Have you ever watched Pixar’s WALL-E and wondered if real robots might ever reach that level of sophistication? If so, you'll want to take a close look at GOOD NIGHT OPPY. (And if not, we bet you'll still fall for this movie's charms.
Is it exactly like WALL-E? No, not exactly. For instance, WALL-E takes place in a post-apocalyptic future. Our real planet earth is not quite there yet. It’s just that both films focus on squatty robots who roll around desolate wastelands for far longer than their creators intended.
What Is Good Night Oppy?
GOOD NIGHT OPPY is a documentary telling the story of the Opportunity Rover, a robot designed to land on the surface of Mars and look for signs that the desiccated planet once possessed water. Opportunity wasn’t the first Mars rover NASA landed on the Red Planet (that was the Sojourner, which landed in 1997), but it was early enough that its success surprised the world.
Essentially, no one thought Opportunity would just keep rolling along… and then it did.
A Story with Two Underdogs
Perhaps you've never thought much about it — we hadn't — but it is no simple thing to launch a robotic wagon all the way to Mars, have it land safely on the surface, and then make sure it doesn’t instantly succumb to the incredibly harsh environment of an alien planet. Even if NASA already pulled off the feat once with the Sojourner, success was not ensured for Opportunity. All kinds of hurdles had to be overcome for the robot to make it.
And that’s a big part of what GOOD NIGHT OPPY focuses on. Through current interviews and archive footage, we get to see how Opportunity came to life. We get to know its creators and witness how much of their own spirit became intertwined with the robot’s survival. By the film’s end, you need to see Opportunity succeed just as much as its creators do.
But there is also Opportunity itself. When designed, Opportunity was only expected to last 90 days on Mars before environmental hazards shut it down. Amazingly, however, the little robot explored Mars for fifteen years, defying all expectations. Also, it DID find evidence of water!
Directed by a Human Being
While logic dictates a documentary about a robot could only be made by a fellow robot, not many robot directors are working these days, and they were all busy.
So GOOD NIGHT OPPY was directed by a human. But a very good one! Director Ryan White has been responsible for some of the best documentaries in the last decade, films like GOOD OL’ FREDA, THE CASE AGAINST 8, and the Sundance darling ASK DR. RUTH. Ryan White isn’t the most perfect choice for this story, because of course that would be a robot, but he is the second-most-perfect choice out there.
Landing In Theaters Soon
GOOD NIGHT OPPY is a movie from Amazon, but that doesn’t mean you can’t watch it in a theater. This doc, which really should be seen on the big screen, is getting a theatrical release. Starting November 4, you can watch OPPY’s story on the big screen and cry along with a room full of human strangers. The film’s theatrical run is likely a sign that it’s expected to be a contender when award season rolls around.
GOOD NIGHT OPPY opens on November 4.
All images courtesy of Amazon Studios.