What a lovely film! Really, The Wild Robot is lovely in just about every way. The breaks between acts are a little clunky, but once the film gets over those speed bumps, everything becomes gracious and beautiful again. Delightful!
Based on a three-book series by Peter Brown, The Wild Robot is about a robot who finds herself alone in the wilderness. Following her programming, she seeks someone to serve. She finds woodland creatures who view her as the situational oddity she is. Eventually she makes friends. Complications arise. Kindness prevails.
Kindness is at the heart of this film, kindness and a gentle metaphor about motherhood. The Wild Robot weaves these two themes together gracefully, though they maintain their individuality as well. The film doesn’t equate kindness with motherliness, thankfully, but it does show how mothering kindness fosters other acts of kindness. Train up a child (or a gosling) the way he should go, you know? And kindness isn’t just being nice in The Wild Robot; it’s the bedrock of bravery as well. We’re used to seeing courage in realm of combat. The Wild Robot puts courage at the center of care.
Alongside it’s beautiful themes, The Wild Robot is just beautiful to look at. There’s a painterly quality to the CGI animation. It’s not wild like the comic book-inspired animated movies we’ve seen recently (spider-guys, teenage turtles). Those films’ styles are true to their source material and their narrative purposes. The Wild Robot is true to its source and purpose as well. This film about stalwart care exhibits the same. Again – lovely.
There are two more books in Peter Brown’s series. I hope we see more of this wild robot’s beautiful life.
What a lovely film! Really, The Wild Robot is lovely in just about every way. The breaks between acts are a little clunky, but once the film gets over those speed bumps, everything becomes gracious and beautiful again. Delightful!
Based on a three-book series by Peter Brown, The Wild Robot is about a robot who finds herself alone in the wilderness. Following her programming, she seeks someone to serve. She finds woodland creatures who view her as the situational oddity she is. Eventually she makes friends. Complications arise. Kindness prevails.
Kindness is at the heart of this film, kindness and a gentle metaphor about motherhood. The Wild Robot weaves these two themes together gracefully, though they maintain their individuality as well. The film doesn’t equate kindness with motherliness, thankfully, but it does show how mothering kindness fosters other acts of kindness. Train up a child (or a gosling) the way he should go, you know? And kindness isn’t just being nice in The Wild Robot; it’s the bedrock of bravery as well. We’re used to seeing courage in realm of combat. The Wild Robot puts courage at the center of care.
Alongside it’s beautiful themes, The Wild Robot is just beautiful to look at. There’s a painterly quality to the CGI animation. It’s not wild like the comic book-inspired animated movies we’ve seen recently (spider-guys, teenage turtles). Those films’ styles are true to their source material and their narrative purposes. The Wild Robot is true to its source and purpose as well. This film about stalwart care exhibits the same. Again – lovely.
There are two more books in Peter Brown’s series. I hope we see more of this wild robot’s beautiful life.
Elijah Davidson is Co-Director of Brehm Film and Senior Film Critic. Subscribe to Come & See, his weekly newsletter that guides you through the greatest films ever made, and find more of his work at elijahdavidson.com.
Watching Megalopolis is like passing from surprise to surprise, some delightful, others confounding, but always interesting.
