How “The Wild Robot” Pulls on the Heartstrings (In a Good Way)

BY ASHTYN HANSARD / Executive Producer

“The Wild Robot” released in theaters across the country Sept. 27, scoring itself a 98% on “Rotten Tomatoes.” Since this movie received such a high score from both the audience and the critics, I decided to check it out for myself.

As a warning to readers, there will be spoilers in this review.

“The Wild Robot” is a new, animated movie that is perfect for any audience. The movie follows Rozzum, later known as Roz, when she accidentally crashes on an island instead of her original destination. Roz now has to adapt to her environment and learn to live among the animals that inhabit the island with her.

One way this movie impressed me was the voice acting. “The Wild Robot” has a cast full of popular celebrities, such as Lupita Nyong’o, Kit Connor, Pedro Pascal and Catherine O’Hara. 

While these stars are known for their spectacular performances in live action projects, they also did a phenomenal job in this animated movie. They all are able to convey their emotions in a beautiful way using just their voice. 

I was blown away by Nyong’o’s performance as Roz. Since she plays a robot, she has to use a mechanical tone to play the character. Even as the robot, she manages to display her emotions beautifully and really capture the audience.

Another aspect I loved was the production of the movie. The animation style was gorgeous, showing a creative blend between harsh lines and muddling of colors. It gives the movie a whimsical feeling, really capturing the story in a kid-like sense. 

The score of the movie was a perfect addition. The blasting of the orchestra during certain moments helps the audience feel the tension and enjoyment of the scene.

There is one scene in the movie that I feel shows the importance of these two aspects in a perfect way. 

Roz has just landed on the island and is exploring the land and animals around her. She discovers a tree covered in butterflies. She moves to go touch the tree and the butterflies all move and fly around her. 

The animation style and the instrumentals combined show an amazing moment for Roz. The blur of colors surrounding her with the climax of the orchestra helps convey how Roz is beginning to find beauty in this land.

Throughout the movie, one of the main storylines is Roz having to become a mother to a gosling named Brightbill. After Roz is chased by a bear and accidentally kills a goose and her eggs, Roz discovers that one egg still made it.

While Roz is raising Brightbill, there are several depictions of realistic motherhood. While Roz is trying to complete tasks and raise Brightbill, she often feels like she has no idea what she’s doing. Brightbill also has a tendency to get in the way of Roz’s tasks because he just wants to be next to Roz.

Later in the movie, Roz starts to become conflicted. Brightbill has to leave for the winter since he would not be able to survive on the island in the snow. At the time, Roz was going to leave to go back to her company she was made for. 

While leaving, Brightbill hesitates and decides to not tell Roz he loves her and will miss her. Another goose named Longneck ends up comforting him and gives a quote that really stuck with me; “Sometimes hearts have their own conversations.” 

This quote felt comforting and relatable for me. Even though Brightbill couldn’t say the words to Roz, it was nice for him to know that Roz understood how he felt.

Roz is a loveable character, especially for how much she perseveres. From the moment she arrived on the island, the other animals treated her differently since she wasn’t like them. Even with this challenge, Roz never fights back and keeps her focus on helping Brightbill.

After Brightbill leaves for the winter, Roz starts to wonder where she’s meant to be. She knows she’s different and not wanted, but battles with the thought of possibly being in the same situation in her original location. Roz ends up revealing to the audience that she had overridden her programming months before and was now technically “free.”

During the winter, a horrible snow storm comes in and ends up trapping the animals in their dens. Roz decides to leave and rescue all the animals, even though they all treated her like a monster and even called her so. By doing this, she gains their trust and is able to build a friendship with the animals.

At the end of the movie, Roz must sacrifice herself in order to protect the forest from the company that created her. She has a touching, but bittersweet moment with everyone before leaving.

The audience knows that what she’s doing is right in order to save everyone else, but it’s still sad. It’s revealed earlier in the movie that if she returns, her memory will be wiped.

At the very end, we see Brightbill finding Roz. At first he’s weary, unsure of how she’ll react. However, when Roz sees him, she picks him up and talks to him like normal, showing that even the company couldn’t make her forget about him.

“The Wild Robot” is a touching movie about motherhood, emotion, and protecting the people you love. I highly recommend seeing this movie in your local theater.