The Wild Robot, released September 27th, is a gentle and poignant animated movie based on the 2016 book by Peter Brown. It is about a highly sentient task robot named Roz who is dropped onto a remote island when the plane she is in is thrown off course by a ferocious storm. It stars Lupita Nyong’o as Roz, Pedro Pascal as the troublesome fox Fink, and Kit Connor as Roz’s son, Brightbill.
I thought that the movie was exceptional. Its use of animations and graphics made for a visually stunning movie full of vibrant colors and realistic nature shots. The plot was imaginative and made sense, which I feel is hard to do nowadays. The characters were genuine, consistent, and well developed. At the outset of the movie, Roz is a blundering, obnoxious robot who only does what she is programmed to do, which is to help creatures with tasks. Nyong’o expertly conveys this. In her voice acting, she is monotone and lacks any kind of emotion or sentimentality. But as the movie progresses and Roz begins to acquaint herself with the island and its inhabitants, she gradually assumes a more humanoid and emotional voice that adds to the depth of her character.
During a tumble down a large mountain, Roz accidentally crushes a goose nest, killing the mother and all but one of the eggs. She takes the egg and it soon hatches, imprinting on her. She names the gosling Brightbill, and she assumes the role of his mother. This relationship follows the plot of the movie and helps awaken more human feelings and instincts within Roz. At first, Roz is hesitant to become a mother, as she is afraid she does not have the programming to be one. But with the help of Brightbill and her fox friend Fink, she overrides her programming and becomes a new robot, capable of love and other feelings.
What was also commendable about this movie was the graphics and use of foley. The animations and graphics brought the movie to life. Every tree and leaf maintained a magical realism. The art of the movie almost seemed like a fully flushed sketch that allowed for a type of movement unlike other animation styles. Foley was used to add another dimension to the movie. In quiet scenes, the tinkling of rain on metal or gentle cracking of twigs added suspense or a sense of peacefulness.
I did feel like the long storyline and addition of various subplots ended up making the movie feel too stuffed. There was a lot of plot and each storyline was just a little bit too long, so I felt like I was just waiting for each storyline to end. Each time a new subplot was introduced, it took away from the authenticity of the movie. It felt less original, and more formulaic. There was so much shoved into the movie that it was on the verge of falling over. Overall, I feel that the movie was a nice change in a time of convoluted action movies, and a reminder that we are all capable of breaking out of what we were programmed to do.
