‘Ron’s Gone Wrong’ stars Zach Galifianakis, Jack Dylan Grazer discuss the important lessons in their robot movie

“Ron’s Gone Wrong” sends the right message about social media, the movie’s stars say.

Zach Galifianakis applauds the lessons weaved into the animated family film about an unlikely friendship between an awkward seventh-grader and his malfunctioning robot.

“I just was relieved that there was a movie that was also geared towards children that (says) you don’t have to accept all this as your world, that social media has to be (like) this, that you must do it,” Galifianakis told the Daily News. “I liked that part of it.”

The movie, in theaters Friday, is set in a world where high-tech devices called B*Bots are the hottest social media craze on the market.

The B*Bots are designed to enhance every aspect of a user’s life, from improving their internet experience to becoming their robotic best friend.

Barney, voiced by Jack Dylan Grazer, believes he needs a B*Bot to avoid being a social outcast at his middle school. He gets more than he bargained for, however, when he’s gifted a faulty B*Bot named Ron, voiced by Galifianakis.

“He comes with some glitches and some vulnerabilities, but he’s expected not to be that way,” Galifianakis said of his character. “The expectation of him is that he’s going to be the greatest thing, that he’s going to change Barney’s life.”

Ron’s programming problems present challenges for Barney, but also spur an adventure he never saw coming.

“Barney is a naive, sweet, innocent boy,” Grazer told The News. “All he wants to do is fit in. He wants friends, because it looks like fun to have a friend and laugh, and he doesn’t have that. He thinks, by getting a B*Bot, that’ll improve his chances of getting a friend, but really the friend is found in the most unlikely place.”

The film marks the latest voice-over role for the 18-year-old Grazer, who starred as the thrill-seeking Alberto in Disney and Pixar’s “Luca” earlier this year.

Galifianakis, 52, is also no stranger to high-profile animated films, having voiced the Joker in 2017′s “The Lego Batman Movie” and the titular Sasquatch in 2019′s “Missing Link.”

With his new movie, Galifianakis wanted to convey a balance between Ron’s endearing qualities and his frustrating ones.

“My whole thing was, ‘You gotta be lovable. You gotta be kind of irritating.’ ... I’ve got to show this friendship and why this person would want to be friends with me if I’m glitchy,” Galifianakis explained. “That was the approach there. ... There has to be something in him, a charm or whatever, that Barney wants to ultimately be his friend.”

Grazer is eager for the “beautiful story” in “Ron’s Gone Wrong” to compute with audiences.

“I’m really happy to be involved in a movie that is almost like a PSA against being reckless with technology,” said Grazer, who also starred in live-action projects such as the “It” movies and “Shazam!”

Galifianakis, who played the eccentric Alan in the “Hangover” films, hopes “Ron’s Gone Wrong” inspires viewers to discuss society’s relationship with social media.

“You talk about it as you’re driving away from the theater or at dinner the next night,” Galifianakis said. “At least it’s getting a conversation, where no one was talking about it five years ago whatsoever. No one said, ‘Shouldn’t we wonder about all this stuff?’ Now, I think we’re finally getting to that point.”

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