The Wild Robot (2024)

​"The Wild Robot" stars Lupita Nyong'o, Pedro Pascal, Kit Connor, Bill Nighy, Stephanie Hsu, Mark Hamill, Catherine O'Hara, Matt Berry, and Ving Rhames.  Released on September 27, 2024, the film has a robot adapting to the surroundings of an uninhabited island.

The film is written and directed by Chris Sanders, who also directed "Lilo & Stitch", "How to Train Your Dragon", "The Croods", and "The Call of the Wild".  It is based on the book series by Peter Brown.  September is usually known for providing thrills, chills, and even some award-potential spills.  This year, it's adding another category to spice up the month: robots with feelings.  It's already gotten off to a great start with the "Transformers" animated prequel last week, although its future remains to be seen regarding its box office run.  Now, we have another animated robot film seeking to keep this streak functioning, and it comes to us from DreamWorks Animation and acclaimed animation director Chris Sanders.  Although this particular robot doesn't transform like the Autobots nor fight crime like Baymax, it compensates with a heart of gold and its love of nature.  Considering how popular this animation category is regarding its mechanical protagonists, it's unsurprising we have one reminding us of its nostalgic appeal.  Does it have the proper programming to connect with its target audiences, or is it a malfunctioning mess that deserves to be thrown in the scrapyard?  Let's find out.

The story takes place in a futuristic Earth where its technological company, Universal Dynamics, resides.  Its cargo ship carrying the ROZZUM utilitarian robots runs aground on an uninhabitable island, with its sole survivor, unit 7134 (Nyong'o), remaining intact.  Naming herself "Roz", the unit attempts to adapt to the island's local wildlife.  Amid her search for purpose, Roz winds up becoming the caretaker of a young gosling and raises it so it can leave the island for its winter migration with the help of a cunning fox named Fink (Pascal).  However, when the other units from Universal Dynamics are tasked with bringing Roz back, the robot must choose between the corporation that built her and the wildlife she could call her "family".

Regarding this year's animated content, "The Wild Robot" was one of my highly-anticipated movies to come out.  While I'm unfamiliar with the source material it's based on, seeing Chris Sanders' name attached and the beautiful animation was enough to get me excited.  Besides "The Call of the Wild", Sanders has an impressive track record in the animation catalog, resulting in movies that remain part of my childhood, including "Lilo & Stitch" and "How to Train Your Dragon".  Therefore, I was very eager to see how Sanders would translate the book into a film for fans and casual moviegoers, including children, similar to how he did with "How to Train Your Dragon".  There's also the fact that this is the last movie to be animated in-house at DreamWorks, as the studio seeks to rely on other outside studios to produce their animated content.  I guess that's one way to celebrate this occasion, with an animated version of "Cast Away" featuring a robot instead of Tom Hanks.  The question now is whether it also lives up to its promising hype.  Long story short, it absolutely does.

Even though I was excited to see "The Wild Robot", I was also concerned about how I would feel about it regarding its high praise.  "Transformers One" was widely regarded as the "best Transformers movie ever", but I thought it was good enough.  So, even though I was happy with the highly praised reactions to "The Wild Robot", I always tend to keep my anticipation to a minimum to avoid being overly disappointed with the result.  I'm so glad I did because it helped me appreciate "The Wild Robot" as a highly entertaining family movie and a fantastic piece of animation cinema.  Packed with enough wonder and immersion in its presentation and emotion, the film is another surprising animated feature that's more than what is programmed.

Like most animated movies for kids, "The Wild Robot" consists of a straightforward story that younger audiences will be able to follow along.  It's basically "Cast Away" mixed with elements from other family movies involving robot protagonists like "Big Hero 6" and "The Iron Giant".  Was it simple and kid-friendly?  Yes, but it's in a way that doesn't treat children like idiots more so than their parents.  Young audiences will enjoy the shenanigans and fast-paced action involving a robot surviving on an island full of animals.  However, the movie was also well-written and thought-provoking enough for adults to endure as well.  Amid its stunning animation, "The Wild Robot" represents an uplifting and compelling tale of parenthood, acceptance, kindness, and love.  The parenthood aspect comes from Roz raising the gosling Brightbill (Connor), a fun concept for kids but also highly relatable for their parents.  The latter three originated in the characters learning to accept their differences, particularly the animals accepting Roz and Brightbill, and coming together to survive a threat bigger than any predator.  It represents that goodwill and love towards others are essential tools to survive in this wild world we call "life".

One of the best aspects of Chris Sanders as an animation director is his understanding of animation being for everyone, not just kids.  Regarding his works with DreamWorks and Disney, Sanders can turn simple and fun children's cartoons into pure-cut diamonds that adults and animation lovers will adore for years.  Unsurprisingly, "The Wild Robot" is yet another project that matches Sanders' perspective of the art form.  Sanders has skillfully crafted a visually immersive and emotionally resonant cinematic portrayal that captivates both the eyes and ears.  His adept direction, coupled with a sharp screenplay, ensures that the film avoids resorting to cheap gags and narrative shortcuts, thus preserving its emotional core.  The film was also well-paced enough to keep the kids' attention.  Even better, it gave me enough time to bask in the sceneries and the emotion that comes with them without missing a single story beat.  It wasn't too fast, but it was never dull, either.  Everything about the pacing was suitably balanced to entertain pretty much everyone.   

The characters also packed as much punch as its storytelling through their charm and likability, thanks to its impressive voice cast.  The most notable one is Lupita Nyong'o's portrayal of Roz.  Similar movies like "Big Hero 6" and "The Iron Giant" provided plenty of entertainment and comedy through the robots' personalities and fish-out-of-water scenarios, but inside their metallic structures lies a soul that balances charm with heart amid their programming.  As a result, they made Baymax and the Iron Giant more than just comic relief.  They're characters who serve a purpose to the movies' themes.  "The Wild Robot" fits perfectly with this description for Roz, a robot-out-of-water protagonist learning to adapt beyond her programming to survive the island and seek acceptance from its residents.  Nyong'o delivered an excellent performance that combines wit, heart, and humanity to make Roz another DreamWorks hero worth remembering.  Pedro Pascal was once again a stellar actor worth watching regarding his distinct performance as Fink, even though his mischievous traits resemble Nick Wilde from "Zootopia".  It's not a flaw or anything.  I just like to point it out.  Kit Connor from Netflix's "Heartstopper" also made a solid impression with his performance as Brightbill, indicating a bright future for the young actor's career.

As for the animation, it's just as gorgeous and unique as I expected from the trailers.  The style is said to have taken inspiration from Disney's earlier animated classics and the works of Hayao Miyazaki, and it shows.  Instead of a more simplistic CGI approach, "The Wild Robot" provided a more artistic and paint-brush-esque aesthetic to the 3D animation to make it more like a painting brought to life on-screen.  Like "Puss in Boots: The Last Wish" and "The Bad Guys", the movie's stylization offered more than just diverting colorization and vibrancy.  It also delivered a sense of immersion and wonder to its sceneries, action scenes, and concept art-like textures, mainly due to Chris Stover's riveting cinematography and the film's production designs.  Sure, the world-building is limited to the uninhabited island and the Universal Dynamics laboratories, but the animation for those locations was so flipping beautiful that I didn't care much about its limitations.  It makes me happy that DreamWorks' animation team put so much love and respect into this style, but at the same time, it makes me sad that this is the last movie they produced in-house.  Let's hope their next feature, "Dog Man", can give DreamWorks Animation's new cooperation with outside studios a step in the right direction.  Kris Bowers' score was also superb in providing more heft in the film's emotional beats, whether happy, sad, epic, or all of the above.

Overall, "The Wild Robot" provides the perfect programming to deliver a fantastic blend of humor, heart, and presentation fit for kids and adults alike.  It's easy to point fingers at DreamWorks Animation for providing an inconsistent filmography, but when they deliver something special in their collection, they spare no expense in providing that unique experience for families.  "The Wild Robot" is another example of DreamWorks delivering that potential through its simple storytelling and animation style.  The movie has the essential tools needed to survive this year's sea of animated content, including its stellar voice cast, outstanding animation, Chris Sanders's direction and screenplay, and Kris Bowers' musical score.  I might even say this is the best animated film I've seen so far this year, but that could change once we head into the final months of 2024.  If you're familiar with the source material or a fan of Chris Sanders's other works, you'll definitely love this latest animated outing.

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