THE WILD ROBOT Triumphs Over Excessive MEGALOPOLIS at Box Office
By Movieguide® Contributor
This weekend’s box office had some surprises, as Francis Ford Coppola’s long-awaited MEGALOPOLIS majorly flopped, while children’s movie THE WILD ROBOT hit No. 1.
MEGALOPOLIS, an epic set in New York, boasts a star-studded cast and was written, directed and produced by Coppola. The noted director has been working on this movie since the late ’70s, and audiences were excited to see what he had in store. However, MEGALOPOLIS has received dismal reviews and, according to AP News, debuted with just $4 million — “sobering for a movie that Coppola bankrolled himself for $120 million.”
“From beginning to end, the craft — directing, acting, writing, editing, design — is just not there,” the New York Post wrote in its review, adding, “To even politely admire this cacophony of concepts takes the willpower of an army.”
The Movieguide® review reads:
MEGALOPOLIS is GODFATHER director Francis Ford Coppola’s satirical fantasy of American society. The movie reimagines New York City as a corrupt, modern New Rome. Adam Driver plays Ceasar, a visionary architect trying to craft his own Utopia for the peoples of Earth to emulate. The mayor, Cicero, hates Ceasar’s vision. He’s rather build a casino. When Caesar falls in love with the Mayor’s daughter, Julia, he raises the Mayor’s ire. He also creates jealousy in his cousin and in a jilted mistress, who’s seduced Caesar’s wealthy uncle, and the cousin’s grandfather, into marrying her.
MEGALOPOLIS sometimes descends into silly melodrama. For example, Caesar’s rich uncle suddenly pulls out a little bow and arrow and murders a deceitful relative. MEGALOPOLIS also has a strong humanist, godless worldview and a dark view of American society. Eventually, it envisions a vague, secular Marxist utopia that’s incredibly naïve. Also, however, the two jealous young villains in MEGALOPOLIS are destroyed by their incestuous relationship, which is defined by lust, greed, jealousy, and revenge. MEGALOPOLIS also has lots of strong foul language and a lewd incest scene.
While MEGALOPOLIS flopped, the animated children’s movie THE WILD ROBOT rose to the top, taking No. 1 with $35 million — over double the take of BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE, who took second place.
Critics and audiences alike are in love with THE WILD ROBOT’s message, with The Guardian writing, “THE WILD ROBOT offers the type of all-ages-welcome animated entertainment that will delight kids and leave a lump in one’s throat. And it delivers on the promise of a truly great animated feature: to express universal truths — love that defies logic, feelings that come from places we don’t understand, the bittersweet bargain of letting someone go so they can flourish — through the inorganic.”
The Movieguide® review for THE WILD ROBOT reads:
THE WILD ROBOT is an incredibly heartfelt, entertaining, humorous animated story. An intelligent robot nicknamed Roz is stranded on an isolated, uninhabited island. To survive the harsh environment, Roz bonds with the animals. She also must take care of an orphaned baby goose, whom she calls Brightbill, so he can join the migration.
WILD ROBOT is a very special movie. It delightfully affirms motherly love. Also, Roz the robot clearly has Christological, allegorical elements. She teaches the animals to love one another and clearly dies and appears to clearly resurrect. That said, her major characteristic is learning to overcome her cold, pre-programmed nature to develop a loving heart. When the company tries to re-program her, the heart takes over, but that’s not the end of the story. There are many animated action violence situations in WILD ROBOT, including animals consuming one another to survive. However, none of these situations are cruel or violent in a scary, troubling way. So, MOVIEGUIDE® recommends WILD ROBOT for children aged six and up. Adults also will love this story, if they have a heart.
THE WILD ROBOT’s triumph at the box office — especially over the excessive MEGALOPOLIS — shows Hollywood once again that audiences want family-friendly movies with moral content.
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