Ron’s Gone Wrong

Ron’s Gone Wrong

Directors: Sarah Smith, Jean-Philippe Vine, Octavio E. Rodriguez. Cast: Jack Dylan Grazer, Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms Olivia Colman Rob Delaney Justice Smith Ruby Wax

This animated film came in and out in the blink of an eye and nobody really noticed it. It’s now on having a second life on Disney+, like most things today.

The basic plot of the lonely boy who’s befriending a Robot, who’s hunted by a big corporation is clearly nothing new: this is essentially “E.T.” for a new generation (though, they should probably watch Spielberg’s masterpiece first!).

Set in a future world where technology rules and pretty much every child has a B-Bot, which are essentially walking smartphone-like oval-shaped robots which help kids cross roads make connections with “friends” without the burden of social interaction.

It’s obviously a cautionary tale, not just for our children but for most of us grown-ups too (says a man who spends pretty much 16 hours a day in front a screen) about what it means to live online.

It’s not by chance that the B-Bots of this film seem to be designed by Apple.

The film has definitely high moral standards and ideals, but ultimately it doesn’t have the edge, nor the inspired comedic timing of “The Mitchells vs. the Machines” (one of the most pleasant surprise in animation from last year), nor the poignant and emotional weight of Wall-E, or the heart of E.T.

Eventually the film chooses an easier and just colourful route. It ticks all the “entertainment” boxes, all rather predictable and eventually muddles up and dilutes the central message, abandoning and pretence to explore the emotional fragility of children, preferring instead a route which is just fun and loud (My Goodness this film is is NOISY!)

I don’t want to sound too down on this. It’s a perfectly good film and definitely above the average, but with so much potential, I really wanted it to be better.