(The Disneycember logo is shown, before showing clips from Ron's Gone Wrong)
Doug (vo): If you saw the trailers for the movie Ron's Gone Wrong, you probably thought the same thing I did: This looks...fine. Just another story about a boy and his robot...those are surprisingly common...how there's something wrong, and there's a secret that needs to be hidden, and there's a friendship that's gonna grow. You've seen this story a million times. Truth be told, I probably wouldn't even check it out if it wasn't released by Fox, and, well, Fox is a part of Disney, so I have to do it for Disneycember. But I am so glad I did, because, I am really not joking, this is a fucking great movie. Not perfect, but pretty damn close. I went into this film with no expectations and I found something that was funny, clever, heartwarming, surprisingly earning its PG rating, and containing a lesson that I think is more relevant now than it's ever been.
Story[]
Doug (vo): The story centers around a kid named Barney, an awkward middle schooler who doesn't have the latest toy, a small robot who will not only be your friend, but forms their personality around the kid's personality, can take pictures, change its design, and, of course, post all of it online, because that's what really matters, even though that wasn't the original plan of its inventor. He really wanted a toy that will give kids a permanent friend for those that can't really form that many friends. But another owner of the company, and more of the businessman who wants to see profits, turns this new toy into an addiction, an addiction that kids can't get enough of, that is, except Barney, who gets a defective toy he names Ron. Ron was dropped off a truck and, therefore, doesn't work quite right. He gets names wrong, he can't always connect to the Internet, he doesn't always process information that great, he doesn't really know how a friend acts, so he just kind of goes off of whatever Barney says and takes it sometimes literally, sometimes abstractly to a fantastic degree. At first, the kids don't like Ron, but they start to appreciate him because he does stuff the other toys don't, like break his safety features so he can, oh, I don't know, beat up kids, buy alcohol, and sometimes, kidnap people. Yeah, like I said, this movie really does earn its PG rating. As you'd imagine, though, through Ron's malfunction, he starts to show how everything else is technically malfunctioning, as it's the flaws and differences that have people interacting off each other and forming strong friendships, and not algorithms that say whether or not you're more likely to get along, causing kids to shut others out or mainly be alone, forcing them into a depression about getting more digital friends than physical, actual friends.
Review[]
Doug (vo): Okay, so if you've been watching me for a while, you know I'm not a big fan of social media, particularly Twitter. I know that's the thing now, everybody makes fun of Twitter, but even when it was invented, I said it was a bad idea. I was even joking about it on Nostalgia Critic episodes.
(A clip from the Son of the Mask review is shown)
Santa Christ: Still trying to take over the world with that little Twitter invention of yours?
Satan: Tell me it's not making people dumber. Tell me it's not making them easier to conquer.
Doug (vo): So clearly, I'm gonna like the message this film has. But what's so clever is it isn't just showing it's all bad, because Ron is made by the same people. And he accomplishes what the original inventor wanted, it's just his vision got lost along the way. So without giving away too much, the ending isn't just get rid of all these toys, that's not the answer. There's a compromise that's really pretty damn brilliant, even if it does take an extra third act to get there.
(Footage focusing on the final act and climax is shown)
Doug (vo): Yeah, okay, let me get to the one problem with this movie, and, yeah, I won't lie, it is kind of a big problem. The film looks like it's going to wrap up, it had a third act, it had a climax, it looks like everything should be winding down. But, nope, there's suddenly this extra climax where they need to break into the place where they're made, and I guess I won't give it away, but it involves a lot of sneaking and corny slapstick, and it could have been integrated into the story a lot better. But like I said, the conclusion it comes to is very smart and very heartfelt. This is another one of those endings where a sacrifice is made and it's actually a sacrifice, something important is lost for the greater good. But even taking the message out of it, the comedy is hilarious, the dialogue is just as good as anything in the best Pixar flick.
(Footage focusing on the B-Bots is shown)
Doug (vo): The toys are also really creative. I'm thinking to myself, "Man, if I was a kid, I would love one of these things". I love all the various things they can do and different designs, and, yeah, did we mention yet that Disney bought Fox? There's a lot of tie-ins there that's kind of annoying. But to its credit, it's not Free Guy bad.
(Footage focusing on Barney and Ron is shown)
Doug (vo): The acting? Also fantastic. That's Jack Dylan Grazer as Barney, who, after Shazam and Luca, is another incredible young talent you should keep an eye out for. And Zach Galifianakis as Ron? I kept waiting for him to kind of slip back into his stage character, you know, cynical and snarky acting like he knows everything, but then comedically, it's shown that he doesn't. But we never get that. He is 100% convincing as this computer that's growing and trying to understand, and the way his personality grows is totally believable and likable. There's this running joke about saying the name Alcazar*. They must do it, like, a dozen times in this movie, but every single time they do it, I bust a gut, I laugh so hard.
(Various other clips are shown)
Doug (vo): It honestly wasn't until I started doing research that I realized what this movie reminded me of, because it was the same director. This is one of the same directors of Arthur Christmas, one of the best Christmas movies ever made, the animated equivalent of Hot Fuzz, there's so many jokes in it. She literally hasn't directed another film in 10 years, and by God, this is a great return. And yes, there are other directors who worked on this and they deserve credit, too, but I'm sorry. So much of Arthur Christmas is in this movie, and I mean that in the highest respect. This is also apparently the first film from a new animation company, and by God, I hope there's more.
(*The name Doug means is Absalom, as Ron mistakes Barney's registered name for Absalom throughout the film.)
Final thought[]
Doug (vo): I could not believe not only how much I was consistently laughing with this movie, but how emotionally invested I was in this story that I've seen a million times, but it really feels like a new and exciting spin has been brought to it. So, yeah, if you had the same reaction I did to seeing the trailer, "Oh, that looks cute, but I'll probably skip it", see it, man. I can't guarantee you'll have the exact same reaction I did, but this isn't just another forgettable kids movie. This is really well done. It's funny, dramatic, looks great, has a wonderful message, memorable characters. If they just found a way to tighten up that other third act they suddenly slap on, I'd say it's damn near perfect. Give it a watch and see why this is a glitch you won't want to fix.
(A scene showing Barney and a glowing Ron sleeping together in Barney's room is shown)