The Wild Robot is one of the best movies I’ve seen in recent memory. While the narrative was nothing mind-blowing, it was still very well executed and masterfully put together. The voice acting is very good overall, the score is beautiful, and the animation is downright gorgeous. This movie is definitely worth a watch, and I would consider it to be one of the best movies of 2024.
The film centers around Roz, the titular Wild Robot. Roz was designed to be a robotic personal assistant, but a storm washed her off a cargo ship and dumped her on a remote island with no humans to be found. The animal residents of the forest are initially frightened of her, but as she slowly learns how the animals interact and communicate, they begin to accept her into their ecosystem. During her first few weeks on the island, an orphaned goose imprints on Roz, and Roz decides to do her best to raise the little gosling, despite not knowing anything about raising wild animals. A bond grows between the robot and the gosling, to which Roz gives the name Brightbill. Roz eventually succeeds in teaching Brightbill the skills he needs to survive on his own and convinces a flock of geese to accept Brightbill into their ranks before they leave for their yearly migration.
The Wild Robot masterfully executes what seems to be a fairly simple storyline. There wasn’t anything in the plot that was surprising or unexpected, but the whole thing has a polish to it that makes it a joy to watch. Every single scene looks like it was hand-painted by a master artist, and the action scenes flow like water from one picture to the next. The score is Kris Bowers’s first on the big screen, and he does an amazing job adding to the emotional depth of the story. The voice acting is generally very good, especially from Roz, voiced by Lupita Nyong’o, and Brightbill, voiced by Kit Connor. Their performances do a great job of selling the emotional moments of the movie. This movie was nominated for several awards, including the Academy and Golden Globe Awards for Best Animated Feature Film.
Blue Devil Productions is holding a showing of The Wild Robot, so if you would like a chance to see this wonderful movie for free, come to APPA Room 210 on Friday, April 11th, at 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. See you there!
