Over the past century, robot movies have spanned a broad spectrum.  Some portray them as evil, world-destroying machines (The Terminator, 2001: A Space Odyssey) whereas others portray them as cute, cuddly companions (WALL-E, Big Hero 6).  As it’s an animated feature targeted at family, it should come as no surprise that The Wild Robot fits into the later category.  Many will already be familiar with the title character having read the illustrated books of American author Peter Brown (there are three in total published between 2016 and 2023).

We begin with our freshly made robot, who becomes known as Roz (Nyong’o), washed up by accident on the shoreline of a small island.  She was made to serve humans and complete routine tasks but, with the island being deserted, she instead befriends the many animals who reside there.  Roz uses her incredible computing power to interpret animal languages and speak to them – a plot device which creates the film’s dialogue (opposed to something like the Shaun the Sheep Movie).

When Roz inadvertently steps on a bird’s nest and crushes a bunch of goose eggs, her motherly nature kicks in.  One egg remains intact, and she takes it upon herself to raise and care for the young creature.  He is named Brightbill (Connor) and working with an eclectic group of creatures including a fox (Pascal) and an opossum (O’Hara), Roz works on instilling Brightbill with three critical skills – eating, swimming, and flying.  This will ensure his survival and ability to travel to warmer climates during the winter.

The Wild Robot is a sweet film.  Younger crowds will engage with the easy-to-follow narrative and loveable characters, adults can chuckle at a few darker jokes (the opossum losing a kid), and all can enjoy the dramatic finale where lives are at stake.  Director Chris Sanders (How to Train Your Dragon) was inspired by the painting-like animation of the great Hayao Miyazaki, and he’s created a film which is beautiful to look at – from the intricacies of Roz’s design (loved her lighting), through to red-heavy landscapes when a wildfire ravages the island.

The voice cast is headlined by Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave) who finds the right blend of rigidness and emotion in bringing Roz to life.  Pedro Pascal (The Last of Us) has fun as the cunning fox while rising star Kit Connor (Heartstopper) gets the job of melting hearts with his portrayal of the young, nervous goose.  Take the kids these school holidays and enjoy.

You can read my chat with writer-director Chris Sanders by clicking here.