In the grand tradition of WALL-E and Fly Away Home, unforgettable family film The Wild Robot soars with sublime visuals and unexpected storytelling ideal for generations to enjoy together.
Bringing a Beloved Book to Life
Skilled cinematic storyteller Chris Sanders, whose previous films How to Train Your Dragon and Lilo & Stitch dealt sensitively with family conflict and reunion, adapts a beloved book in a way that only he can.
“The relatability level of this (story) is like nothing I've ever worked on before,” Sanders told me in an interview. “It encompasses all these different aspects -- things that you don't expect, moments of wonder, moments of nervousness and disaster, and all the things in between.”
Peter Brown’s best-selling grade-school novel The Wild Robot, set in a dystopian future, begins as the Rozzum unit 7134 robot (Lupita Nyong’o), or “Roz” for short, crash-lands on an untamed forest island.
Upon processing the animals’ language -- the critters are heavily anthropomorphized -- Roz initially follows her programming to try to help the creatures. But things soon go off-script.
Families looking for a respite from current tensions and busyness will love The Wild Robot for its beauty, simplicity, and rich themes of kindness and perseverance.
Here are four reasons why.
The colorful characters and their relationships draw you in.
Sanders, who also worked on Disney films The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast, expertly introduces the film’s ensemble, forced together through a calamity.
“It wasn't (Roz’s) fault,” said Sanders. “But she set a lot of things into motion. And it captures really the unexpected things that happen in life.”
Audiences come to quickly know and love these characters, each with believable motivations and quirks drawn from their natural environs. A fox named Fink (Pedro Pascal from The Mandalorian) scavenges, while avoiding grizzly bear Thorn (Mark Hamill).
Upon encountering a gosling, later named Brightbill (Kit Connor), Roz struggles with whether she has to take on the young charge. Based on the fact that possum parents raise three litters of babies every year, in the film, Pinktail (Catherine O’Hara) sets the robot straight.
“Pinktail is very familiar with parenting, so she's much more pragmatic and unsentimental about it,” said Sanders. “It feels really very real.”
With the help of a falcon named Thunderbolt (Ving Rhames) and, later, reluctant goose Longneck (Bill Nighy), Brightbill slowly finds his wings.
The Wild Robot celebrates joys and trials of family life.
Thrust into the role of mother, Roz feels ill-equipped. In the interview, I quoted the robot’s early line: “(Children) make simple tasks more complicated or impossible.”
Sanders laughed.“Roz is a first-time parent, and she has got this unexpected responsibility that she has to deal with.”
As complex as the film’s futuristic setting is, the inner conflict playing out is even more so.
“Roz is so focused on the moment-to-moment responsibilities and these goals that she has to reach,” said Sanders. “She's not looking up to see what's at the end of this journey. So the moment where Brightbill has to fly away – suddenly it's there, and she wasn't prepared for that.”
With her questions swirling – What do I do? How do I deal with this? – this scene reveals a depth unknown to most films.
“You realize how far she's come emotionally because she's reacting in this very believable way,” said Sanders, who has a daughter. “One of the powerful themes in the story is the heartbreak that comes at the end of doing your very, very best as a parent. And that is very real.”
It sets a new bar for animation, just as the industry needs it.
These emotional moments come in a gorgeously animated migration sequence that’s breathtaking in its scope and style.
Sanders explained how it integrates hand-drawn animation. “We needed grace, power, and poetry in our visuals, and this approach delivered that and more.”
The WIld Robot is a rare breed. It not only draws viewers in with wondrous visuals–it has a story that’s equally as rich.
Even though animation has dominated the box office this year, the animation industry is in incredible flux. Both Pixar and DreamWorks have had mass layoffs in recent months.
Meanwhile, Warner Bros. has shelved several animated flicks – including a fully finished Coyote v. Acme feature film.
If The Wild Robot is a big hit, perhaps some studios will reverse course on gutting animation.
The messages about peacemaking in relationships will stick with you.
The film ends in a series of thrilling, fast-paced action scenes, as Roz must confront an authoritarian regime, Peril and bloodless action (such as a gag about a possum being eaten) are the main content concerns, with a couple uses of “sucks” but no actual profanity. Most three-year-olds can see this with some hand-holding.
Prior to that finale, a harsh winter hits the island. Against her fox friend Fink’s advice, Roz heroically seeks out animals deep underneath feet of snow to save them.
Soon, dozens of fierce predators and scared prey are together in a hut of Roz’s making, and it seems a bloodbath could ensue.
Instead, the scenes provide a picture of a biblical passage. “The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat,” states Isaiah 11:6.
Sanders demurred when asked about the inspiration for these scenes, saying, “The whole idea of predator and prey having to get along, Peter built that into the book.”
But, if you want to teach kids about how nature actually works, you'd be better off with some National Geographic documentaries. Despite some scenes of predation, the animals here are stand-ins for human dilemmas, not what actually happens in the wild.
Regardless, the film’s big ideas about found family and how factions can find common ground have great relevance today.
The Wild Robot is an instant classic, packing an emotional wallop akin to Toy Story 3 and the Dragons trilogy.
“The Wild Robot,” rated PG for action/peril and thematic elements, opens Sept. 27 in theaters.
Image: (from back center) Roz (Lupita N’yongo), and Brightbill (Kit Connor) in DreamWorks Animation’s Wild Robot
Josh M. Shepherd covers culture, faith and public-policy issues for various media outlets. He and his wife are raising two children in Northern Virginia.
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