The Wild Robot, the #2 Movie at the Box Office, Is Already at Home
We here at io9 have, hopefully, made it abundantly clear that The Wild Robot is a masterpiece. It’s in theaters now and if you have a heart, you should watch it and be reminded of why you love the movies. You’ll remember what’s possible when pictures and sound unfold perfectly in front of your eyes. The film is one of those experiences that lifts you up, gives you a hug, and leaves you feeling absolutely incredible.
Because The Wild Robot is that type of film, audiences are slowly finding their way out to see it. After a strong opening weekend, it’s had very strong holds every week since. This past weekend, only its fourth in release, it almost grabbed the number one spot, losing to Terrifer 3 (a very, very different movie) by only $116,000.
So, of course, starting today—October 15—you can watch it at home.
Yes, The Wild Robot is now available digitally ahead of a physical release on December 3. Which seems absolutely wild considering the film is still doing almost as well as a movie could do in theaters. However, Universal, which released the DreamWorks Animated film, has been shortening the home release window on its movies for a while now. We assume it knows what it’s doing and has some kind of metric proving if you release a movie that’s in theaters a little too early, maybe that sense of exclusively provides a bigger bump in digital sales while not hurting your box office. At least, we assume that. Otherwise, the move makes no sense.
Nevertheless, The Wild Robot is a movie destined to become more beloved as more people get to see it and a digital release will do just that. So, to commemorate the release, a few clips from the special features have come out. Here they are.
Here’s a full list of the film’s special features.
- COMMERCIAL FOR ROZZUM – An alternate opening to the film in storyboard form, with introduction by writer/director Chris Sanders.
- MOMENTS FROM THE MIC – Straight from the recording booth, watch the star-studded cast of The Wild Robot perform some of their most memorable lines!
- MEET THE CAST- How do you give empathy to the voice of a robot, vulnerability to a fox, and wisdom to an opossum? Meet the talented voice cast and learn more about your favorite characters from The Wild Robot.
- THE OVERPROTECTIVE MOTHER – A deleted sequence from the film in storyboard form, with an introduction by writer/director Chris Sanders.
- ASSEMBLY REQUIRED: ANIMATING THE WILD ROBOT – Go behind the scenes to see how filmmakers pushed the boundaries of animation to achieve the uniquely immersive world of The Wild Robot.
- FEELING ALIVE – Learn how filmmakers and cast enhanced the universally relatable thematic elements of Peter Brown’s original story to deepen its emotional connection to audiences.
- WILD SOUNDS – Explore the incredible music of The Wild Robot – from Kris Bowers’ enchanting score to Maren Morris’ two new songs.
- HOW TO DRAW – Follow along with writer-director Chris Sanders as he teaches Lupita Nyong’o how to draw Roz and then learn to draw Fink, Baby Brightbill, and Pinktail with story artist-character designer Genevieve Tsai!
- FLY YOUR OWN BRIGHTBILL – One of Roz’s primary tasks is to teach Brightbill to fly so he can migrate with the other geese. Here, you’ll learn how to create your very own Brightbill Kite so you can help him fly too!
Featuring the voices of Lupita Nyong’o, Pedro Pascal, Kit Connor, Bill Nighy, Stephanie Hsu, Matt Berry, Ving Rhames, Mark Hamill, and Catherine O’Hara, The Wild Robot is now in theaters and on digital.
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