of only using lighting in the essential parts of the frame. It’s an old school film technique, and one that is enjoyable to watch.

The characters range from pretty well developed to pretty stale. First there is Barney Pudowski, a socially awkward and lonesome middle-schooler with whom Savannah shares a friendship. There is Ron (voiced by Zach Galifianakis), Barney’s malfunctioning B-bot. There’s Barney’s father, Graham, and Barney’s paternal grandmother, Donka, (voiced by Ed Helms and Olivia Colman respectively). There’s Savannah Meades, Barney’s classmate who is an aspiring vlogger. There’s Marc, the creator of the B-bot and CEO of the Bubble company. And then there is Andrew, the COO of the Bubble company who is the corporate villain. Our two main characters have life to them, but the side characters feel undeveloped. This makes the film’s writing decent, but not much more than that.

The best way to explain this film is that it is a little messy, but its heart is in the right place. The story, animation, and characters all seem slightly above average, but not enough to truly stand out. This is worth a watch for the casual viewer, but not worth running to for a rewatch.

Score:

6/10