Dreamworks is a part of my childhood, and if you were born anytime in the last thirty years, I can bet it was a part of your childhood, too. From Over the Hedge to How To Train Your Dragon, I carry a love of their iconic films with me into adulthood. Which is why I’m so happy that a movie that came out this year impacted me as much, if not more, than movies that came out when I was a kid. That movie is The Wild Robot.
The Wild Robot is a 2024 Dreamworks Animated movie that came out this September, based on a book of the same name. The movie follows ROZZUM Unit 7134, later nicknamed “Roz”, a robot who crashes on the shore of a remote island. This wilderness tests Roz, and she has to learn how to adapt to her new environment. After an accident, she adopts an orphan gosling and must “complete her task” of helping the gosling grow up.
There are so many things to love about this movie. For starters, it is absolutely gorgeous. The stylized 3D animation lends a rich, almost painterly effect to the whole movie. Just pay attention to the way sunlight looks falling through tree branches, or the way moss overtakes stone, or the delightfully rendered fur and feathers of the animal characters. Every frame of the movie could be turned into a gorgeous standalone painting. You never want to leave this wild island.
Beyond the visuals, the movie’s central characters are the real treat. Spoilers, but Roz eventually learns to speak the language of animals. Unlike many talking animal movies, the animal characters don’t feel childish or irritating, but fully realized characters. The tricky but lovable fox, Fink, and adorable gosling Brightbill are highlights of the animal world. They talk, they’re cartoonish, but the movie doesn’t shy away from the realities of wilderness, either. Animals are eaten, animals are threatened by harsh winters. Death is a part of life in this world. This lends to character’s humorous moments and emotional moments alike. The true shining light though, is Roz. Lupita Nyong’o’s vocal performance is pitch perfect. Roz is a robot and isn’t meant to express emotions. Through this restriction, Nyong’o brings so much warmth and tenderness to the character you can’t help but love her. If you’ve seen the robots of The Iron Giant and Wall-e, you’ll understand what I mean.
The emotional core of the movie is what elevates it from “good” to “great”. It is a treatise on motherhood, grief, the beauty and tragedy of nature, and finding a place where you feel like you belong. I cried the entire second half of the movie, and when the theater lights came on, I saw that nearly all of the friends I saw it with were crying, too. The story is simple, which in my opinion, is a strength. It allows you to be fully immersed in the emotional beats of the story, without trying to trick you with last minute plot twists. It is familiar, and new, at the same time. If you haven’t seen it, you absolutely should. Don’t wait for it to come out on streaming, go see the gorgeous visuals and hear the beautiful score on the big screen. You won’t regret it.