Ron's Gone Wrong is a bright and deceptively heady film about friendship in the modern era -- particularly between the put-upon Barney (Jack Dylan Grazer) and the faulty, but lovable robot Ron (Zach Galifianakis). It takes some surprising and interesting turns, but remains grounded thanks to the gifted voice cast. During a press conference attended by CBR, Galifianakis spoke about the development of Ron's unique voice, and how he and the filmmakers collaborated to perfect the performance.
Ron's Gone Wrong centers on the titular robot, one of the B-Bots that have become massively popular in the world of the film. Normally meant to be a "best friend" for people who use the machines as moving and talking digital assistants, the B-Bots typically have very basic personalities that reflect those of their owner. But Ron is damaged, making him incapable of reaching the full scope of a B-Bot's knowledge and standards, which ultimately leads him to develop a more distinct personality and perspective. This also includes a voice that, while initially more robotic than the B-Bot's tailor-made voice, begins to achieve its own unique inflections as the film carries on.
To achieve this subtle piece of character development, the producers needed a vocal performance from Zach Galifianakis that managed to find a balance between a human-like affect and the more robotic one would expect from a device like a B-Bot. "I think that that was a joint effort, to find that voice," Galifianakis shared. "Sometimes I would be too emotional, I think, and then I would get feedback from the booth like, 'That's too... we're hearing a little crack of emotion there.'"
According to Galifianakis, he was initially concerned that he wasn't quite landing the performance that the creators had been hoping for. "I thought, 'God, I think I'm doing this wrong,'" he recalled. "I saw the buyer's remorse in [Director Sarah Smith's] face." He revealed the creation of Ron's vocal performance was a joint effort between him and the filmmakers, saying, "But I think honestly, it was a little tricky just to find it because you don't want to do a robot. Obviously, [the filmmakers] didn't want that. They wanted more of my voice. But then how do you walk that line of not too much emotion, but likable or lovable?"
This was only complicated further by the typical animation process, with Galifankas explaining he had to go into parts of the film with a relative lack of knowledge about Ron's movements and specific actions. "So I had a lot of help, really, because I needed it. Also, it's a tone thing too, in an animated [project], there's a lot of it. There's a lot of imagination that's required in the beginning, because you don't see a lot of visual stuff quite at the beginning," he said. "You've been told what's happening and that's a little bit of it. Sometimes it's a little challenge, but honestly, I had help and they were very patient with me, which was, you know, when you don't know what you're doing like me, it's helpful."
Ron's Gone Wrong arrives in theaters on Friday, Oct. 22