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The Wild Robot is a wonderful, emotional tale following the journey of an unlikely mother and child as they evolve and learn to love and adapt to their sometimes-harsh surroundings. It will make most audiences face a wide range of reactions, from hysterically funny comedy to tearful sadness thanks to a story that unfolds exquisitely with beautiful animation, meaningful dialogue, and without too much unnecessary exposition. There is almost nothing that could be added or subtracted to make this a better film and I would highly recommend it.

The movie begins at the beginning of ROZZUM Unit 7134’s life. ROZZUM, or “Roz” as she goes by, is a robot that has washed up on the shore of an island. After being activated by the same luck that brought Ant Man back from the Quantum Realm in Endgame, Roz tries to greet her customer and accept her first task. But all she finds is wildlife with whom she is initially unable to communicate and who are unwilling to let her help. The communication barrier soon drops over a quick montage of Roz learning the animals’ language (at which point, the movie presents them all speaking English), but most of the animals are still unwilling to accept the help of a “monster”. After accidentally destroying a goose nest, Roz, thanks in part to a burgeoning friendship with a fox and an opossum, becomes the adoptive mother of a newborn gosling, Brightbill, and makes it her mission to get the gosling ready for the winter migration.

It is sensational how the film explores familial bonds (both genetic and non-genetic), friendships, and communities that develop in unexpected ways. Roz and Brightbill have their ups and downs just like most families (and movies about families) which is both heartwarming and heartbreaking to watch. And watching the various friendships develop and strengthen in the face of danger is inspiring. The movie doesn’t specifically mention climate change, but it seemed to me that the wildlife had to deal with the effects of climate change which the movie subtly dealt with in a funny and endearing way.

The humor is both hilarious and relatable and it was funny listening to the audience laugh at some of the darker humor. They would laugh at a joke because it was funny, but you could tell their minds were trying to tell them what happened off-screen was actually sad or disturbing.

Lupita Nyong’o (Us, Black Panther) leads the remarkable voice cast that blends into their characters so well that I didn’t really recognize anybody (except Bill Nighy) until the credits rolled (and I had read the cast list before seeing the movie). Pedro Pascal (The Last of Us, Game of Thrones) and Catherine O’Hara (Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Home Alone, reporting states she’ll be in The Last of Us season 2) play the aforementioned fox and opossum. Mark Hamill, Stephanie Hsu, Matt Berry, and Ving Rhames are also featured throughout the film.

Often, I see an all-star cast like this attached to an animated film and I wonder if the production is trying to make up for a story that is lacking substance, but that was thankfully not the case with The Wild Robot. It is a fun, exhilarating thrill-ride that I would watch again.

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