New Dreamworks Box Office Hit Officially Getting a Sequel

The Wild Robot will be getting a sequel after confirmation from the movie’s director. During Deadline’s Contenders Series this weekend, Chris Sanders told the assembled press that Dreamworks Animation is already developing a follow-up to the recent release. Last weekend, The Wild Robot managed to creep up over $100 million globally. Peter Brown’s bestselling book of the same name serves as the source material for this animated feature. Sanders said, “100% yes there are absolutely plans for a second one.” It’s a nice bit of news for fans of the family movie. It entered a crowded animated landscape with Transformers One premiering right before it in theaters. 

ComicBook’s Kofi Outlaw reviewed The Wild Robot for the site. He was impressed with the ways this movie turned the beloved kids book into an epic adventure. As many other reviews note, The Wild Robot shines from a technical standpoint. (How apt for a movie about a piece of technology that transcends its programming!) Dreamworks Animation has a certain pedigree in the theatrical landscape. The studio has a bunch of long-running family franchises like the How to Train Your Dragon saga and the Shrek series. It seems like Dreamworks has the beginning of another franchise here.

Outlaw begins: “At this point, Chris Sanders is just cementing his run as one of the greats in animated feature filmmaking. With a top-notch team of animators behind him, Sanders creates visual storytelling that often doesn’t even rely on dialogue (especially at the start). From the clever design and functions of the Roz 7134 robot to the wilderness world and various animals in it, the mix of nature and technology is fun and uniquely hopeful in depicting harmony between the two.” 

“Narratively, Sanders once again crafts a story that feels poignantly insightful for both young and old viewers, and timeless in its themes about the child-parent relationship (whether biological or chosen),” he continued. “The only critique is that the story may go on a tad too long for younger viewers (102 minutes), but arguably earns that extra 20 minutes or so with a thrilling blockbuster-sized climax.” 

The Wild Robot Secures A Sequel

Not too long ago, director Chris Sanders was asked about getting the opportunity to revisit Roz’s story in another feature. Now, we know that’s going to be the case. But, it wasn’t a slam dunk, even the week that the movie opened. Talking to NBC, the filmmaker explained how much he loved creating stories in this world. Dreamworks has been adapting this beloved childrens’ novel for years now. The care in every frame is apparent from the lush visual style. In addition, The Wild Robot also garnered rave reviews from audiences and critics. So, it should come as no surprise that we’re getting more of Roz down the line. Check out what the director had to say about the story here and the talent of Lupita Nyong’o.

“I would very much like to,” Sanders offered. “I think the entire crew really, really involved themselves in this film in a way that I’ve never seen before, myself included. This was a labor of love on the part of everybody at the studio, and yes, I think I’d love to go and stay here for a while.”

There was a lot of praise for Nyong’o’s performance here too. “She really took the lead in crafting this character. Roz is a complex character, so there was a lot to talk about. Because in these recording sessions, you might hit many, many different points in the same story, we had to eventually define phase one, phase two, and phase three voice,” the director continued. “As we bounced around, we would [say]: ‘Okay, this is phase one voice.’ And she would put herself into that range. And then later on, in the same recording session: ‘Okay, now we’re in phase three voice,’…and so on.”

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