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The film in a visual nutshell
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Poster Description: A
robot sits in a forest, holding a tiny gosling in its round palm. A fox perches
comfortably on its leg. Roz, the robot, has round eyes, a head, shoulders, and
a chest. Its arms are metal tubes. Its eyes glow yellow in the dark. |
I wrote this review in a day, from a spontaneous
decision between my partner and me when we visited our local cinema. True, Paddington in Peru is firmly
at the top of our watchlist, but given its arrival on screens just this very week (as I
write this), I suspected many families would be making the most of the
miserable weather. As it was, the screen of The Wild Robot was pretty
empty.
So what’s this? An original story made by DreamWorks? Hm. Not quite. Based on the book by Peter Brown, The Wild Robot was adapted by Chris Sanders. You may recognise the name from the director of the stunning How To Train Your Dragon trilogy. We’re in good hands, people! Just prepare for emotional gut punches.
As a robot crash-lands
in a forest, it must adapt to find its purpose. In so doing, “Roz” (Lupita
Nyong’o, Little Monsters) accidentally bonds with a gosling.
The first thing you notice about The Wild Robot is how beautiful it looks. The animation style renders the woodland environment as soft and colourful as an oil pastel landscape. My breath caught at the sight of the feathery leaves of a pine tree, and in one early scene, the violent might of the ocean had me on the edge of my seat. There is no time to get comfortable, we are living with Roz’s new existence immediately. I went into the film completely blind and had no knowledge of the plot or who would provide the voices, which was very exciting.
Although the plot is somewhat predictable, the bittersweet angle to parenthood is refreshingly honest and funny. Looking after kids ain't easy! And that's normal! Nyong’o offers a suitably robotic performance that melts into warmth as things
change. Meanwhile, the film does not shy away from nature’s brutality; some
younger cast members even get some of the best, most profound (and often hilariously disturbing) lines. As the credits rolled, there were some pleasant surprises
(one not so surprising!), but as this is a spoiler-free review, I won’t say too much,
except just for fun: one of the actors is renowned for playing fathers.
The Wild Robot is everything I hoped for and more. A heartwarming and darkly humorous story about technology and nature, parenthood, and the importance of friends. Is it better than Shrek? It might be. It’s definitely one of my favourite films of 2024.
My Rating: 4.5 STARS OUT OF 5
My Sources:
The Wild Robot poster - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wild-Robot-DVD-Lupita-Nyongo/dp/B0DK1Y9XR7?source=ps-sl-shoppingads-lpcontext&ref_=fplfs&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE
The Wild Robot director/screenplay-writer/ Who wrote The
Wild Robot?
- The Wild Robot (2024) - IMDb
Lupita Nyong’o’s filmography - Lupita Nyong'o -
IMDb
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