BACK LOT MUSIC RELEASES UNIVERSAL PICTURES & DREAMWORKS ANIMATION’S THE WILD ROBOT (ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK)
October 18, 2024
Original Score by EMMY® & GRAMMY® nominated composer and OSCAR® winner Kris Bowers
THE WILD ROBOT is in theaters nationwide today
LOS ANGELES, CA – September 27th 2024 – Back Lot Music announces the release of DreamWorks Animation’s The Wild Robot Original Motion Picture Soundtrack with music by Emmy® & Grammy® nominated composer and Oscar® winner Kris Bowers. The soundtrack also features two original songs by Grammy-winning singer-songwriter and music sensation Maren Morris: “Kiss the Sky” and “Even When I’m Not.”
In theaters nationwide in North America today, the film is a new adaptation of the beloved, award-winning, #1 New York Times bestseller by Peter Brown. The epic adventure follows the journey of a robot—ROZZUM unit 7134, “Roz” for short — that is shipwrecked on anuninhabited island and must learn to adapt to the harsh surroundings, gradually building relationships with the animals on the island and becoming the adoptive parent of an orphaned gosling, Brightbill. The film is a powerful story about the discovery of self, a thrilling examination of the bridge between technology and nature and a moving exploration of what it means to be alive and connected to all living things.
The album is available everywhere digital music is sold and streamed. In addition, the soundtrack album is also available physically on vinyl now to preorder from Waxwork Records.
Bowers’ creative process on The Wild Robot began with early conversations with the film’s three-time Academy Award® nominated writer-director Chris Sanders. “Chris and I spoke about the relationships and emotional themes in this story and how music might help underline and enrich the narrative,” Bowers says. “Our conversations about parenthood, the complex dynamic between Brightbill and Roz, and Roz’s dedication to kindness as a survival mechanism, generated a clear and visceral emotional response within me, and so much of my composition process was trying to recreate the same emotional sensations. The process of composing those main themes for the score to represent the emotional landscape involved a bit of trial and error and back and forth, but once we had those themes and the palette for the score, I was able to just follow the emotional journey the story was taking me on as a viewer and respond to it with music.”
The film’s score features distinct themes for robot Roz, gosling Brightbill and their fox friend Fink, alongside the overarching main theme. “Early on, we arrived at the idea of creating a main theme that represents the ideas of family and community,” Bowers says. “Where we are in the story and who or what is driving the scene helped me decide which theme to go with, and there are times when more than one theme is featured. So, in a sequence where Roz is on a rescue mission during a winter blizzard, it’s her theme that is driving the music, but there are hints of the main theme that play as we see Roz bring the island together.”
Bowers skillfully leveraged the narrative intricacies to his advantage. “Even in the moments without dialogue, the emotional journey is clear and palpable,” Bowers says. “I’m able to simply follow all of the moments of connection, curiosity, isolation, humor and joy that are felt in the storytelling. And as the animation developed throughout the process, those feelings were enhanced and felt even deeper.”
The creative team behind The Wild Robot understood the profound impact music would have on their storytelling. Writer-director Sanders viewed the music as a vital element for amplifying the film’s emotional depth. “I believe music is the closest thing to real magic in cinema,” Sanders says. “It’s an undeniable force in storytelling. Unlike dialogue, which may occasionally falter in its impact, music consistently delivers the intended emotions. In The Wild Robot, we’ve strategically reserved moments in the film where our characters remain silent and we allow the music to carry the narrative forward.”
1. Kiss the Sky
2. Even When I’m Not
3. The Island
4. Activating Learning Mode
5. Deploying Rescue Transmitter
6. System Breach – Kris Bowers ft. Sandbox Percussion
7. The Accident
8. The Egg and the Fox – Kris Bowers ft. Sandbox Percussion
9. Hatching
10. Brightbill
11. Pinktail
12. You’re His Mother Now
13. Eat, Swim, Fly
14. Fink – Kris Bowers ft. Sandbox Percussion
15. Roz Builds a Home
16. Choosing A Name
17. Bedtime Story
18. Activating Interspecies Outreach Protocol
19. Swimming Tests
20. Kind of Normal
21. Rockmouth
22. That Thing
23. The Confession
24. In the Wrong Place
25. Universal Dynamics
26. Non-Negotiable
27. I Could Use a Boost
28. Task Complete
29. The Migration
30. Unauthorized Lifeforms
31. Good to See a Friend
32. Rescue Mission
33. Truce
34. Return
35. Vontra
36. Robots vs. The Wild
37. Back Online
38. I Have Everything I Need
39. You Don’t Have To
40. Roz’s Story
41. Roz’s Startup Music
Deluxe 2xLP "Roz" Hand Poured Colored Vinyl
In partnership with Waxwork Records, Back Lot Music is thrilled to release THE WILD ROBOT Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Music by Kris Bowers. The Wild Robot is a 2024 DreamWorks animated feature film based on the book series of the same name by Peter Brown. It stars Lupita Nyong'o as Roz, the title character, alongside an ensemble voice cast including Pedro Pascal, Mark Hamill, Catherine O'Hara, and Ving Rhames.
