A big, showy tech giant (totally not Apple) unveils its new life-changing technology and the world moves overnight. Suddenly, every kid in school has one of these blinking, shouting robo-pals by their side, a "digital best friend" to flash notifications, screen meme clips, recommend social media connections and livestream their life. Everyone except Barney, that is, whose family is too poor and quirky to mindlessly, immediately embrace the new tech. Eventually, the kid does score a bot of his own, but his Dad can't swing the full price and scores a glitchy, damaged discount model, something that literally fell off the back of a truck. This leads to a _Short Circuit_-style awakening and the awkward pairing (kid and robot) learn, together, the true meaning of friendship.

The whole package is deeply derivative - _The Mitchells vs. the Machines_ mined very similar themes earlier this year, _Wall-E_ delivered an equal message in one of its subplots and the bot looks, acts and talks very much like Baymax from _Big Hero 6_ - but _Ron's Gone Wrong_ is just charismatic and heartstrong enough to keep those comparisons from feeling too distracting. It might not be the cleverest family film you'll see all year, but it's witty enough. Not the most visually-stunning entry, but it's capable enough. Well-made and inoffensive, but also fundamentally inessential.