The animated adventure comedy is the story of Barney, an awkward middle-schooler, and Ron, his new walking, talking, digitally-connected device voiced by Zach Galifianakis. "When I start a film… I need to know the big idea,” Co-Writer/Director Sarah Smith tells Write On. “In this case, the idea that everyone has a walking, talking device, and this kid has one that doesn't work. I need to know what it's really about, and what it's really about is friendships in the world of algorithms."

 

Sarah goes on to talk about writing movies for kids: "To me, the biggest threat to cinema is not streamers; it's actually not giving kids intelligent enough movies that make them love the cinema. That's my aim in life - give our kids movies that are as interesting and entertaining to them as really good books are, and then we'll have a cinema in the future."