The feature debut of Locksmith Animation, “Ron’s Gone Wrong” marks a strong start for the budding studio. Despite its familiar story beats and characters, the film provides enough heart and visual flare to make for a sweet, eccentric viewing experience. 

A story of friendship, “Ron’s Gone Wrong” shows Barney (Jack Dylan Grazer, “Luca”), an 11-year-old loner navigating a society obsessed with “B-bots:” robots designed to help kids make friends. After receiving a defective bot known as Ron (Zach Galifianakis, “Between Two Ferns: The Movie”), Barney is taken on an adventure where he learns the true meaning of friendship, as well as the importance of being yourself.

Though the film plays it safe in terms of its story, genuine performances and writing help it overcome its more generic elements. Portraying an introverted child coming out of his shell, Grazer demonstrates great emotional depth throughout. Galifiankis, whose role is reminiscent of “Big Hero 6’s” Baymax, provides a sweet oddball performance which serves as both the comedic relief and heart of the film. Together, the two show great chemistry, making their story of friendship feel all the more authentic and fun.

Through its focus on a world infatuated with technology, “Ron’s Gone Wrong” draws important parallels to today’s society. More specifically, the film depicts B-Bots as outlets for children to access social media and gaming in order to form personal relationships. This highlights the real-life issue of how kids’ dependence on technology negatively affects their social skills. Other issues, such as data mining, are also addressed, posing surprisingly mature plot points which give the story something for adult filmgoers to latch onto. 

While not all of it lands, the film’s humor deserves praise for its freshness. With an unabashed willingness to be silly and weird, laughs are often generated from the sheer absurdity or randomness of characters’ actions or dialogue. Though the film sometimes resorts to common children’s film tropes such as the use of toilet humor, it thankfully keeps most of its comedy original.

Featuring spastic, cartoony animation, “Ron’s Gone Wrong” makes good use out of its environments and the B-bots’ designs in order to generate a fun, vibrant world. However certain elements, such as the designs of human characters, come off as simplistic or generic. Overall, the film’s animation is unique enough to create a visual identity for Locksmith Animation.

Despite the strength shown through its themes of friendship and technological obsession, there are other concepts which the film fails to deliver on. The most prominent pertains to distant relationship with his overworked father, Graham (Ed Helms, “The Office”), a plot point which is underexplored, despite being frequently alluded to throughout the story.

Having the respectable “Ron’s Gone Wrong” under its belt, Locksmith Animation seems to be destined for a bright future. Though the film is far from perfect, it designates a step in the right direction for the studio with its unique identity and brand of humor. With a slew of projects slated for release, the studio will hopefully improve on its first film and maintain its winning-streak for years to come.

Image from 20th Century Studios via YouTube