Dir: Chris Sanders
Cast: Lupita Nyong’o, Pedro Pascal, Kit Connor, Bill Nighy, Stephanie Hsu, Mark Hamill, Catherine O’Hara, Matt Berry, Ving Rhames
Heart-warming, undemanding and visual stunning, Dreamworks’ “The Wild Robot” is a fitting send off for the celebrated animation studio’s in-house team
Having been born in the early nineties, I, like many other millennials, was spoilt for choice when it came to animated movies growing up. In my childhood, I was able to witness the rise of Pixar following the release of “Toy Story” (1995), as well as being bowled over by the Disney “renaissance”, a string of critical and financial successes for the animation juggernaut spanning from “The Little Mermaid” (1989) to “Tarzan” (1999). There was also the more mentally challenging productions from the Japanese Studio Ghibli, with films like “Spirited Away” (2001) and “Howl’s Moving Castle” (2004) having an even greater impact on me as I have gotten older.
Vying for dominance in the newly competitive field of childhood animation was another newcomer, Dreamworks Animation, who burst onto the scene in 1998 with two theatrical releases, the Academy Award winning “The Prince of Egypt”, as well as their hotly disputed debut feature “Antz”. Despite an unwelcome introduction to the market as a result of their vocal rivalry with Disney, and public feud with Pixar over the similarities between “Antz” and “A Bug’s Life”, Dreamworks soon established themselves alongside Disney and Pixar as one of the most dominant animation studios in the industry.
The studio would go onto achieve greater success, capitalising on Disney’s financial and critical failures of the 2000’s, with their flagship franchise “Shrek” spanning four movies, the first of which winning the inaugural Academy Award for Animation in 2002. Despite their consistent output over the years, Dreamworks soon became overshadowed once again by Disney following their acquisition of Pixar in 2006, a deal that saw both animation divisions dominate for well over a decade and still continue to do so now, with their latest release “Inside Out 2” becoming the highest grossing animated film of all time.
As a result, Dreamworks sadly announced in 2023 that it would be shifting away from its in-house productions as part of cost-cutting measures, instead opting to rely more heavily on third party studios. While this by no means signals the end for the beloved childhood studio, it does close the curtains on an era that brought joy to many childhoods, including my own.
The studio’s hotly anticipated swan song, “The Wild Robot”, had its world premiere as part of the Grand Opening Gala at TIFF in September, and was released in the UK on Friday 18th October. Adapted from the series of books by Peter Brown, the film follows the titular wild robot ROZZUM 7314 (or “Roz”), voiced by Lupita Nyong’o, who awakens having crashes onto an uninhabited island. Roz is programmed to assist those in need, but with no humans around, the increasingly desperate robot attempts to help the wide array of wildlife on the island, only to have them run away or attack her. She quickly learns the terrifying dangers of nature during an encounter with a bear that sends a damaged Roz tumbling down a hill onto goose nest, killing the mother bird and all but one of the eggs. Having downloaded the necessary information to communicate with her surroundings, Roz is given her first task by exhausted mother opossum, Pinktail (Catherine O’Hara). Pinktail informs Roz that the runt she has inherited imprints itself to the first thing it sees, and that it has become Roz’s responsibility to ensure that it can fly before the winter migration.
After initially hunting the gosling, a hungry fox named Fink (Pedro Pascal) realises he can benefit from Roz and helps her construct a shelter, as well as prompting her to christen her new adopted “son”, whom she fittingly names Brightbill (Kit Connor). As he grows older, Brightbill begins to question his relationship with Roz as he is continuously ridiculed by his fellow geese for his stature and “monster” mother. Despite learning the truth of what happened to his actual mother, Brightbill realises that runts usually don’t survive in the wild, and if nature had its way, maybe he wouldn’t be alive.
The dualling fish-out-of-water and adoptive family themes are familiar to writer-director Chris Sanders, having previously helmed Disney’s “Lilo & Stitch” (2002), as well as one of Dreamworks’ previous masterpieces “How to Train Your Dragon” (2010). Shifting away from mainstream western animation however, Sanders and his team take inspiration from the hand drawn fantasies of legendary Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki to produce a simple but surprisingly sentimental tale of family and motherhood. Every frame within “The Wild Robot” is gorgeously realised, full of texture and depth thanks to the beautifully rendered painted animation, building on the innovations first showcased in “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” back in 2018. While I am admittedly not familiar with the source material, this increasingly popular style of modern animation highlights the immediate beauty of nature, as well as the potential dangers it possesses.
Despite being a child friendly tale of a robot who defies its programming to ultimately learn the valuable lessons of motherhood and love, “The Wild Robot” does not shy away from depicting the dangers that may lurk in the wilderness, often employing unexpectedly dark jokes illustrating how easily animals die in the wild. This refreshing and often hilarious attitude towards the life and death prevents the film from talking down to its younger audience members, and while there are moments where the adorable levels are off the scale, the maturity of Sanders’ storytelling prevents this emotionally moving family-friendly outing from becoming overly schmaltzy.
The wide range of colourful woodland characters are brought to life on screen thanks to some stellar vwork from an impressive voice cast that also boasts the talents of Bill Nighy, Matt Berry, Ving Rhames, Mark Hamill and Stephanie Hsu, but it is the always exceptional Nyong’o, who brings a subtle tenderness to her mechanical protagonist, that will get the tears flowing. Matching the star’s emotional range is Kris Bowers‘ sweeping score that swells at the right moments for maximum emotional impact, an impressive feat for the Oscar-winning artist’s first foray into animation.
This final outing for Dreamworks’ in-house animation team may be narratively simple but Chris Sanders proves that even the least complex stories can be captivating when they are impeccably executed. After a return to form in recent years which has also seen the release of the sensational “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” (2022), it is a shame to see the adored studio shut its doors for the final time, but they have made sure they have gone out in style with one of their strongest features in an unforgettable 26-year history. This does not spell the end for Dreamworks who will no doubt continue to distribute a vast array of impressive animated productions for years to come, and with multiple potential third party animators to choose from, the possibilities are endless. The animation juggernaut already have wheels in motion going forward with the upcoming releases of “Dog Man”, “The Bad Guys 2” and “Gabby’s Dollhouse” in 2025, followed by the eagerly awaited “Shrek 5” in 2026, sixteen years on from the previous instalment “Shrek Forever After”.
The Wild Robot is now showing in UK Cinemas.
Dan Loves Film 
this is a film that just keeps going and going and going and bravo for that!
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Nice film
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Great review. I personally loved this movie. The previews alone definitely got me interested in seeing this, but I wasn’t prepared how much I would love this film. The story was incredibly heartwarming and deep and definitely emotional. I teared two or three times in the movie, and I really connected with it….and when a film can do that….it truly is something magical. Plus, the animation was gorgeous and almost like a painted style-esque illustration and the voice talents were solid across the board. All in all, I loved The Wild Robot, and it deserves all the praise that moviegoers and critics have given it.
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