Midcoast author Peter Brown says he was thrilled to hear that the film “The Wild Robot,” inspired by his book, got three Oscar nominations Thursday.

But he wasn’t surprised.

“Director Chris Sanders and his team at DreamWorks adapted my book into a gorgeous, emotional, wondrous film,” Brown said Thursday afternoon. “They’ve created something really special, and I’m so proud that my book was the inspiration.”

The film was nominated for best animated feature film, original score and sound. The Oscar ceremony will be held on March 2 at 7 p.m. and will be seen live on ABC and Hulu.

“The Wild Robot” is based on Brown’s 2016 children’s illustrated novel about a robot named Roz, who had been programmed to work with people and who is shipwrecked on a wooded island filled with all kinds of wildlife but no people.

Brown, who moved to Maine in 2022, has written three New York Times bestselling “Wild Robot” novels. The latest in the robot series, “The Wild Robot Protects,” came out in 2023.

The New Jersey native originally went to art school with hopes of becoming an animator for Disney. He instead chose the career path of an author and illustrator, creating his “Wild Robot” novels, as well as doing illustrations for other people’s books. His wife, X. Fang, is also an author and illustrator.

The other Oscar-nominated films in the best animated feature category include “Flow,” “Inside Out 2,” “Memoir of a Snail” and “Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl.”

When “The Wild Robot” was released to theaters in September, Brown told the Press Herald that he was very happy with the way the film came out.

“I think DreamWorks did a great job. It’s visually beautiful, and it’s different than a lot of the big animated films; it’s more painterly,” said Brown. “And the story is different too. It’s got a lot of heart and soul.”

The voice cast includes Lupita Nyong’o as Roz and Pedro Pascal as Fink, a fox. Nyong’o won a best supporting actress Oscar for “Twelve Years a Slave” (2013), while Pascal starred in the recent HBO series “The Last of Us” and the Disney series “The Mandalorian.” Other cast members include Catherine O’Hara, Bill Nighy, Mark Hamill and Kit Connor. Sanders wrote the script in addition to directing the film. His resume includes such hit animated movies as “How to Train Your Dragon,” “The Croods” and “Lilo & Stitch.”

Brown was not directly involved in the making of the movie but did consult with Sanders, who has praised Brown’s writing and said their discussions were crucial to finding the right spirit for the film.

“Peter provided us with a brilliant and wonderful story about motherhood, with characters that have such original voices and spirit, set within a narrative that is fresh and compelling,” Sanders wrote to the Press Herald in an email last September. “He provided an amazing narrative canvas for our artists to explore and create this stunning world.”

Full list of Oscar nominations

Here is the list of nominees for the Oscars, which will be broadcast March 2 from the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles:

Best Picture

“Anora”; “The Brutalist”; “A Complete Unknown”; “Conclave”; “Dune: Part 2”; “Emilia Perez”; “I’m Still Here”; “Nickel Boys”; “The Substance”; “Wicked”

Best Actress

Demi Moore, “The Substance”; Cynthia Erivo, “Wicked”; Mikey Madison, “Anora”; Karla Sofía Gascón, “Emilia Pérez”; Fernanda Torres, “I’m Still Here”

Best Actor

Adrien Brody, “The Brutalist”; Timothée Chalamet, “A Complete Unknown”; Colman Domingo, “Sing Sing”; Ralph Fiennes, “Conclave”; Sebastian Stan, “The Apprentice”

Best Supporting Actress

Monica Barbaro, “A Complete Unknown”; Felicity Jones, “The Brutalist”; Ariana Grande, “Wicked”; Isabella Rossellini, “Conclave”; Zoe Saldaña, “Emilia Pérez”

Best Supporting Actor

Yura Borisov, “Anora”; Kieran Culkin, “A Real Pain”; Edward Norton, “A Complete Unknown”; Guy Pearce, “The Brutalist”; Jeremy Strong, “The Apprentice”

Director

Jacques Audiard, “Emilia Pérez”; Sean Baker, “Anora”; Brady Corbet, “The Brutalist”; James Mangold, “A Complete Unknown”; Coralie Fargeat, “The Substance”

Original Song

“El Mal” from “Emilia Pérez”; “The Journey” from “The Six Triple Eight”; “Like a Bird” from “Sing Sing”; “Mi Camino” from “Emilia Pérez”; “Never Too Late” from “Elton John: Never Too Late”

Original Score

“The Brutalist”; “Emilia Pérez”; “Conclave”; “Wicked”; “The Wild Robot”

International Feature Film

“I’m Still Here”; “The Girl with the Needle”; “Emilia Pérez”; “The Seed of the Sacred Fig”; “Flow”

Animated Film

“Flow”; “Inside Out 2”; “Memoir of a Snail”; “Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl”; “The Wild Robot”

Original Screenplay

“Anora”; “The Brutalist”; “A Real Pain”; “September 5”; “The Substance.”

Adapted Screenplay

“A Complete Unknown”; “Conclave”; “Emilia Pérez”; “Nickel Boys”; “Sing Sing”

Documentary Feature Film

“Black Box Diaries”; “No Other Land”; “Porcelain War”; “Soundtrack to a Coup D’Etat”; “Sugarcane”

Cinematography

“The Brutalist”; “Dune: Part Two”; “Emilia Pérez”; “Maria”; “Nosferatu”

Production Design

“The Brutalist”; “Conclave”; “Dune: Part Two”; “Nosferatu”; “Wicked”

Costume Design

“A Complete Unknown”; “Conclave”; “Gladiator II”; “Nosferatu”; “Wicked”

Makeup and Hairstyling

“A Different Man”; “Emilia Pérez”; “Nosferatu”; “The Substance”; “Wicked”

Visual Effects

“Alien: Romulus”; “Better Man”; “Dune: Part Two”; “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes”; “Wicked”

Sound

“A Complete Unknown”; “Dune: Part Two”; “Emilia Pérez”; “Wicked”; “The Wild Robot”

Film Editing

“Anora”; “The Brutalist”; “Conclave”; “Emilia Pérez”; “Wicked”

Live Action Short Film

“A Lien”; “Anuja”; “I’m Not a Robot”; “The Last Ranger”; “The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent”

Animated Short Film

“Beautiful Men”; “In the Shadow of the Cypress”; “Magic Candies”; “Wander to Wonder”; “Yuck!”

Documentary Short Film

“Death By Numbers”; “I Am Ready Warden”; “Incident”; “Instruments of a Beating Heart”; “The Only Girl in the Orchestra”