When Maren Morris began working on music for The Wild Robot, the animated adaptation of the beloved best-selling middle-school-aimed book by Peter Brown, all she had to do was put on her mom hat.
“I was so emotionally moved by this story as a mother. Writing the songs for this film was such an honor because it made me feel even closer to my son, especially when I’m touring and sometimes have to be far away from him,” she tells Billboard. “The entire Wild Robot team has been so supportive of the creation of these songs and I’m so excited for the world to see this film.”
The movie tells of a shipwrecked robot, Roz, who lands on an uninhabited island and learns how to build relationships with the animals there, including an orphaned gosling, Brightbill, whom Roz adopts and watches become independent.
Morris, who is mom to 4-year old Hayes, sings and co-wrote “Kiss the Sky,” which plays over a pivotal scene in the film. The uplifting song and video premiere below and show Roz helping Brightbill fulfill his destiny by teaching him to fly. DreamWorks Animation will release the film Sept. 27, while Back Lot Music will put out the soundtrack, which features a score by Kris Bowers, the same day.
“When we were approached to write the song for the flight scene in The Wild Robot we understood how pivotal the moment was in the film,” says co-writer Michael Pollack, who penned “Kiss the Sky” with Morris, Ali Tamposi, Delacey, Stefan Johnson and Jordan K. Johnson. “The scene is literally Brightbill learning how to fly and eventually taking flight, but also metaphorically felt like a lifting off point to the back half of the movie. It was important for the song itself to feel uplifting and have triumphant elements but at the same time it had to evoke the struggles Brightbill was enduring at this point in the story. In a way the melodic arc of the song mirrors the actions of a bird taking flight, as it rises from section to section, ultimately soaring in the post-chorus.”
Morris also penned the end-title song, “Even When I’m Not,” with the same co-writer (with additional writing by Isaiah Tejada). Both songs were produced by The Monsters & Strangerz production team and Tejada. Kris Bowers handled orchestration and served as the movie’s composer.
The Wild Robot stars Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong’o as Roz; Emmy and Golden Globe nominee Pedro Pascal) as fox Fink; Emmy winner Catherine O’Hara as opossum Pinktail; Oscar nominee Bill Nighy as goose Longneck; Kit Connor as Brightbill and Oscar nominee Stephanie Hsu as robot Vontra.
