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DreamWorks Animation turns 30 this year, and its latest presentation, The Wild Robot, is a great example of what the studio gets right. Adapted and directed by Chris Sanders, the animated feature follows the adventures of Rozzum 7134 (voice of Lupita Nyong’o), who discovers a whole new side to herself after she reluctantly adopts a gosling. The family film is filled with humour and meaning, and it teaches you what it means to be kind and love another in need.
The Wild Robot: Plot
After Roz is shipwrecked on an island filled with wild animals, the helpful robot, who desperately needs a task to survive, finds one. She must help raise an orphaned gosling, Brightbill (voice of Kit Connor), with the help of a wily fox, Fink (voice of Pedro Pascal). As she gets Brightbill ready for migration in the winter, Roz discovers her purpose for the island’s animals and for herself too.
The Wild Robot: Writing and Direction
How to Train Your Dragon director Chris Sanders does it again with this touching tale of kindness and love. In the How to Train Your Dragon series, humans and dragons overcome prejudices and learn to rely on one another. In The Wild Robot, the filmmaker and his team touch upon several themes of parenthood, community, and even climate change as it unfolds its emotional narrative from Peter Brown’s book. The heart of this beautifully crafted story is the bonds that we form with individuals who become like family. The plotlines should resonate universally across adults and kids alike.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUCNBAmse04
The Wild Robot: Voice Performances
Lupita Nyong’o is perfect as the robot who finally finds her voice. Over the course of the film, we see Roz transform physically and emotionally thanks to Lupita’s nuanced performance. Pedro Pascal’s Fink is mischievous when need be, but secretly a softie who is looking for a friend. Kit Connor’s Brightbill is the runt of the litter, who slowly gains confidence due to the love and care provided by Roz. The trio’s voice performances are the real heart of the film. Other voice talents like Bill Nighy, Mark Hamill, Catherine O’Hara, Matt Berry, and Ving Rhames are delightful, and Stephanie Hsu’s Vontra is deliciously evil.
The Wild Robot: Animation and Design
The animated feature's narrative is further elevated by its stylised, colourful visuals, which instantly draw you into its world. The backgrounds come alive like paintings, and the character designs, especially of Roz, are very fluid. The island also seeps out emotions; in winter, it goes dull and comes alive in the spring. The animation hits all the right beats of wit, slapstick, and wonder. And then the animators turn around and devastate with a flood of emotions when these characters finally open up their hearts.
The Wild Robot: Final Verdict
Many films that feature a robot character as the lead drive home the lesson that there is much we can learn from them and vice versa. The Wild Robot has an important dialogue that stresses “kindness as a survival skill.” It is a practice that adults and children can imbibe from. Kris Bowers’s flawless score and Maren Morris’s perfectly situated songs make The Wild Robot an animated gem that is sure to become a classic in years to come. Make sure to seek this one out with friends and family; it will do good to have a shared cry over this.