DreamWorks Animation and the talented filmmakers behind How to Train Your Dragon join forces once more to adapt Peter Brown’s beloved children’s book The Wild Robot.
The story starts on a deserted island following a shipwreck caused by a violent storm. Small animals poking around accidentally activate the robot Rozzum Unit 7134 (voiced by Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o), or “Roz” for short.
The service android wanders the forest, asking the understandably confused and frightened wild animals if they need assistance. After an accident leaves an egg exposed to the elements, Roz decides to make it her task to care for it. This decision winds up pitting Roz against a crafty fox named Fink (voiced by Pedro Pascal, The Last of Us) who really wants the egg for his lunch. After successfully protecting the egg and aiding Fink from a run-in with a porcupine, Roz and Fink become partners in protecting the egg until it hatches.
When the little orphaned gosling first sees Roz, it naturally believes that the robot is its mom. “You’re its mother now,” says Pinktail the possum (voiced by Catherine O’Hara, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice). “I do not have the programming,” replies Roz. Pinktail speaks the truth when she responds, “No one does.”
Pinktail informs Roz that the gosling needs to eat, swim, and learn to fly before winter to join the other birds and stay alive. So, Roz and Fink set out to teach little gosling, who they name Brightbill (voiced by Kit Connor, Heartstopper), all he needs to learn to survive. However, there’s a catch. Fink warns Roz that Brightbill is a runt and wasn’t meant to make it this far. Despite this, Roz refuses to be discouraged from looking after and teaching Brightbill.
The Wild Robot is a sweet, funny, and visually stunning animated adventure that explores themes of parenthood and community. It boasts an exceptionally skilled voice cast and a touching screenplay. In fact, it’s the best animated film from DreamWorks since the How to Train Your Dragon trilogy.
Lupita Nyong’o does a wonderful job of bringing the robot, Roz, to life, first as a determined and robotic dry machine trying to perform services for the animals and then developing a softer and more human side as the robot starts to feel what it’s like to be a mother.
Pedro Pascal is hilarious as the voice of Fink the fox who starts off only interested in using Roz to his advantage, but swiftly becomes her best friend and ally in protecting and teaching Brightbill. Pascal as Fink steals every scene he’s in and has the best lines in the film.
The movie is also visually breathtaking, from the brightness and vibrant hues of the forest to the mesmerizing scene of colorful butterflies covering a large tree and then taking flight. There’s no way Academy voters can pass this entertaining offering by, come Oscar season.
Both humorous and heartfelt, The Wild Robot is destined to become a classic.
GRADE: A-
MPAA Rating: PG for thematic elements, action, and peril
Release Date: September 27, 2024
Running Time: 1 hour 41 minutes
Directed By: Christopher Sanders
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