Review: 'Ron's Gone Wrong' is a bright, breezy story that also critiques the perils of social media

Fast and not too furious — though sometimes a bit peeved — the animated “Ron’s Gone Wrong” is a briskly paced and slyly cautionary story about making the kind of friends you can’t unfriend with a click.

Barney (voiced by “Luca’s” Jack Dylan Grazer) is not like the other kids in Nonsuch Middle School. He’s shy, awkward, and has no friends to hang out with at recess. His dad, Graham (voiced by Ed Helms), spends his days trying to sell novelty items to stores, while his grandmother, Donka (voiced by Olivia Colman), raises chickens and a goat, and cooks undigestible food based on recipes she learned growing up in Bulgaria.

Worst of all, in Barney’s view, is that he’s the only kid who doesn’t have a B-Bot, a two-foot-tall electronic companion that will change color, take your selfies, record your TikTok videos and arrange your social media. When Graham and Donka go to the Bubble Store to buy a B-Bot, they learn there’s a three-month wait. They also see there’s a somewhat banged-up B-Bot on the loading dock, and a delivery man willing to look the other way for a little cash.

Barney quickly learns that his B-Bot (voiced by Zach Galifianakis) isn’t like the others, and can’t download the full software package off the Bubble network. So Barney has to turn his B-Bot, dubbed Ron, into a friend the old-fashioned way, by letting Ron get to know him.

Ron proceeds to produce havoc around the school, particularly when the obnoxious classmate Rich (voiced by Ricardo Hurtado) discovers Ron’s safety protocols are offline — and the ensuing glitch turns every other kids’ B-Bot into something sinister. The malfunctioning bots signal back to Bubble HQ, setting off a power struggle between the B-Bots’ idealist inventor Marc (voice of Justice Smith) and the company’s profit-conscious financial officer, Andrew (voiced by comic Rob Delaney).

Directors Sarah Smith (“Arthur Christmas”) and Jean-Philippe Vine (whose credits include the “Shaun the Sheep” TV series) create a lot of impressive sight gags. The best jokes involve Ron’s clumsy attempts to apply Barney’s friendship lessons as his circuits are still adapting to being turned on. 

The script, by Smith and Peter Baynham, also serves up some sharp commentary about the harmful effects of social media and the less-than-noble intentions of globe-covering computer conglomerates. It helps that the message is cloaked within an effortlessly humorous and well-paced package.

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‘Ron’s Gone Wrong’

★★★

Opens Friday, October 22, in theaters everywhere. Rated PG for some rude material, thematic elements and language. Running time: 106 minutes.