“The Wild Robot” is an adaptation of Peter Brown’s beloved children’s book that revolves around Roz (Lupita Nyong’o), a robot who crashes on a remote jungle island filled with wild animals. The film follows her journey of finding herself as she adapts to her new environment and learns how to survive beyond her coding. This includes befriending the hilarious local wildlife and adopting a child. The film is easily one of the best films of the year and features some of the most beautiful animation I’ve ever seen on screen – offering a heartwarmingly thoughtful exploration of survival, friendship and the coming together of humanity and technology.
The animation captures the beauty of the island, from its lush forests to its diverse creatures. The visual artistry is absolutely stunning and a marvel to gawk at as the frames combine CGI and backgrounds with a hand painted look, featuring vibrant color palettes and an immense attention to detail that immerses viewers in Roz’s world, making you feel her isolation as a foreign being and the later experience of community and togetherness.
Chris Sanders’ direction and screenplay is absolutely brilliant, and I have no shame in admitting that I sobbed about six times watching this movie. Roz is a standout character whose growth throughout the film is truly heart-wrenching. Initially portrayed as a machine that only understands the code programmed into her, Sanders’ direction takes the time to pause and slowly take you through her metamorphosis into something far more than she was ever created to be. Her character arc is written beautifully and reflects that our world is in deep need of acceptance and love, things that even a robot can learn because she cares enough to try.
The supporting cast of wild creatures is truly hilarious — from a sly fox (Pedro Pascal) and a delightful goose (Kit Connor) to a maternal opossum with innumerable death defying babies (Catherine O’Hara) and a grumpy beaver (Matt Berry). Each character contributes to Roz’s understanding of her new home. The film’s writing truly shines here because these characters aren’t just reduced to playing court jesters. They serve an actual purpose to Roz’s learning of love and empathy but also come back as important plot points during the third act.
The film’s most prominent theme is the idea of coexistence and understanding between different species; Roz’s journey showcases the importance of empathy and learning to adapt to different cultures in a world that might feel alien. By the end, the characters learn from each other in an utopia where technology and nature put their differences aside to work together.
The film also addresses the concept of identity as Roz grapples with what it means to be “alive” and how her existence impacts the wild beings around her, especially when the environment is so drastically different to the world she knows.
It is incredibly impressive that the narrative somehow finds time in the one hour and 42 minute runtime of this film to actually pause and let audiences truly feel the emotion that pours out of its screenplay. Chris Stover’s cinematography plays with lights and shadows to enhance those emotional moments and showcase the beauty of the surreal landscapes the story is set in instead of cutting away and rushing through.
The picturesque visuals and beautiful story are complemented by an amazing soundtrack that is haunting in moments of seriousness and gloom and heartachingly touching in the tender moments. The music captures the essence of Roz’s journey as the narrative effortlessly moves between sequences of building tension and gentle moments of emotion between characters.
Watching this film made me realize exactly what I’d been missing with the recent superhero outings and formulaic commercial potboilers – purpose. The reason older Marvel Cinematic Universe films were able to evoke emotion was because the writing truly believed in the narrative of the film and the characters had something to say. “The Wild Robot” absolutely shines because of this intent. Sanders’ screenplay never falters because it truly commits to its themes and has so much heart as the meaningful storytelling blends its social commentary on the interaction between nature and technology with humor and silly moments of fun.
It stands out as an animated feature that not only entertains but also challenges audiences to think critically about their interactions with the world around them – a film that you take home with you as it lingers in your heart long after the credits roll. This is simply a must-watch, and I highly recommend it to everyone!
