The animated comedy ridicules high-tech devices but doesn’t discourage them.
There’s a clear message in the new film “Ron’s Gone Wrong,” and that message is to stop watching films like “Ron’s Gone Wrong.” A derivative tale about a middle schooler and his quirky computer sidekick, the animated film seems to want to preach we should all disconnect from our devices and restore human contact. But then what will the filmmakers do with all that adorable merch? “Ron’s Gone Wrong” thinks it’s being subversive when its really being very corporate. It wastes its voice cast — including Olivia Colman, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis — and it never really connects, ending as awkwardly as a modern-day seventh-grader with a rock collection. That actually perfectly describes Barney Pudowski (Jack Dylan Grazer), a sweet but lonely kid who dreads recess since all his classmates have totally cool high-tech bots, which are egg-shaped walking, talking, digitally connected devices suspiciously looking like Eve from “Wall-E.” The bots are hailed by their creators as “the perfect friend” and a “whole new world of connection.” They unveil the bots at a hype-filled Apple-like event, which will leave adults sniggering. “How can you have fun offline? It’s against nature!” says one co-creator.
