Actor Mark Hamill is no stranger to the world of animation. The actor best known for playing Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars franchise, has voiced The Joker in Batman: The Animated Series, Hobgoblin in Spider-Man: The Animated Series, Fire Lord Ozai in Avatar: The Last Airbender, Skips in Regular Show, among others. On Saturday, he joined the star-studded panel for DreamWorks’ upcoming movie The Wild Robot to share his experience voicing a grizzly bear named Thorn in the much-anticipated project.
“When they asked me to consider being involved [with The Wild Robot], the first thing I did was order the book, and I was just knocked out,” Hamill said. “I thought, if they can capture just a small percentage of the effectiveness of this book—and I have to tell you, they just did a fantastic job. When I went in to do the voice session, they had footage. I thought, well, one of the great things was to look at the book, and they kept that.”
“But it’s just—you have to see it,” the much-loved actor continued. “I feel like back in the day, when I was trying to describe Star Wars without people having seen it. [The Wild Robot] is emotional and it works on so many levels. The kids will love it, but everyone’s going to love it. I remember when my kids were small, [I’d] take them to see these movies [like] The Garbage Pail Kids Movie, [and you had to] keep your opinions to yourself [because the kids are] enjoying it. [But] this is one that the whole family is just going to fall in love with.”
“We always have to take a step back and say, what’s my function in the film, to make everything work?” Hamill shared. “What function do I serve? And one of the aspects of the book and movie is that all these disparate animals are thrown into this situation where they have to restrain themselves. Obviously a bear is a predator, but they have to work for the greater good, so they peacefully coexist with the animals that that would ordinarily be their dinner.”
The film’s director Chris Sanders, actress Lupita Nyong’o and Kit Connor were also part of the exciting panel, which showcased three clips from the project. Based on Peter Brown’s best-selling book, The Wild Robot centers on a uber-intelligent android named Roz (Nyong’o) who ends up raising a baby duckling named Brightbill (Connor) when it lands on an island inhabited by wildlife. The film also features the voices of Catherine O’Hara, Pedro Pascal, Bill Nighy, Stephanie Hsu, Ving Rhames and Matt Berry. The Wild Robot, which features stunning animation by the team at DreamWorks, opens on Sept. 27.
Watch a special look at the making of the movie below:
Sources: Gizmodo, Variety
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