REVIEW: “The Wild Robot”

REVIEW: “The Wild Robot”

September 30th, 2024

Martin Goodman

Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois are among the most influential names working in animation today. Their record includes Lilo and Stitch for Disney and the How to Train Your Dragon trilogy, with DeBlois directing the last two installments for DreamWorks. They have teamed up again for a highly regarded new film, The Wild Robot.

DreamWorks is again the beneficiary of this exemplary team. Sanders and DeBlois received the resources of the last film that the DreamWorks animation studio would produce (entirely) in-house.

The plot is uncomplicated but quite nuanced. An accident results in a Universal Dynamics shipment of robots landing on an uninhabited island. The only serviceable one of the lot is ROZZUM 7134. If you are acquainted with the play RUR by Karl Capek, these names should sound familiar. Once activated, “she” (her voice is female) gets in the bad graces of the local animals but manages to translate their languages.

Roz, as she calls herself, can summon Universal Dynamics to retrieve her, but before she does, she inadvertently destroys a goose nest, killing the mother goose and smashing all her eggs save for one. A red fox, Fink, goes after the egg, but Roz prevents him. The egg hatches, and the gosling immediately attaches to a confused Roz, but a helpful opossum mom named Pinktail explains motherhood to her. Roz now has a task: ensuring that her new “son” Brightbill learns to swim and fly. Lacking these skills, he could not endure the Great Migration coming in the Fall.

During the process, Roz develops emotions and comes to ally with Fink and to love Brightbill. The other geese reject the runt and reveal that Roz killed his birth mother, turning him against Roz until he learns that it was an accident. Goose leader Longneck believes in Brightbill, who saves the flock when trapped inside a Universal Dynamics dome. Meanwhile, a deadly blizzard strikes the island, and Roz hustles to rescue the animals to her shelter, where they fight relentlessly until Fink gives a speech highlighting Roz’s selflessness in rescuing them. The animals vow peace.

Roz deactivates until the Spring. Brightbill returns a hero, but so does Universal Dynamics, who have managed to trace Roz from a partial signal. Enter cheerful retrieval robot Vontra, who sics an army of combat robots on Roz, only to be defeated by an army of island animals defending her. The animals win, but Roz knows it’s just a matter of time before UD comes for her again. She willingly gives herself up and is reprogrammed to factory standards at Universal Dynamics.

But when Brightbill sneaks in to visit Roz, it turns out that UD cannot reprogram everything, and the joyful robot glows with love.

Sanders, who wrote the script from adaptations of the books by Peter Brown, added messages that enriched the film. Roz discovers her most important task is accidentally placed before her, leading to her gradual reprogramming. Roz and Brightbill are initially outcasts who win gradual acceptance. It is unrealistic to expect the diversity of animals seen on this deserted tropical island, but this is Sanders’ symbolism in portraying a world of differences that must come together.

A savage blizzard on a tropical island? Huh? This plot device symbolizes the hardships of life and the difficulties we all face. Roz’s love and sacrifice in braving the blizzard for their survival make the animals appreciate her efforts and unite in peace if they want to see the Spring.

Roz’s final sacrifice is giving herself up to prevent an inevitable catastrophe for her animal “family,” which is the epitome of a sacrifice made for love. Finally, the final scene assures us that love is unconquerable and will always find a way to endure. All this in a film that frequently has dark tones and avoids manipulating the audience.

In several ways, The Wild Robot is somewhat comparable to Brad Bird’s masterpiece The Iron Giant, with its robot that finds a heart, a conscience, and a friendship with a fatherless young protagonist before making a final sacrifice. One can see similarities in the endings as well. Still, The Wild Robot is a different film by dint of Sanders’ call for universal unity and tolerance in a world that, in his view, sorely needs it.

All major animation studios have roughly the same CGI technology in 2024, the only difference being its deployment. Sanders worked with production designer Raymond Zilbach to refine some of the techniques used in Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, eschewing photorealism for a hand-painted look. Roz’s design originated with DreamWorks art designer Hyun Huh.

The voice cast is universally good, with Lupita Nyong’o bringing warmth to Roz. Pedro Pascal made Fink into a good-hearted rascal. Other shout-outs go to Catherine O’Hara as the sweet possum Pinktail and Stephanie Hsu in her bright yet nasty portrayal of Vontra.

Budgeted at $78MM, the film has recouped over half of that in just three days. The Wild Robot outshines anything Disney or Pixar has released this year, and you would be remiss not to see it.