The Wild Robot

As someone with two young kids I can assure you the sheer volume of animated films parents have to sit through can become quite tiring. Pixar has spoiled us over the years with films that are accessible to children and adults alike. And yes, I know animation is not just for younger audiences but most of them do target them as their key demographic. The amount of Despicable Me and Kung-Fu Panda films we’ve endured, not to mention a deluge of straight-to-streamer animations often gives us fatigue. So it is with huge delight we get not only an original film but one that is as enchanting as The Wild Robot.

Based on the book by Peter Brown, The Wild Robot follows Roz (Lupita Nyong’o), a robot who washes up on the shores of an island whose only inhabitants are animals. As per her programming she must complete a task before she is able to move on so, after a slight mishap, adopts Brightbill (Kit Connor), a gosling who has lost his parents. Aided by outcast fox Fink (Pedro Pascal), Roz must teach Brightbill to eat, swim and eventually fly, all while the other animals see them both as outcasts.

From the get-go The Wild Robot is a beautifully crafted film, both in its hand-painted aesthetic and its feeling-fuelled narrative. This is a film more tapped into original Walt Disney films, those that were unafraid to slightly traumatise its audience before sending them on an emotional rollercoaster.

Director Chris Sanders, who also gave us the equally wonderful How To Train Your Dragon, does a fantastic job of juggling fun, comedy, adventure and heart often all in one scene. Like its titular character, it feels as if modern audiences have been programmed by algorithms to expect certain things at specific points in a film’s plot. The Wild Robot hits those beats but does so in a way that feels organic and as a result endlessly enthralling. It does to with such fluid storytelling you feel like it’s a middle-finger to the streamers that insist certain things have to happen at exactly the right moment to retain audience interest. 

The cast, without exception is littered with familiar voices but all of them unique in their identity. Nyong’o is unrecognisable as Roz, the robot that gradually learns to love. Pedro Pascal is so good it isn’t until the credits roll you realise it’s him, his Flick is one of the comedic highlights and Pascal’s voice is hugely part of that. Meanwhile you have the likes of Matt Berry, Ving Rhames and in particular Bill Nighy all turn up at various points and lend senior gravity to really bring to life the idea of time passing.

A film brimming with ideas of parental love, sacrifice and child-like wonder, The Wild Robot is exactly what you need from an animated film and a panacea for some for much of the paint-by-numbers releases aimed at young audiences. Prepare to smile, laugh and cry with this lovable automaton.