DreamWorks’ “The Wild Robot” is a masterful, moving exploration of adapting to your surroundings and using kindness as a survival skill.
The Wild Robot begins as a robot opens her eyes and takes in her surroundings. From here, we see the world as never before.
ROZZUM-7134, a hyper-mobile robot designed to help humanity, jolts awake (or rather, starts up) on an island occupied by wildlife. Her first act of adaptability? Nicknaming herself “Roz.” Roz (voiced with gravity and genuine heart by Lupita Nyong’o) learns to communicate with the local animals, who are frightened by the giant mechanical being, only referring to her as “the monster.”
Roz knows who she is but not where she came from. At first, she lacks the ability to understand that animals need different help from humans. (In one gag, Roz mistakenly identifies a crab as a potential customer for the products she’s programmed to sell.) When Roz becomes the caretaker of a young goose, Brightbill (Kit Connor), her life as a “wild” robot truly begins.
Kindness as a survival skill.
Director Chris Sanders is no stranger to stories about creatures (or machines) interacting with unfamiliar environments. As the brains behind Lilo and Stitch and DreamWorks’ own How to Train Your Dragon, Sanders crafts a story about how being different can be what makes the greatest impact on a community. Roz befriends sardonic fox, Fink (Pedro Pascal), and Pinktail (Catherine O’Hara), an opossum hilariously unbothered by the ups and downs of life itself. Roz’s curiosity and innate kindness shape her experiences as a friend, parental figure, and creature. (Roz learns to mimic the movements of other animals as a gesture of goodwill, for one.) Here, kindness is as much a survival skill as hibernation
An animated film lives and dies by its casting, especially in the age of casting for name recognition rather than seasoned voice actors (remember when Beyoncé was in Epic?). The assembled cast, including an unrecognizable Mark Hamill and the always-reliable Bill Nighy, is exceptional. Nyong’o has the most difficult performance, and executes it with perfection. Roz cannot emote, but her peppy robotic voice softens into a friendly, emotional one. “I feel fine,” she tells another robot, and you absolutely believe that somehow, a robot has learned to emote.
A film that moves faster than the wind.
The Wild Robot plays out rather episodically; problems feel resolved almost as quickly as they’re introduced. The breakneck speed of the plot feels faster than a robot’s program update. When Roz’s past—or rather, origins—catch up to her, it’s an abrupt execution of a refreshing way to move the plot forward. We know as much about Roz as Roz herself does as at any given moment, which only works until the arrival of Vontra (Stephanie Hsu), another robot whose directive is to return Roz to her rightful place. Still, the idea of a villain being introduced in the third act feels jarring rather than threatening.
Where The Wild Robot soars higher than birds in flight is in its technical makeup. DreamWorks’ latest animation style, which looks as though CGI figures have been placed inside concept art, began with The Bad Guys and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. Here, it’s been perfected. Cinematographer Chris Stover creates some of the best shots of the year here. Any one of them could be hung on a wall as their own work of art. Kris Bowers’ magnificent, tear-jerking score, reminiscent of Thomas Newman and studio mainstay John Powell, is exceptional. The individual parts of The Wild Robot are enough to produce tears of equal joy and sadness. The whole movie necessitates a warning: bring tissues.
The bottom line.
Based on a bestselling series by Peter Brown, The Wild Robot is a masterful entry in DreamWorks’ canon, earning its place alongside Shrek and How to Train Your Dragon as its catalogue’s finest work. It’s not in the nature of animated films to be nominated for Best Picture—only three films (all Disney) have achieved it. But consider it one of the best films of the year anyway: The Wild Robot soars above the competition.
The Wild Robot is now playing in theaters everywhere. You can watch the trailer here.
Images courtesy of Universal Pictures/DreamWorks Animation. You can read more reviews by Claire Di Maio here.
REVIEW RATING
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The Wild Robot - 9/10
9/10
Claire was once asked in elementary school why her go-to question was always, “Watch anything good lately?” It’s still her go-to question, because she loves hearing what other people are passionate about. She often sacrifices sleep in the hopes that she will one day clear her to-watch and to-read lists (a futile effort so far).
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