Countdown to The Wild Robot: 5 Best Animated Flicks Featuring Our Favorite Metal Buddies
No Wall-E, we know that you have already seen this one.
On September 27, the most anticipated animated film of the year, The Wild Robot, will finally hit the big screen. Critics have already given it a perfect 100% on Rotten Tomatoes.
While we wait for The Wild Robot, we suggest recalling other movies about intelligent machines – both classics and lesser known but impressive works.
1. Big Hero 6, 2014
Robotics prodigy Hiro and his older brother Tadashi dream of creating the world's most advanced machines. One day, tragedy takes Tadashi's life, and with him, Hiro's latest creation – an army of miniature robots – disappears.
All that remains is Baymax, a robot created by his brother to take care of humans. But when a masked stranger begins using Hiro's nanobots to commit crimes, the boy teams up with a group of scientists to stop the villain.
If Wall-E won audiences' hearts by looking as much like a machine as possible, Baymax did so largely because he looks like a giant marshmallow. Tall, white and soft, he proved to be the perfect embodiment of kindness and caring.
2. The Mitchells vs. the Machines, 2021
Young Katie Mitchell embarks on a cross-country road trip with her parents, younger brother, and dog to begin her first year of film school. However, their plans for a family vacation are put on hold when the world's electronic devices come to life and revolt.
With the help of two friendly robots, the Mitchells must band together to save each other and the planet from the technological revolution.
After shaking up the animation world with Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Sony brought the same vibrant and memorable style to their next project, Mitchells vs. the Machines. The movie tells a wildly energetic, hilarious and heartwarming story about acceptance, family and creativity.
3. The Iron Giant, 1999
A giant alien robot crash-lands outside the small town of Rockwell, Maine in 1957. While exploring the area, local nine-year-old Hogarth discovers it and soon befriends the alien.
When paranoid government agent Kent Mansley sets out to destroy the metallic alien, Hogarth must do everything in his power to save the misunderstood machine.
Brad Bird's The Iron Giant has long been considered one of the classics of modern animation. The familiar story of the friendship between a child and a strange creature perfectly combines two seemingly opposing concepts: the fact that robots often symbolize human fears of technological progress, and the idea that there is nothing cooler for a child than having their own robot buddy.
4. Astro Boy, 2009
In the futuristic Metro City, brilliant scientist Dr. Tenma creates Astro Boy, a robot child with super strength, X-ray vision and the ability to fly.
Astro Boy sets out to explore the world and learn what it means to be human. But when he discovers that his friends and family in Metro City are in danger, Astro Boy uses his incredible powers to save everyone he loves.
The animated film, based on Osamu Tezuka's manga of the same name, took a long time to reach the big screen. The project was in development for nearly 10 years, with directors, screenwriters, and the overall concept changing regularly. In the end, it took the form of a CGI animated film with an all-star voice cast that included Nicolas Cage, Donald Sutherland, and Bill Nighy.
5. Ron's Gone Wrong, 2021
Barney, a shy schoolboy, receives a robot named Ron, a walking, talking device that is destined to become his best friend.
The boy is happy to finally have a robot of his own, but soon his new toy begins to break down, attracting the attention of a giant corporation eager to protect its stock price at all costs. While everyone wants to get rid of the defective machine, Barney finds a true friend and is now ready to save Ron at any cost.
Ron's Gone Wrong is the first project from new London studio Locksmith Animation, whose co-founder Sarah Smith helped direct the animation. Smith saw Spike Jonze's drama Her and thought it was time to explain to children the impact of technology on people's lives and the peculiarities of working with it.