For the dubbing of “Wild Robot”: five questions for Naadei Lyonnais

In The wild robotanimated film by Chris Sanders, Naadei Lyonnais plays Roz, the robot of the title. The singer, author and host looks back on her experience for this feature film from the team behind the trilogy Dragons.

The wild robot takes place on an island entirely populated by animals. But now Roz, a particularly sophisticated robot, becomes the adoptive mother of a gosling rejected by his peers.

Naadei, how did you go from The island of love has Before the crashthen to the dubbing of Roz in The wild robot?

That’s the magic of life, the magic of leaving doors open and not limiting yourself and wanting to try new things. Everything I’ve done over the past few years are all first times! In Before the crashit was the first time that I played in a fiction, in The island of loveit was the first time that I hosted a reality TV show, and for The wild robotthis is the first time I’m doing dubbing. My life is truly a succession of first times. I guess that’s my comfort zone. And to this day there has always been a second time.

What do you look for in the projects you accept, and do you have criteria that make you accept the series or films in which you work?

Yes, I have criteria that I think are perhaps a little different from standard criteria. I want to learn. I find that life goes by exceedingly quickly and nothing makes me feel more alive than a challenge or that, precisely, this first time. Learning something new is the feeling I love the most. Obviously, this involves the risk of realizing that we are rotten at something. But it’s important, in my opinion, not to take yourself too seriously. And the worst thing that can happen is that you don’t like it or aren’t talented at something…and that’s totally okay.

What did you like about The wild robot?

Currently, I am at a crossroads. I’m between being someone’s daughter and potentially being someone’s mother. I think at my age, I’m finally able to understand the sacrifice and dedication it takes to be a mom. I lived for several years, like most children, with the feeling that everything was owed to me, including the love of a parent. Today I realize how much it takes and how lucky I was to be loved in this way. I called my mother several times during the dubbing. It’s very confronting and there is something beautiful about a parent’s love for their child.

How did you work on the role in order to convey this humanity that we feel in Roz?

Basically, Lupita Nyong’o [qui prête sa voix à Roz dans la version originale en anglais] did a magnificent job. She gives this rhythm to the character. At the beginning, she is just a robot, experiences strange things and has somewhat awkward reactions. As she evolves in the film, we feel her humanity developing. I had the chance to voice a character who had been rendered very well and I was able to let myself be lulled by this already established rhythm. This is also what I found magnificent in the film: in life, learning is rarely linear, we take a few steps forward, then back, and we also feel it in Roz’s voice.

And your voice?

I modified my voice and, at the beginning of the film, we are in something very robotic. But I’m lucky enough to have made music for 10 years, so it’s an environment that I really like… Being in a studio, away from light and prying eyes in a small cave of well-being… It’s magical to be, every day, in a cozy place with a small team. To enter a studio, to see on the screen a sentence scrolling in attached letters – I hadn’t seen attached letters since primary school! – and it must be said…

The wild robot moves moviegoers from September 27.