The Wild Robot
Robots, mechanoids, call them what you will, but these automotons are something to be viewed with suspicion.
Sure we’ve experienced the pleasure of Pixar’s WALL-E, and the rotund and loveable Baymax from Disney’s Big Hero 6, but you can never be too sure with these mechanical marvels.
Adapted from Peter Brown’s refreshing series of children’s books, The Wild Robot gives us an artificially intelligent protagonist that learns over time to care for the natural world around it, and – as with all coming of age stories – there’s a bittersweet melancholy at the core of this thoroughly entertaining and sincerely heartfelt animation.
Lupita Nyong’o lends her wistfully beautiful vocals as state-of-the-art mechanoid named ROZZUM Unit 7134, a service droid that finds itself stranded on a remote island when its delivery flight experiences a critical error.
The island is inhabited by a wide variety of wildlife, and there’s not a human in sight. Exploring the expanse of the wild landscape around it, Roz, as she becomes known, tries to find her place within the ecosystem, mimicking the behaviours of the many animals that call the wild domain their home.
After a rather sobering and unfortunate accident involving an unlucky goose and her nest, Roz finds herself the sole guardian of a little chick, and makes it her mission to nurture the little one and ensure it grows strong enough to migrate with the rest of its kind.
Teaming up with Pedro Pascal’s sharp-witted fox Fink, Roz soon finds herself at one with the beauty of the natural world around her, and first to defend it when sinister forces come in search of the missing yet reformed Roz.
Directed by Christopher Sanders, the creative mind behind Disney’s Lilo & Stitch, and Dreamworks’ How to Train your Dragon, The Wild Robot exhibits very similar emotional traits as experienced in Sanders’ previous movies.
Roz may be a pre-programmed outsider, but its journey of self-discovery is truly affecting and will deliver an emotional punch for viewers young and old.
The animation is also achingly beautiful, and has a similar style to the Netflix’s The Mitchells vs. the Machines and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, with colours that are bright and vivid, with bold outlines and splashes that resemble drawings with swathes of charcoal and licks of paint.
It’s a bold, immersive and wonderfully enchanting vision that draws you in from the outset.
With a strong story, relatable heroes and an attractive visual style, The Wild Robot is a must-see family flick that’s guaranteed to entertain.
