The Wild Robot, 2024.
Written and Directed by Chris Sanders.
Featuring the voice talents of Lupita Nyong’o, Pedro Pascal, Kit Connor, Bill Nighy, Stephanie Hsu, Mark Hamill, Catherine O’Hara, Ving Rhames, Matt Berry, Boone Storm, Alexandra Novelle, Raphael Alejandro, Paul-Mikél Williams, and Eddie Park.
SYNOPSIS:
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.
Dreamworks Animation recently celebrated its 30th anniversary, having become one of the pioneering voices in mainstream animation with the likes of Shrek, Kung Fu Panda and How To Train Your Dragon among many others. Their latest animation The Wild Robot has been garnering huge acclaim on the festival circuit and delivered a strong US box office performance, so much so that a sequel is already in development.
The film is an adaptation of Peter Brown’s best-selling novel about a robot nicknamed Roz who finds herself alone on an island full of wild creatures, struggling to make light of how she can fit her programming and skill set to this situation. Initially a fish out of water situation, it becomes something deeper when Roz (Lupita Nyong’o) encounters a fox named Fink (Pedro Pascal) and is tasked with raising Brightbill (Kit Connor) an orphaned Canada Goose. Roz and Fink have to make sure Brightbill is able to fly in time for the coming migration.
What might seem like a simplistic premise is lifted by the direction of animation legend Chris Sanders, who brings the source material to life in breathtaking fashion. This is one of the most visually unique Hollywood animations in some time and proves Dreamworks is still more than a force to be reckoned with on the animation scene. There are shades of his work on How To Train Your Dragon with Toothless and Hiccup’s relationship not dissimilar to Roz and Fink’s or even Roz and Brightbill’s. As with those films Sanders imbues The Wild Robot with a huge amount of warmth and tenderness, it is a film about finding one’s family and can make for an emotional watch as with many of the best animations.
The voice cast feels like one of the best in recent memory, the two leads perfectly cast with Nyong’o showing Roz’s evolution as emotion gradually comes into view and she moves away from her programming. Bill Nighy’s small but impactful part as the wise leader of the geese Longneck, while Matt Berry’s cantankerous beaver Paddler steals every scene he is in. The score from Kris Bowers has come in for high praise and helps the film to really soar in its key moments.
The Wild Robot feels like a tonic in a time when so many of the highest-grossing animated films are from the sequel factory (ironic given this is soon to become a franchise), yet beyond this there is a huge amount to salute from its stunning animation and taking its story of finding family and making something that feels universal. It looks set to be a prime contender for the Best Animated Feature at the next awards season and may well fit into other categories beyond this. It offers plenty of encouragement for not just Dreamworks but animation’s future and cements Sanders’ as a titan of animation.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★★
Chris Connor
