The Wild Robot from Beginning to End is one of the most beautiful movies released this year about what it means to live in a world where being mean or sarcastic seems the most advantageous or even the most encouraged. At the time of writing, I have just come back from watching the film – so my opinions will be mostly first impression, but I think for this type of film, all you need to know is how the film comes off after first watch – and it comes off wonderfully! I should note that this review is not spoiler-free, so the main point for those who have not had the chance to see the film yet is:
Rating 4.5 starsÂ
General Comment: With thrilling and detailed animation, The Wild Robot is a film that honestly holds most lessons for parents or those in periods of their lives where they feel aimless, such as university students and those in their twenties. Â
Now, onto the spoilers. Â
This movie is about a Robot called Ros who wakes up on an island after her shipment crashed due to a typhoon. Eager to find her task, as defined by her main function, she encounters the wildlife of the island and to find a task, she learns the language of wildlife. Unfortunately, all of them are still very much afraid of her, so she is chased to the end of a cliff where she crashes into a bird nest, killing the mother bird and most of her eggs except one. One thing to note about this film is that it does not shy away from the abrupt severity of nature. Within the film’s first few minutes, a bird eats a crab. As we will see, this frankness is only meant to further the film, but I have to say it was quite surprising for a movie that is rated appropriately for all audiences. Â
Despite that, Ros notices that one egg remains alive and seeks to keep it warm so it can hatch, which after a tussle with a fox called Think that attempts to eat the egg, it eventually does. Inside is a Gooseling, which immediately decides Ros is his mother. And so, after learning from a mother possum that this gooseling will die if it doesn’t migrate come the fall, Ros finally has a new task – to teach this little Gooseling to eat, swim and fly. Of course, Think decides to help Ros and they become a sort of found family type unit, especially since in the unforgiving environment that is the circle of life, Think spends most of his time alone as almost everyone on this island is either predator or prey to each other, and have no interest to change this at all. Despite this, Ros is not deterred and proceeds with her task.
What ensues is a heartwarming montage of Ros, Think and the gooseling who they call Brightbill, coming closer together as Brightbill learns to be a real goose. However, Brightbill would have been the runt of late siblings should they have survived – he is much smaller than the average goose, even fully grown. During this time as well, Ros must alter her hardware to be able to raise Brightbill properly. In this, she learns from Think, Brightbill and all the other forest creatures that there is worth in caring and having true emotions, not just those that she was programmed to have.
However, Winter is just around the corner, and a new problem arises in keeping the animals safe during a particularly bad storm. It is only with Ros’ help that they all survive and have to learn that although their nature tells them to hunt, prey and flee – endless fighting and division is what almost got them all killed. The Winter went easier when they all worked together as a forest community, at least for that time, and looked out for one another.
A group of animals around a person
Description automatically generatedOn a technical side, the animation is stellar and unique, which is to be expected from DreamWorks after the releases of Puss in Boots: The Last Wish and The Bad Guys. The animators use a vibrant painterly style to bring the nature and environment of the island to life, each scene having clear detail of the amount of care that was put into it. Of course, this animation style sort of exists in a post-Spiderverse haze – but the animators behind this product have found a way to make it unique to the DreamWorks brand. They stay loyal to the traditional DreamWorks markers of frank comedy through their animation and writing that allows Adults as well as children to enjoy the movie.
All together these factors culminate into a heartwarming and authentic experience from start to finish. I would go into the ending, but I personally think what I have revealed is enough to get you to watch the film alone. If you have enjoyed any Ghibli film in past then you will definitely enjoy this one as well. So please, go down to your local cinema and give it a watch as soon as possible and enjoy the fuzzy feeling the end of the movie brings.
I won’t tie in a huge lesson from this film, because – as I think with most art, the lessons you take from them are personal to you alongside what the creator intended. However, I will say that as a student, I found this film oddly comforting. It’s not unique in its goal by any means, but that’s not a problem at all – if anything it is a continuation of animated films seeking to appeal to the inner child of its audience. It’s alright to make mistakes and not know what you are doing – as Ros learns, sometimes life is less simple than it seems, and it can’t all be reduced to a set of simple tasks for success. Life is long winding and often unpredictable, but that’s why we shouldn’t take it for granted and appreciate it. Those new experiences make us who we are, and what is most important now, is making the most of what we have and who we know. As nature in this film and life teaches us, nothing lasts forever, and like the animals in this film, we often waste time bickering or thinking someone doesn’t like us – and it gets us nowhere. So, I’ll leave this article with this, spend time with the people you care about and do things that you will enjoy, new or old. This is even more important as winter comes, and a chilly sadness may follow in its wake. At the very least, you may end up happier and the winter may not be so cold.