My Movie Review on The Wild Robot (2024)

Happy Earth Day, my friends.

This is your top-of-the-line entertainment media reporter here with another critique.

Today, for my second of two reviews to celebrate Earth Day with, I’m gonna give you guys my analysis of “The Wild Robot”.

Here’s the rundown of it:

After being shipwrecked on a remote island, a robot that’s part of a line called the ROZZUM struggles to find her place amongst a wary wildlife populace. With no humans around, Roz is unable to do what she was programmed for: To complete an assigned task.

During her castaway days, though, Roz unwittingly becomes the adoptive mother of a baby Barnacle Goose after he loses his family. Faced with the responsibility of raising the gosling, who is later named Brightbill, Roz will have to push herself into going beyond just trying to accomplish the task. Especially considering the odds are always stacking against Brightbill due to being a runt.

Along the way, Roz and Brightbill befriend other inhabitants of the island.

I really can’t lie, I’ve been interested in reviewing “The Wild Robot” for quite a while. Ever since I first saw it, I was all-in for giving the movie my own critique, and I frequently looked forward to doing so. The only reason I didn’t analyze “The Wild Robot” before this year was because I had other review-based commitments that required my focus, but I was ready & willing to reveal what I personally thought of the film someday.

As for why I’m sharing my review on Earth Day, it’s partly because of the environmental-based themes the film contained & the settings it had. Outside of this, I realized that “The Wild Robot” had certain things in common with “WALL-E”, so the prospect of reviewing the former film for Earth Day was impossible to resist.

In preparation for officially analyzing “The Wild Robot”, I rewatched the entire film a couple times to ensure absolute certainty over what I thought of it and figure out what I wanted to write down. I bought a DVD copy of the movie around last year, so it was easy for me to revisit it whenever I wanted to.

So, what do I think of “The Wild Robot” in words? Especially after rewatching it twice this year?

Well, like so many others, I’m proud to say that “The Wild Robot” is both a masterpiece to behold and one of Dreamworks’ best movies. With good reason too!

For instance, the direction & screenplay by Chris Sanders were outstanding.

In regards to what I think of “The Wild Robot” as an adaptation of the novel by Peter Brown, I will admit that I haven’t read the book. But, I did learn that Sanders wanted to maintain faithfulness to the source material while only changing things to help translate the story for the screen, and I believe he did an excellent job doing exactly that. His love for Brown’s book was incredibly noticeable, and it even inspired me to actually read the novel someday! 

Like I also said before, “The Wild Robot” notably has plot elements similar to “WALL-E”. Both films feature robot protagonists, have themes involving kindness, include environmental-based concepts, and display certain robotic characters defying their programming. These factors do become apparent, but I found that “The Wild Robot” is still different enough to stand apart from “WALL-E”, so the similarities I pointed out are relatively minor.

Anyway…

Whenever I watched “The Wild Robot”, I noted that Chris Sanders made the movie intriguing on a 24/7 basis. I was enraptured by what the film gave, I wanted to see what’d happen next, and I never found a single moment to be dull or out-of-place! Sanders also gave the movie a welcoming unpredictability, and the way he translated the story as something for viewers to easily follow while still being complex displays creativity at its finest. The narrative itself was character-driven with fabulous finesse, and it maintained cohesion regardless of whatever unexpected developments occurred.

The overall tone was enjoyable as well.

Similar to other movies by Dreamworks, “The Wild Robot” has humorous & witty moments, and Chris Sanders is known for giving the films he directs his own kind of comedic flair. And in my opinion, the comedy throughout the movie was hilarious! I can’t recall a single joke that didn’t make me laugh, because the humor had an innocent quality, felt natural, and was splendidly executed. To top it all off, “The Wild Robot” was one of the most sincere animated features I’ve ever seen. All of the heartfelt, dramatic, and emotional scenes were powerfully soul-tugging, and Sanders brilliantly ensured that they wouldn’t feel forced or feigned.

Also, I’m well aware that this movie contained references to climate change, and they were particularly noticeable around the 3rd act. Aside from being a Christian, I personally consider climate change a fabrication because the narratives involving it were repetitive, inconsistent, and absurd. The fact that the climate change agendas are frequently pushed on by governments and overly secular organizations has primarily fueled my skepticism over it existing, that’s for sure. However, I liked that the movie didn’t use climate change as something to beat people over the head about and gain support for the causes involving it. Rather, climate change was incorporated to influence the story’s backdrop and set certain things in motion, and it further solidified “The Wild Robot” as a sci-fi tale.

The themes and morals were well-done too.

When it comes to the film’s theme about kindness, I frequently took notes on how the lessons involving it were conveyed. I learned the intention was to teach that kindness “could be a survival skill”, and Peter Brown apparently had the same intention for the theme in his book. After I found out about this, I wasn’t sure what to think because the term made it sound like kindness was an obligatory thing. As I saw the movie, though, I was delighted to see that the story wasn’t being too literal with the term I mentioned. “The Wild Robot” still taught that kindness should be given voluntarily & unconditionally, even if you won’t be rewarded or repaid for it. It also showed that every act of kindness can make a positive difference in life, such as softening the hard hearted and inspiring communities to form. The same can pretty much be said about love, and the movie gave a welcoming display of how powerful the love between family & friends is.

Another thing I noted was that “The Wild Robot” tackled themes about finding one’s place & purpose in life, as well as striving above what’s expected of oneself. I know these topics aren’t uncommon in animated media, but I wanted to point them out because this movie’s among the many that actually made great use of them. From my perspective, the film was teaching that in order to achieve the three things I mentioned, you have to work for it and give your very best while doing so. If you don’t…well, then you’ll be stuck in a personal limbo.

Moving on from that…

The animation was absolutely astonishing!

Even though animated films & shows with a Spider-Verse-inspired visual style aren’t uncommon nowadays, I really must say that it was incredibly fitting for “The Wild Robot”. Everything about the animation looked like it was based on hand-drawn storybook pictures, only with more depth. The colors had a look & feel reminiscent of a painting, and the designs had an appearance that’d instantly remind people of drawings on paper. From a viewing standpoint, Chris Sanders and the animators clearly wanted to capture the artistry of the illustrations in Peter Brown’s books while still incorporating their own creative flair with the visuals, and they accomplished that goal splendidly. The character animations for the robots & animals were my #1 favorite of the film’s visual aspects, and I could tell Sanders & company were having a field day working with them.

Likewise, the vocal performances, characters, and character development were fantastic.

A big thing I can’t deny is that Roz was a wonderful protagonist. Even as the film got started, I found Roz to be lovable & interesting no matter what, and I constantly wanted to see where her time on the island would take her. Roz’s personal growth throughout the movie was also top-notch. She notably started out as a blank individual whose only drive was to follow her programming, and that’s obviously to be expected. But then, she slowly developed into someone with actual personality, heart, & depth compared to other robots. I loved how her growth was depicted & handled, and it was the most unique & transformative I’ve seen from a robotic character in years! Plus, Lupita N’Yongo killed it with her portrayal of Roz. Along with doing a superb job projecting Roz’s personal qualities & emotions despite the character not having very many facial features, N’Yongo successfully ensured that her performances reflected the character’s ongoing development & life stages, and her passion for playing the role was very noticeable.

Another character I’d like to talk about is Brightbill. As the very individual whom Roz nurtured, Brightbill was definitely the film’s 2nd most three-dimensional character. His personal situations throughout the story are ones that people can relate with, and he was lovable to where I myself wanted to see him come out on top! Brightbill’s character development was also phenomenally well-done, and although he and Roz aren’t related, the mother-son bond they shared is one of my top favorites in entertainment history. To top it all off, Kit Connor gave a powerhouse performance in the role of Brightbill. Connor portrayed Brightbill like he was born for the part, and the fact he did more than just speak the lines was admirable to see. I particularly loved how Connor conveyed Brightbill’s feelings & depths, because whenever Brightbill said something while expressing an emotion, Connor projected it in a way that’d cause a person’s heart to melt. Boone Storme’s performance as Baby Brightbill was equally delightful, that’s for sure.

Thirdly, Fink is one of my top favorite foxes in all entertainment media. When Fink was introduced, the film gave the impression that he was a mischievous & antagonistic individual who often looked for opportunities to benefit himself, including when he offered to help Roz take care of Brightbill. Nevertheless, the film later showed that Fink was a surprisingly complex individual, and there’s a sense that he decided to get involved based on his first encounter with Roz & how it personally impacted him. As time passed, Fink went on to become a remarkable friend who’s willing to help Roz & Brightbill in any way possible, and his development played out so naturally. Not to mention Pedro Pascal stole the show with his performance as Fink. Along with encouraging terrific personality & depth, Pascal translated Fink as a likable individual regardless of how sardonic he’d be, and it sounded like he managed to become the fox instead of merely voicing one.

I enjoyed the rest of the characters as well. Each of the characters had personalities & qualities that helped them stand out in the best way, and they weren’t without development either. The cast members also sounded like they were having a great time portraying their parts, and they clearly wanted to give their very best. A prime example is Pinktail the Virginia Opossum & her children. I loved watching the possum family whenever they were onscreen, particularly because they were endearing without even trying. Catherine O’Hara did an outstanding job portraying Pinktail, and the performances of the kids who played Pinktail’s children were charmingly entertaining.

Finally, the music by Kris Bowers was magnificent.

Looking back, “The Wild Robot” was my personal introduction to Bowers’ work as a composer, and I was immediately convinced that he’s one of the most talented musicians around. His music for this movie was absolutely enchanting, and I could tell he was going all-out in making a score that people would enjoy listening to. Each of his melodies also matched the story, characters & settings like a glove; and they were powerful enough to make a person’s emotions stir. The songs by Marne Morris, “Kiss the Sky” & “Even When I’m Not”, were similarly pleasurable. Morris’s singing for them was beautifully captivating, and the songs themselves had lyrics & tunes that were lovely on every level.

In conclusion, “The Wild Robot” is undeniably one of the greatest movies made by Dreamworks thus far, and it’s the #1 best animated feature of 2024. The voice acting & characters were stupendous, Chris Sanders was on his creative A-Game, everything!

So, I rate “The Wild Robot” a solid five out of five stars.