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THE WILD ROBOT

A CELEBRATION OF MOTHERHOOD IN THIS NEW ANIMATED CLASSIC

THEATRICAL REVIEW
LATEST REVIEWS
By Daniel Lammin
18th September 2024

Animated films aimed at a younger audience have often tried to communicate mature emotional concepts through the guise of family entertainment. It's a staple of children's literature, the notion that these works can gently introduce complex ideas around life and death to children without overwhelming them or adversely affecting them. When we think of contemporary animated films handling this, Pixar might first come to mind, but these days, Pixar is less interested in subtlety than wielding mature emotional content in their films like a blunt instrument. Taking a much more subtle and far more effective approach is 'The Wild Robot', the latest film from Dreamworks Animation. That it's far more careful and subtle should come as no surprise, under the hand of writer and director Chris Sanders, whose previous work includes the sublime 'Lilo & Stitch' (2002) and Dreamworks' greatest film 'How To Train Your Dragon' (2010). What he delivers is easily the studio's most artistically and emotionally satisfying film in years.

Based on the best-selling book by Peter Brown, 'The Wild Robot' begins with the most tantalising of premises - a robot nicknamed Roz (Lupita Nyong'o, '12 Years A Slave') wakes up for the first time to find herself stranded on an island in the middle of nowhere. Programmed to assist, she starts to look for any humans she can be of service to, but only finds the island's bemused and hostile animal inhabitants, who immediately reject her as an outsider. After an unexpected accident, she finds herself the parent to an orphaned gosling she names Brightbill (Kit Connor, Netflix's 'Heartstopper'), with only fellow outsider fox Fink (Pedro Pascal, TV's 'The Last of Us') to help her. As time passes, she tries to be the best protector she can for Brightbill, but as he gets old enough to join the yearly migration, she is faced with the heartbreaking challenge of letting go of her ward, an experience she is not at all programmed for, and coming to an earth-shattering realisation for a robot to grasp - that she sees herself as Brightbill's mother.

There's an extraordinary amount of nuance to 'The Wild Robot', something that isn't immediately apparent. Sanders throws us right into the action with a wonderfully chaotic first act. Roz's introduction to the island is not a gradual learning process but an attack from all sides, with all the animals of the island trying to work out whether they should run from her, kill her or eat her. The action is at times a bit too chaotic, but it's also here that the film establishes its unique and refreshing tone. Unlike the dour introspection or melodrama of recent Pixar, life and death are treated practically, with possum mother Pinktail (Catherine O'Hara, 'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice') casually discussing the likelihood of her children's death, something even her rambunctious young accept and joke about. Death in this world is a practicality, and the value of any living thing is in how it can sustain or harm another living thing.

SWITCH: 'THE WILD ROBOT' TRAILER 3

As well as grounding the film in an animal reality we rarely see in U.S. animated films, it also sets up the counterpoint for Roz's relationship with Brightbill, one that begins likewise as a practical exercise (she sees it as her task to feed him, teach him to swim and teach him to fly) but soon blossoms into a complex emotional bond. In this sense, 'The Wild Robot' feels a spiritual companion piece to Disney's 1942 masterpiece 'Bambi'. There's a common understanding of the facts of life woven into its DNA, but also how those facts can speak to our own humanity. It's as if, stuck in this isolated environment, this community of animals have accepted the cycle of violence by which they have to live, and it's Roz's outsider perspective and inquisitive nature that reveals to them another way of co-existing. Of course animals in nature are never going to come to this realisation, but in a time where antagonism between cultures, counties and communities seems to be reaching a new level of violence, it's a timely (and wittily communicated) message for us human viewers.

The power of 'The Wild Robot' though comes ultimately from the mother and son relationship at its core. At first, it's a relationship that dares not speak its name, neither Roz nor Brightbill willing to admit that they are parent and child, even though everyone around them acknowledges this as what they are. The exquisite tension with these characters exists in the realm of what is almost said, between knowing what you want to say and having the courage to say it. This means that, when the narrative forces them apart physically and emotionally, it feels grounded in genuine conflict, and the mechanics of the plot are there in service of the film's core thematic intention. I cannot speak to this film from the perspective of a parent, but I can as the son of a mother, and I found great wisdom in the depiction of that relationship in 'The Wild Robot'. Likewise, I found just as potent a power in the film as a person who dreams of one day being a parent.

All of this thematic complexity is woven (as all good animated children's films should be) through a well-constructed plot, thrilling set pieces, memorable characters and a gorgeous aesthetic. Like 'Wish' and 'Puss in Boots: The Last Wish', 'The Wild Robot' pushes for a digitally-rendered watercolour aesthetic, but unlike those films, this is done with subtlety and care, never distracting or visually burdening the film. In fact, the greatest compliment I can give to the choice of animation style here is how quickly you accept and forget it. While Sanders' direction is as clever and careful as ever, his handling of the screenplay is not quite as even-handed. Most of the film is really beautifully pitched, but there are a few clunky moments where it doesn't quite know how to navigate some of the key plot points. That said, those moments are forgotten when it hits its most potent emotional beats or when the film is at its sharpest and funniest. Perhaps that's the most unexpected surprise of 'The Wild Robot', that with such a tender story at its heart, it's also outrageously, almost wickedly funny, and not just for adults. Kids will get just as much of a kick out of its morbid sense of humour, recognising the interplay between kill-or-be-killed in the animal kingdom. This film very wisely never talks down to its audience or really talks up to their parents. It has the confidence to know what it wants to say and the best way to say it, and never with any intention of being openly clever or showing off.

The power of 'The Wild Robot' though comes ultimately from the mother and son relationship at its core. At first, it's a relationship that dares not speak its name. The exquisite tension with these characters exists in the realm of what is almost said, between knowing what you want to say and having the courage to say it.

Where the film really soars is in its voice performances. Lupita Nyong'o is transcendent as Roz, giving one of the great voice performances in an American animated film. There's a great sense of play and irreverence balanced with moments of such heartfelt honesty as to take your breath away, and she is so careful to chart Roz's emotional journey through the course of the film. It's a real credit to Nyong'o that, even in the moments where Roz isn't speaking, you still feel the soul of her performance and how it informs the choices of the animators. This is an extraordinary symbiosis of voice performance and animation performance, each a perfect complement to the other.

The supporting cast is all uniformly excellent. Pedro Pascal gives a witty sharpness to Fink that belies a deep pain, and like Nyong'o, he is careful about when he shows his emotional weaknesses. Brightbill is perhaps the trickiest part in the film, having to balance that combination of teen vulnerability and rebelliousness, but Kit Connor does a wonderful job and is beautifully in step with Nyong'o's performance. There's also great work from legend Catherine O'Hara, icon Matt Berry, stately Bill Nighy and a wickedly cheery Stephanie Hsu, who brings real menace to the final act of the film. It's clear that everyone involved is on board with Sanders' vision for the film, and under his direction, give a uniformity to the voice performances we rarely see in major studio animated films these days.

It's tricky to think about where 'The Wild Robot' fits within the Dreamworks canon, mostly because it's still hard to get a grasp on what that canon is. It forgoes the pop culture bombast of the 'Shrek' films and their offshoots, but never quite reaches the emotional and cinematic heights of the 'How To Train Your Dragon' trilogy. 'The Wild Robot' feels cut from the same cloth as the latter, and while it never hits with the same impact as the 'Dragon' trilogy, it's the closest any Dreamworks film has come to reaching that bar. There's no question 'The Wild Robot' will be considered a quiet children's classic, maybe not one that breaks box office records or sells lots of merchandise, but it's a film we will still be talking about in decades to come, one whose reputation will only grow. If the film is successful and Dreamworks chooses to let Chris Sanders adapt the rest of Peter Brown's 'Wild Robot' trilogy, then we have something really special to look forward to.

'The Wild Robot' is a gorgeous, witty, tender and rousing film, a celebration of motherhood and an ode to that difficult moment where the relationship between a mother and their child reaches the point of separate paths. There are moments in this film almost too beautiful for words, where you can feel your heart catch in your throat, and even if it can be a touch too chaotic at times, it's worth it for those moments. This is a special film that deserves as big an audience as possible, and is easily the best U.S. animated film of the last few years.

FAST FACTS
RELEASE DATE: 19/09/2024
CAST: Pedro Pascal
Stephanie Hsu
Lupita Nyong'O
Mark Hamill
Catherine O'Hara
Bill Nighy
Ving Rhames
Matt Berry
Kit Connor
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Chris Sanders

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