The Wild Robot is simply extraordinary.
With humour and heart, director Chris Sanders (Lilo and Stitch) has created a film that is as emotional as it is visually stunning. Based on the book by Peter Brown, this is a true visual wonder that may be looked back upon as a modern-day classic.
Set in the wilderness, The Wild Robot tells the story of Rozim 7134 (Lupita Nyong’o)–aka Roz–a helper robot who lives to serve. However, when she first boots up, she finds herself lost in the wilderness, without any particular orders to follow. In fact, to the animals that surround her, she is a nightmarish vision worthy of their fear. This begins to change though when she meets Brightbill (Kit Connor), an orphaned gosling in need of care. Despite Roz’s protests, Brightbill quickly connects with the bot and she decides to take responsibility for him. Partnering up with a fox called Fink (Pedro Pascal), Roz develops a list of ‘directives’ to help raise him. Even so, as Brightbill gets older and yearns to fly with the flock, Roz must truly challenge herself in order to help get her adopted son the help that he needs.
In recent years, DreamWorks has been toying with its own CGI palette. Since the release of The Bad Guys, the studio has been perfecting a unique blend of crisp lines and painted textures. While this style doesn’t always bring out the best in some of their films, it feels like it was designed for The Wild Robot. Each step that Roz takes in her digital environment is absolutely bursting with colour. Somehow, Robot has the tactile look of a children’s book without ever sacrificing the crisp, clean animation that they have at their disposal. At a time when a lot of studio animation feels similar, Robot offers an enchanting mix of styles that feels fresh.
As Roz, Nyong’o manages to weaves a growing empathy to the otherwise cool and collected bot. Beginning her journey with the goal of ‘completing projects’, Roz is entirely task-oriented. But her connection with Brightbill begins to adjust her programming. With each moment of life that passes, Nyong’o brings increasing emotion and warmth into her performance. Roz never loses sight of her end goal but recognizes that these jobs are potentially never completed.
In short, Roz is becoming a parent.
On this level, The Wild Robot bares its soul. Watching Roz learn to love Brightbill as her own is a moving experience. Given the short period of growth for geese, the film takes us through the various stages of growing up fairly rapidly. We see moments of infant dependency, teenage fury and the challenges of stepping adulthood.
Told through Roz’s perspective, Robot is a sympathetic vision of parenting. Even when the stresses of their relationship become overwhelming, we never question her motivations. Brightbill is a young gosling with much promise and Roz never loses hope, even in moments of deep frustration. (“I don’t have the programming for this!,” she exclaims in a moment of stress.)
No, Roz isn’t perfectly designed. But her love for Brightbill never falls into question. Faced with fears over the safety of her gosling, she is willing to defend him against predators or worse, the prejudices of his own kind. After all, you didn’t think that a gosling being raised by a robotic ‘monster’ would go unnoticed, did you?
Admittedly, there is far more to this story than one might expect from the trailer. When an unexpected visitor arrives, Wild Robot turns… well… increasingly wild. As a result, there will be some who believe that this is a story about preserving the environment or even the glut of capitalism. Certainly, there are aspects of these topics that are embedded within the film that are worthy of note.
But let it be said that they are not the true heartbeat of this particular piece. Instead, what makes The Wild Robot exceptional is its willingness to sit within the messiness and madness of parenting with eyes of grace and beauty. Simply put, this is one of the best animated films of the year and deserves to be seen on the big screen.
The Wild Robot is available in theatres on Friday, September 27th, 2024.
