Film review: This animated movie, based on Peter Brown’s bestselling trilogy of the same name, tells kids the messages we want them to grow up with: kindness is key; anyone can achieve anything with perseverance; we need to listen and learn from those around us – that sort of thing.
Parents may therefore be enticed by The Wild Robot’s old-school focus on nature and good life lessons. Whether your youngster will be similarly enamoured remains to be seen.
The robot who winds up in the wilds of a human-free island is Roz (voiced by Lupita Nyong’o), manufactured to complete given tasks with efficiency and initiative, but suddenly adrift because she can’t communicate with this strange new world in order to find her purpose.
Once Roz cleverly activates her translation app with the island’s animal inhabitants, she sets about adopting Brightbill, the runt of a brood of goslings, whom no one expects to survive. Roz helps him train for eventual migration, assisted by the formerly deceitful fox, Fink (Pedro Pascal).
Director and veteran animator Chris Sanders gave us The Croods, How to Train Your Dragon, and Disney’s Lilo & Stitch.
This might be another DreamWorks production with parallels to Pixar’s robot tale Wall-E, but his sensibilities feel distinctly uncommercial. Instead, he favours beautiful animation, which blends painterly backdrops of autumnal leaves and gushing waters with the simply drawn characteristics of its core cast. The refreshing focus here is clearly on beguiling its audience with story not style.
The voice cast includes the comedic talents of Catherine O’Hara and What We Do in the Shadows’ droll Matt Berry. Bill Nighy plays a wise old goose.
Everyone is fine, but the on-the-nose dialogue isn’t as witty or nuanced as we expect from modern-day kids’ movies.
But, “sometimes, to survive, you must become more than you were programmed to be” is without question a great message. If the littlest youth of today can switch off their mini-screens for two hours and sit quietly to watch and absorb The Wild Robot’s wise words, the robot’s most important mission will be accomplished.
Ratings out of five: ★★★½
The Wild Robot, directed by Chris Sanders, is in cinemas now
