The Wild Robot

When you earned a reputation as being a creative that can take material that should be old and cliched and make it feel fresh and new, you’re going to be a talent worth keeping an eye on, and Chris Sanders is one of those people. While only having four animated movies under his belt, those four films have been instrumental in positioning Sanders as a filmmaker that tackles seen-before stories but can shape them into their best versions and result in wonderfully timeless, entertaining and magical films that have no right to be a strong as they are. Movie like Lilo & Stitch, How to Train Your Dragon and The Croods are filled with a lot of cliches, but the likeable characters, passionate visuals, and clever scripting and direction make them more than the sum of their parts and have become animated classics loved by many people. Even after being off the animation radar for a full decade, Sanders as a name still holds merit, which was shown when many audiences perked up when it was announced that he would be leading the latest DreamWorks animated film, The Wild Robot, which as expected, became its best self under his guidance. In a futuristic world where robots tend to the needs of humanity, one of these ROZZUM robots (voiced by Lupita Nyong’o) is marooned on an uninhabited island after a cargo ship containing several units is caught in a storm which destroys every bot except her. Abbreviating herself to Roz, she tries to fulfill her programming and assist the wildlife around her but is unable to adapt or comprehend their way of existence even after downloading their language, with all the animals showing great fear and distrust to what they view as a ‘strange monster’. With no tasks to fulfill, Roz accidently crushes a goose nest which leaves only a single egg behind, and after saving the egg from being eaten by a fox named Fink (voiced by Pedro Pascal), is given the task of caring for this runt until he grows of age and migrates from the island. Giving him the name Brightbill (voiced by Kit Connor), a bond is formed between these two wildly different beings, and as she raise this bird as his mother, Roz starts to understand a world outside of her programming and wishes to remain in the wild to defend her new home, but this is put at risk when Roz’s creators catch wind of her location and attempt to apprehend her. The Wild Robot looks like a very predictable story on the surface, but with gorgeous animation, very strong voice acting, and a nuance maturity paired against some familiar archetypes, the results are more than satisfactory.

Being based on a children’s picture book series written and illustrated by multi-award-winning author Peter Brown, it appears that Universal and DreamWorks hit a miniature goldmine given the amount of excitement people felt when they heard that there’s was going to be an adaptation. On the surface, the story seems pretty recognizable, as the premise of a robot learning to feel human emotions and fight against its programming has been showcased in several other science fictions tales and even children’s material like The Iron Giant (which this movie clearly takes inspirations from). However, much like how past Sanders movies have operated, the plot remains straightforward, but how it’s executed is anything but, containing strong character writing, brilliantly engrossing visual storytelling, soft emotional nuance, sparky dialogue, and frantic animation which makes what could be traditional and pandering, feel very heartfelt and engrossing. There’s some fun ideas that come from this premise outside of the obvious ‘’heart is stronger than mind’’ trope, like the similarities animals and robots share when it comes to ‘’programmed’’ habitual instincts, the difference between non-specific support and tentative care, and even a touch of colonial culture shock with how Roz touts her corporate monopolized self around in an area that doesn’t require her and disrupts their natural balance. While the directing by Sanders is pretty top notch, the script is really where things shine the brightest, as the delivery of these very predictable scenes never feels repetitive, and the dialogue, while certainly still gag-heavy and led by a lot of modern-sounding high-profile actors, doesn’t come across as demeaning or lazy. This movie takes its audience (mainly the children) very seriously, not needing to rely on too many comedic moments, goofy voices or actions sequences to draw their attention, instead letting the visuals and the emotions of the characters drive the narrative in a very pure and honest manner. Since it started off in a visual medium that already used simple shapes, colors and motivations to tell its story, it wouldn’t be too hard to translate that type of silent conversion into a movie, and that energy really matches how DreamWorks traditionally handled their movies, so it’s also a nice return to form for them. There are moments that feel like they’re pulling on heartstrings to a purposeful degree, but they do usually pay off, and through the likeable characters, wonderfully vibrant imagery, and simple but poignant writing, it’s able to get across everything it wanted to deliver close to perfectly. It also houses a slight edge through some of the suggestive material and even shown brutal animal deaths (it kind of catches you off guard a little), which helps make this environment and plot feel more genuine and uncompromising. It is portrayed in a very peaceful and blissful manner but doesn’t shy away from the roughness or brutality of the wild, it’s a very good balance and leads very nicely into the film’s themes. If the film fails at anything, it’s that there are a few moments that probably could’ve benefited from a few more minutes, mainly when it comes to building the relationship between the three leads (not a lot, but just a little extra to make the payoff feel that much more special).

The character roster isn’t too big and most feel like expected archetypes for this kind of story, like a robot who learns how to love, a sly, complaining schemer who grows a heart after interacting with an optimistic unassuming lead, a spirited youngster who is ostracized for his differences yet proves their worth when it matters most, and a ton of colorful supporting characters who play up their established quirk to an extreme degree and become relevant when the story requires them. In spite of this, the movie utilizes these roles well and results in some pretty memorable characters, which is also helped out by the very strong casting. While DreamWorks in the past has been criticized for their incessant need to pack all of their movies full of celebrity voices (even when they aren’t required), they managed this time around to pick people who are still building their careers (so no one feels like an A-lister), and each one really feels like they bring something special to these roles and don’t just come across as basic type-casting. Lupita Nyong’o does a great job adding a gentle motherly warmth to the originally cold and calculating tones of Roz, and the way her voice noticeably changes from the beginning to end while still retaining the familiarly robotic tone is very nicely done, Pedro Pascal is a great fit for this sneaky fox character and his voice really blends well with the slinky animation and design, Kit Connor brings a lot of honest charm and vulnerability to Brightbill which comes out the most during his interactions with Roz, Bill Nighy and Catherine O’Hara play small but meaningful supporting roles that help push the story forward and result in some nice poignant scenes, Mark Hamill, Ving Rhames and Matt Berry make for minute but memorable cameos, and even Stephanie Hsu as a throwaway villain really leaves an impression, and does a great job making the character likeably disturbing.

Even though you’d expect the film’s art style to be specifically designed to match like the original look of the books, they actually have totally different styles. While both primarily focus on simple shapes and shades rather than extreme detail to get across its location and atmosphere, the book has a more muted and jagged look that feels almost gothic and Orwellian. It might be a little jarring and cold for a children’s book, but it’s a very gripping style, is used quite effectively throughout the story, and cleverly presents itself as such in order to convey both how similar and different the animals are from the robot. This film by comparison has a much brighter color palette, a much softer and smoother appeal, and a sketchy almost, cel-shaded look that makes the backgrounds look hyper stylized and not like the occupy the same space as the foreground. While the art style isn’t quite as noticeably experimental as something like The Bad Guys or Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (more recent DreamWorks movies that uses similar techniques and art direction), this movie definitely takes advantage of how it looks, by using this softer, more vibrant and chaotic animation style in a way that eventuates the expressions and colors. The design of Roz looks a lot more pleasant than the one from the book (which could easily be seen as more threatening), being more expressive and evenly proportioned, but her disconnected from the animal kingdom is still apparent, and the added detail of moss and wear-and-tear being added on over time is a really nice element that makes for a defining image (feels very Miyazakian in that regard, who also helped inspire this film). The smoother textures on her body acts as a nice contrast to the animal’s spikier outlines that feel more outdoorsy and  ‘’alive’’ by comparison, the camera movement by Chris Stover is extremely mobile and feels very energized during the action set pieces, and the colors are extremely popping and feel so saturated in specific portions that they transcend beyond ambience and start to reflect the mental state of the characters and the situation. It accomplishes something very similar to Bambi, where the artistry is able to convey the growing and dying emotions of the characters, making the warm scenes feel very comforting, the somber scenes legitimately upsetting, and the heartfelt scenes extremely tear-jerking. The musical score by Kris Bowers is also top notch, with the fact that it’s his first animated feature film not stopping him from creating a piece that is symphonic, stirring and very cinematic while still feeling distinct through little techno interjections, it’s a stellar score that really elevates several scenes throughout (enough to even get nominated for an Oscar, and it’s always noticeable when an animated movie gets in that category).

The Wild Robot may actually be one of the last traditionally animated movies DreamWorks will make, as they’re planning on outsourcing to other companies to make their films going forward, so while bittersweet, it’s great that they go out on such a high note. It takes aspects from several rival animations studios as well as the best of itself when creating a movie that might not tackle an entirely new idea, but through the help of Chris Sanders and talented screenwriters, organizes the fundamentals in a very timeless and gripping manner. The animation is very inviting and cozy, the characters are well down and assisted through very charming voice actors, and while the story should be paint-by-numbers at this point, the execution makes it very appealing even if you’ve heard it all before. These stories might feel like dime-a-dozen products, but the soul that exudes from them is very real.