We live in a time of bickering. We all have our differences — that’s part of being human. But despite those differences, when you pull back all our layers, you’ll find we have much more in common than we have differences. We all want to laugh, love and protect the things that are important to us. We as a society have gotten so caught up in our differences that we forget that when we as a species work together, we can achieve the impossible. Luckily, one wild robot is here to show us the miracle of cooperation.
When Rozzum 7134 (Lupita Nyong’o), Roz for short, crashes on an island uninhabited by humans, she begins looking for tasks to complete. Her programming as a service bot has her trying to assist the animals on the island until she finds an orphaned gosling named Brightbill (Kit Conner). Unfamiliar with the ways of the island, and with the inhabitants still terrified of her, Roz teams up with a cunning fox named Fink (Pedro Pascal) as she takes on the burdens of motherhood with the goal of raising Brightbill and preparing him for migration before the winter.
The story is a simplistic one, but one that will serve as an important lesson for kids and reminder for us adults as well. People being able to overcome their differences and work together is one of humanity’s greatest attributes, and one that feels lost in the current cultural climate — a climate in which we focus far more on our differences than our many similarities.
Roz’s adventure features a lot of the typical DreamWorks beats we know and love, but what makes this one feel so special is its stylish animation and cast of characters — characters who all have their unique quirks and are represented with phenomenal voice work. When it comes to the animation, few things can match up to the colorful and vibrant style of the 3D models with hand-painted 2D texturing on top. The color palettes all pop: The natural settings feature great, vibrant contrast, while the places lived in by humans have a more sterile palette that feels mechanical. These color palettes work as a visual storytelling tool, underscoring the differences between the natural and the mechanical and showing the boundaries Roz has to cross in learning about the world, motherhood and the power of unity.
The Wild Robot is DreamWorks at its best, and the type of film that will appeal to children and adults alike. Director Chris Sanders — who worked on projects including Lilo & Stitch and How to Train Your Dragon —gives the source material, Peter Brown’s novel of the same name, everything it needs to shine. It’s an experience for everyone.
