The Wild Robot

Many Pixar movies operate under the premise of “what if (insert character here) had feelings?”—and as it turns out, Dreamworks can do it just as well, thank you very much. As the sonic design and soundtrack for The Wild Robot’s second trailer would indicate, the studio continues to veer towards more nuanced animated water, as opposed to, say, Illumination fare. Through a combination of sombre yet heroic musical fare and some editing conventions of comedy trailers, The Wild Robot appears to attempt to have it both ways—and the success of that approach is up for debate.

The trailer sound design is by X-It Music, and it’s unclear whether the score is from Kris Bowers’ original score, or something else. Regardless, it’s a cohesive piece that runs mostly uninterrupted for the trailer’s three-minute run time. Arpeggiated strings, strong brass and epic percussion coalesce into a heroic soundscape paired with sombre undertones. It’s consistent in its harmonic loop, and charitably one might call it mesmerizing—although, despite subtle shifts in the arrangement throughout, others might find it a bit repetitive. The harmony outlines a major chord, with a bit of ambiguity around the tonal centre. As the trailer is fairly heavy on dialogue and exposition, it also makes some sense that the trailer music would be relatively repetitive, as it provides a consistent backdrop for the voice work. What’s more, the soundtrack contrasts jarringly with the trailer’s tendency to stop the music for light-hearted or even comedic moments, such as at 0:49 as the titular robot aggressively plucks a porcupine’s needles from a fox. It arguably works much better at 1:39, as the music stops for a dramatic line of dialogue (“I am already home, and I am a wild robot”). That being said, it would, of course, make sense that the trailer’s editors would show multiple facets of the film to draw in as broad an audience as possible.

Overall, the trailer evinces a predominant feeling of wonder that hearkens to its most obvious animated point of reference, 1999’s The Iron Giant. While the musical arrangement’s repetition and pauses for dialogue can be a bit cumbersome, the trailer arguably more than makes up for those aspects with varied and deep sonic design. This is matched with a diverse arrangement that adorns an otherwise fairly pedestrian chord progression—a feature whose predictability might be appealing for a younger audience.

The Wild Robot arrives in theatres September 27th.

— Curtis Perry