Sometimes the simpler the story, the more perfect it is. The Wild Robot, the latest film from DreamWorks Animation, is both of those things. It’s simple, it’s perfect, and it’s easily the best animated film of the year. Yes, you heard that right, Inside Out 2.
Written and directed by Chris Sanders (Lilo & Stitch, How to Train Your Dragon) and based on a children’s book by Peter Brown, The Wild Robot is about a robot named Roz (Lupita Nyong’o), who finds herself stranded on a deserted island teeming with wildlife. Roz quickly realizes her high-tech exterior and human-centric programming don’t mesh in that world, which becomes an even bigger problem when she finds an abandoned goose egg. The egg then hatches and imprints on her, and she must decide what to do next. With the help of a sly fox named Fink (Pedro Pascal), Roz names the goose Brightbill (Kit Conner), and the trio become an unlikely family, with Roz a mother in a world she barely even knows.
That’s the simplicity: a robot becomes a mom in the wild. From there, Sanders and his team set clearly defined goals for the characters and use the space they create to flex muscles in both story and animation. Storywise, the film finds near-universal familiarity in the idea of a person completely unready to be a parent, forced to change their entire world for something they love. Plus in The Wild Robot, it’s literal because Roz is not programmed to raise another being. We then see them via an animated style that is at all times beautiful and colorful, but has a slightly rough around the edges look on everything except Roz. It really drives home that juxtaposition between nature and technology.
What’s so magical about The Wild Robot (besides everything) is that all of this is happening incredibly quickly. The film unfolds at a breakneck pace, so as the story sucks you in with its easily defined goals, you almost don’t realize how emotionally invested you become. By the time the film reaches an all-timer of a montage where Brightbill learns to fly, it’s hard to ignore the emotions you have wrapped up in this burgeoning family finding footing and success. That’s then supercharged by Kris Bowers’ score, which is among the most rousing and exciting of the year. The tears come early and often.
The pacing also means it reaches what you expect to be the film’s climax well before the runtime is over. So it keeps going and proceeds to get better and better. What at first was just a film about a mother and son grows into a grander, more epic tale about the entire island and beyond. By the end, you almost can’t believe this seemingly simple story of a wild robot has gone to the places it has.
It also doesn’t hurt that the island is rounded out with a who’s who of awesome characters, each of which has their own personality and story. For example, Catherine O’Hara is a motherly possum named Pinktail, Mark Hamill is a scary grizzly bear named Thorn, and Matt Berry is a badger named Paddler. Having that kind of talent in even the small roles (Stephanie Hsu, Bill Nighy, and Ving Rhames are also in here) gives The Wild Robot an added level of quality and confidence that helps it all come together.
In the world of film criticism, one might assume writing an absolute rave is the easiest to do. That’s usually true, but not here. The Wild Robot is so good, no examples I can cite, no description I can come up with, and no number of superlatives I can muster do it justice. You’ll just have to see and experience it for yourself. It’s incredibly special.
The Wild Robot recently played Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas, and opens everywhere September 27.
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