An animated film with a heart reminiscent of Pixar, “The Wild Robot” is just as amazing as its premise entails. From the studio that produced “How to Train Your Dragon” and the “Shrek” franchise, Dreamworks creates a film outside of its comfort zone with a more adult-oriented tone that can be enjoyed by all ages. Most of the film’s humor is less crude and more focused on the hilarities of nature and how unforgiving it can be. The robot-protagonist Roz encapsulates this through her journey in the wilderness, adjusting to the harsh climate and her animal neighbors. Roz’s acclimation into the naturalistic society is incredibly entertaining, and the ways she gains the animal’s trust is believable while remaining well-paced.
The plot itself centers around Roz having to raise a baby goose, Brightbill, after she causes an accident that leaves the goose the last living member of his family. Throughout the film, Roz struggles to feel emotion towards the goose and tries to act as a suitable mother through her guilt about Brightbill’s family. Their bond is the highlight of the film and contributes to how moving and impactful it ends up being.
Roz forms meaningful relationships with all of the animals on the island during her stay as they begin to see her as one of their own, and she proves they can trust her. Roz even begins to mimic the animal’s behavior and interpret it as her own mannerisms as the story progresses. This cast of characters is certainly unique and gives life to the film.
The celebrity voice cast provides the film with the vocal delivery necessary to humanize the anthropomorphic characters. Lupita Nyong’o does a sensational job as Roz, the film’s titular character, and she is able to provide the emotional delivery necessary for powerful scenes while acting as a seemingly emotionless robot. Pedro Pascal as Fink the fox was an excellent casting decision as he easily emulates the sly nature of the animal being personified. Legendary voice actor Mark Hamil graces the film with a stellar performance acting as a beaver. Each celebrity does a great job embodying their characters without drawing attention to themselves.
Obviously, animation quality greatly impacts an animated film. “The Wild Robot” has some of the most gorgeous rendered backgrounds and character designs in animated media since Dreamworks’ “Puss In Boots: The Last Wish.” While not as flashy or action-oriented as that film, “The Wild Robot” does not necessarily need any of those bells and whistles to convey its powerful message about the ways nature impacts those who spend time appreciating its wonder. Each frame of the film beautifully depicts the characters’ interactions with their environment and each other.
With the increased prevalence of action and adventure animation, “The Wild Robot” acts as a nice refresher with a more emotionally-driven plot. The characters are put at the forefront of the story, and the setting is built around them. The audience learns about this new world with Roz rather than being directly told everything about it. As such, the story is free to take its time to flourish after thoroughly developing the characters to keep the audience engaged. While some emotional moments seem rushed toward the movie’s end due to pacing issues, they retain the emotional weight the director was trying to convey.
Thanks to the fully fleshed relationships between the characters, the emotional moments in the film are incredibly impactful. Even though the main conflict is between a robot and her goose son, the universal relationship of mother and child remains believable. There is clear passion for this project conveyed in every scene through its detailed animation and exceptional line delivery. Fans of “The Iron Giant” will find similar themes and archetypes present, but this film is one of a kind and should have its own identity as a generational classic worthy of high critical acclaim.