THE WILD ROBOT – A Review by John Strange
Some animated films are aimed at kids. Some are written for adults (but marketed to kids anyway). And then there are those films that find the sweet spot where it entertains both kids and adults. The Wild Robot is one of the later genre.
The story is a bit chaotic at first, but the robot’s desire to follow its programming to help someone is stronger than its desire to return to the factory. The someone Roz (Lupita Nyong’o) helps is a gosling who has imprinted on her at his birth.
The gosling, Brightbill (Kit Connor) becomes Roz’s reason to exist. His life is dependent upon her figuring out how to teach the youngster to swim and then fly. A monumental task.
As Roz learns what she needs to protect and serve, she encounters many interesting and diverse creatures. This group includes Fink (Pedro Pascal), a fox who likes eating eggs; Pinktail (Catherine O’Hara), a harried mother possum; Paddler (Matt Berry), a grumpy beaver; and Thorn (Mark Hamill), a rather large bear. Oh, and my favorites were Longneck (Bill Nighy), the leader of the geese and Thunderbolt (Ving Rhames), the hawk who teaches Brightbill to fly.
There are robots sent to drag Roz back to see how much she has changed, and how she did it. In fact, we never see any humans in the film. And they are not missed one bit.
I loved the film but there were little voices asking if they all died that tells me that the youngest may not be able to deal with some aspects of the film’s storyline. And while I may have been off a bit on my thoughts in the opening paragraph, I was close.
Writer/Director: Chris Sanders
Cast: Lupita Nyong’o, Pedro Pascal, Catherine O’Hara, Bill Nighy, Kit Connor, and Stephanie Hsu, with Mark Hamill, Matt Berry, and Ving Rhames
MPAA Rating: PG (for action/peril and thematic elements.)
Selig Rating: 4 Stars
Runtime: 102 Min.
Release Date: 9/27/2024
Language: English
Genre: Animated Drama
Movie Site: THE WILD ROBOT Official Site
Trailer: THE WILD ROBOT Official Trailer 2
The Selig Rating Scale:
5 Stars – Excellent movie/show, well worth the time and price.
4 Stars – Good movie/show
3 Stars – OK movie/show
2 Stars – Well, there was nothing else…
1 Star – Total waste of time.
