A Universal Dynamics shipment goes awry, sending several robots crashing to Earth on an uninhabited island. Only one of the robots remains in functioning order and, when a curious sea otter accidentally powers it on, ROZZUM Unit 7134 (voiced by Lupita Nyong’o) comes to life and tries to acquire a task, per her programming. After scaring all of the wildlife away, Roz finds a goose egg that hasn’t hatched yet and ends up becoming the hatchling’s “mother.” Through a series of advice from the other animals and the guidance of a sly fox named Fink (Pedro Pascal), Roz realizes that, in order to complete her task, she must teach Brightbill (Kit Connor) how to eat, swim and fly by the time fall comes around. Through a series of frustrating learning curves for Roz, Brightbill (Kit Connor)and Fink (Pedro Pascal), the hope is to have the young goose ready to fly south for the winter despite the lack of tutelage coming from any kind of bird.
Based on Peter Brown’s 2016 children’s book of the same name, THE WILD ROBOT easily takes its place among the year’s best. The emotion, comedy, character development and artistic presentation are all top notch and — baring a relentless string of incredible films to close out the year — will be a rare animated feature up for Best Picture.
At it’s heart, THE WILD ROBOT is all about having a sense of community and finding your place in the world. Mother’s, in particular, will feel seen and kids would might feel like they’re an outcast from “clicks” or social circles will appreciate the message on a deeper level than we can imagine.
THE WILD ROBOT hits in all the feels, it’s gorgeous to look at and there are zero controversial elements here. With an incredible voice cast of A-list actors, this is a must-see for the entire family.
JKG SCORE: 9.0
Untitled Film Project 