Beautiful in its painterly compositions and gut-wrenching in its storytelling, The Wild Robot has been dubbed one of the best animated features in a while, and rightly so. The film, which is a bit like if Tarzan were a robot, or if Stitch had to assimilate in the wild instead of the city, is a classic tale of an outsider learning to love and be accepted by her community. It’s about many other things, too, like the violence of nature, the supreme power of kindness, and the complexities of parenthood (it’s deeply humanistic for a film that features almost no humans at all). But for all the themes it tackles and the colorful multitude of characters it covers, it feels incredibly light and easy to watch. Perhaps that’s due to its hand-drawn aesthetics, which recall Studio Ghibli films more than anything, and to the voices who bring the characters to life, most notably that of Lupita Nyong’o, who gives the robot Roz so much warmth and depth despite her electronic limitations. All these and more make Wild Robot a must-watch, if not an instant classic.
"The Wild Robot is innovative in many ways but perhaps too traditional in others; some moments bring it back to feeling like the median DreamWorks film, despite its many flashes of brilliance."
— Kambole Campbell
"With The Wild Robot, Sanders has found another way to create a visual dissonance that almost subconsciously insinuates its way into our brains and feeds the central idea of the film. And it’s hypnotic."
— Bilge Ebiri
After a shipwreck, an intelligent robot called Roz is stranded on an uninhabited island. To survive the harsh environment, Roz bonds with the island's animals and cares for an orphaned baby goose.
When a robot (Lupita Nyong'o) programmed to assist humans gets stranded in the wild, she assimilates by mimicking the animals around her, eventually forming a deep bond with a fox (Pedro Pascal) and a gosling (Kit Connor).
This one’s a tearjerker so get your tissues ready. But it’s never manipulatively emotional, nor is it ever overly sentimental. It earns every cry-worthy moment.
All you need to know is Chris Sanders, director of Lilo & Stitch and How to Train Your Dragon, has outdone himself with The Wild Robot.
Oscars
3 nominations
Golden Globes
3 nominations
BAFTA
2 nominations
This movie is excellent. Should’ve won the Oscar.