The Wild Robot Review
When I was a kid back in 2001, I was lucky enough to see Shrek, a film about an unconventional fairy tale by a studio I had never heard of called Dreamworks. It wasn’t their first movie, but Shrek was the film that put Dreamworks on the map. In the two decades since, their movies, while varying in quality, have proven that Dreamworks could compete with even the likes of Disney. Now they’re preparing to partially outsource the animation process to outside studios. They’ll keep making movies, but it feels like the end of an era. Therefore, it seems fitting that they close that era out with what may be their biggest film to date, The Wild Robot.
And, since I was there to watch Dreamworks’ rise, it felt fitting I was there for their final in-house film. I’m glad I was, because The Wild Robot isn’t just a great movie. It’s likely their best movie ever.
An Unconventional Story about An Unconventional Fish out of Water
We’ve all likely heard this story: a person or entity finds themselves in a place that, for whatever reason, they don’t seem to belong. They’re ostracized and considered an outcast, but over the course of the story, they begin to find acceptance while trying to find their place in the world. Then some big crisis occurs, and their differences are what enable them to save the day and become the big hero.
The story template above summarizes a large part of the plot for The Wild Robot, but it can also be applied to many other films and stories. It’s not an original concept, yet we, or at least I, don’t get tired of seeing it play out. I think it’s because we care more about the execution rather than the ultimate outcome. And in that regard, The Wild Robot doesn’t just excel; it soars above the clouds.
The Cast is Absolutely Phenomenal
Rozzum 7134, or Roz, as she comes to be called, is the ultimate fish out of water. She’s a sleek, innovative, and inorganic machine meant for a world of technology and metal. Instead, fate places her in a world of nature and chaos that she doesn’t understand at first and doesn’t understand her in turn. Once that realization sets in, her desperation to find a purpose leads her to become a surrogate mother for the infant Brightbill alongside Fink the Fox.
Roz may be a robot, but over the course of the film, the unconventional family she forms with Brightbill and Fink enable her to become the most human character in the movie. And a large part of it has to do with how she’s superbly voiced by Lupita Nyong’o. The chemistry she has with Pedro Pascal and Kit Conner who play Fink and Brightbill respectively play a significant role in helping to humanize her, the three helping to bring out the best in each other. And in doing so, their dynamic is easily the best aspect of The Wild Robot from a storytelling perspective. Special mention should go to Pedro Pascal for his performance as Fink; most people know him as Mando or Joel, but playing the mischievous and initially self-centered Fink shows how good an actor he is.
Animation to Rival that of Hayao Miyazaki
It’s not just the unconventional (even by fish out of water) story that makes The Wild Robot stand out. The other half of what makes it so successful is the way it’s animated.
In 2022, Dreamworks blew everyone away with how drop-dead gorgeous Puss in Boots: The Last Wish was. For The Wild Robot, they took everything that worked in the movie and cranked it up to eleven. The entire film looks like a painting in movement, with detail down to the blades of grass spared no expense. Roz’s very design evokes the appearances of the robots from Hayao Miyazaki’s classic film Castle in the Sky. For someone who largely lacks facial features, she does a great job of expressing herself through her body language, which is highly fluid in nature. Plus, she can detach her arms and use them remotely, and it’s pretty funny.
The Wild Robot is Dreamworks’ Best Film Ever, Period.
Dreamworks Animation has made a lot of hit movies over the years, but the release of The Wild Robot marks the end of their era of in-house movies. As sad as that may seem, I don’t think anyone can complain with the studio’s homegrown swan song. It isn’t just one of the best movies of the year, but the best movie Dreamworks has ever made, period.
From start to finish, The Wild Robot is an absolute masterclass of animated storytelling. An unconventional story about an unconventional fish out of water that discovers what it means to be human. It’s a story about overcoming one’s base programming/instincts to become more than what we are. It’s a heartwarming story about a found family that discovers acceptance with each other and earns acceptance from the world at large. And I guarantee you that by the time the credits start rolling, you’re going to be feeling some kind of intense emotion.
