We still don’t know if the animated film Flow is going to successfully beat out The Wild Robot for the Oscar next month…but we do know where you can catch it on streaming before that happens. It’ll be an interesting battle as both films are about animals, both films have a theme of survival, and both of them take place in nature with lush 3D-painted backgrounds. I guess it’ll be a matter of whether the Academy prefers a feline protagonist or a robotic one.
Max announced today they have the streaming rights to Flow and the movie will exclusively stream there starting one week from now, February 14 (there’s a nice valentine for you). The deal also covers premium cable rights, so the movie will air on linear HBO the following day. The Wild Robot, it’s worth noting, is a Peacock exclusive for the time being, but Universal’s animated movies have a tendency to show up on Netflix eventually.
So what are the real differences between The Wild Robot and Flow? Having seen both now, the main difference is dialogue…in The Wild Robot all the animals talk, while in Flow they don’t. The natural disaster they have to deal with in Wild Robot is fire, while in Flow it’s water. Flow journeys through several different set pieces, while Wild Robot mostly stays in one location. And overall, the movies have different plots.
The black cat at the center of Flow lives in a world where all the humans have disappeared. He lives in a big house that once belonged to some sculptor, who’s implied to have been his owner, but now the cat fends for himself. One day something happens that he’s unprepared for…the water starts rising. Soon his entire neighborhood is flooded and the only source of rescue is a floating boat…but wouldn’t you know it, one of the passengers on that boat is the dog he stole some food from earlier! They instantly resent each other, but must learn to get along if they hope to survive.
Now that Flow will be easier to find, you should check it out…and be fully in the know when the Oscar competition goes down. Catch it on Max February 14.
