This week, DreamWork Animation announced that never-before-seen footage from their upcoming feature, The Wild Robot, will be shown at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival ahead of the studio’s 30th anniversary. From three-time Academy Award® nominee Chris Sanders and featuring Academy Award® winner Lupita Nyong’o, the film is a beautiful adaptation based on the celebrated #1 New York Times bestselling novel by Peter Brown.

The Wild Robot is an adventure whose central character is a robot: ROZZUM unit 7134, called “Roz” for short. Roz is stranded on an uninhabited island and is faced with surviving harsh conditions and adapting to the surroundings- this leads to not only forming friendships with the animals of the island but also becoming a parental figure to an orphaned gosling.

On June 11th, DreamWorks Animation will release The Wild Robot in addition to a filmmaker presentation from writer-director Chris Sanders. Sanders’s other works include How to Train Your Dragon, The Croods, and Lilo & Stitch. There will also be an Artists’ Panel that will feature a conversation between five members of the creative leads team. The day will come to a close with an outdoor screening of How to Train Your Dragon, which is Chris Sanders’ and Dean DeBlois’ landmark film for the studio.

“As we approach our 30 anniversary this fall, DreamWorks Animation continues to reach for new levels of artistic excellence, with stories that ignite the hearts and minds of audiences around the world, and no film embodies that mission more than Chris Sanders’ The Wild Robot,” DreamWorks Animation President Margie Cohn said. “Chris and producer Jeff Hermann have lovingly translated Peter Brown’s renowned literary sensation into a genuine work of art. We have no doubt that the film they’ve created is a classic in the making, and we’re proud and honored to share this exclusive look at their achievement at Annecy this year.”

A moving story about self-discovery, this powerful study of the connection between technology and the natural world is an exploration of what it really means to be alive and connected to other beings. Starring Academy Award® winner Lupita Nyong’o as robot Roz; Emmy and Golden Globe nominee Pedro Pascal (The Last of Us) as fox Fink; Emmy winner Catherine O’Hara as opossum Pinktail; Oscar® nominee Bill Nighy (Love Actually) as goose Longneck; Children’s and Family Emmy Award winner Kit Connor (Heartstopper) as gosling Brightbill and Oscar® nominee Stephanie Hsu (Everything Everywhere All at Once) as Vontra, another robot that will enter the island. The Wild Robot will also showcase the incredible voice talents of Matt Berry (What We Do in the Shadows), Golden Globe winner Ving Rhames, and Daytime Emmy-winning pop-culture icon Mark Hamill.

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Lauren Ashton

Lauren Ashton is a Los Angeles-based writer. She has also taught stop-motion animation and film history since 2020, and holds a BFA in Acting from The California Institute of the Arts. Lauren has previously worked with Walt Disney Imagineering, and since graduating from CalArts, she has worked at Spellbound Inc. (a YouTube Production Company), Gnomon School of Animation, and written plays and sketch comedy for various theaters.

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