ROZZUM number 7134 falls out of transport in the middle of a storm and crashes in the middle of nowhere. With the optimism only artificial intelligence can have, it sets out to complete its primary task—finding a client who will give it new missions, thereby making it useful. Of course, nothing goes according to protocol, as there are no humans around, only wilderness and its inhabitants.
ROZZUM doesn’t give up, though. By chance, a gosling falls into its mechanical arms and, as goslings do, it bonds with the first being it sees after hatching. The robot must quickly learn something it isn’t programmed for - improvisation, leading to irreversible changes in its subsystems.
And that’s just the first half hour of "The Wild Robot"! I won’t spoil the fun of discovering the layers of this story for you, because DreamWorks has really grabbed a lot of birds by their tails here. Only a few slipped through their fingers, and in my opinion, "The Wild Robot" deserves to be called the best animation of 2024. It’s more like Pixar’s works than any other DreamWorks animation.
"The Wild Robot" Hits Soft Spots
DreamWorks has always been known as a studio specializing in funny characters in amusing situations. There’s always a deeper layer, but the surface is colorful ("Madagascar"), cheerful ("Kung Fu Panda"), and full of fart jokes ("Shrek"), which effectively covers up the deeper meaning. There’s little artistic ambition in it, but plenty of pure entertainment. And there’s nothing wrong with that—even the grumpiest person has fun watching DreamWorks movies. But Pixar films were always the ones people went to for something deeper, to reflect on the struggles of teens ("Inside Out"), otherness ("Luca"), or following your heart ("Coco"). Quite unexpectedly, DreamWorks has joined this trend with "The Wild Robot."
The film is marketed as for children, but... You can definitely take your kids (greetings to my nine-year-old and his friend) and they’ll enjoy it. But adults will take much, much more from "The Wild Robot" into their hearts. For children, the story is quite superficial - a gosling has to learn everything, the robot helps, then the bad robots come, the animals fight, and happiness ensues. It sounds weak, especially the ending, which is a bit rushed and doesn’t make much sense. But there’s another layer that hits parents right in the soft spot. If you go with your kids to see "The Wild Robot", make sure to bring tissues, because this movie doesn’t spare parents.
Every scene is perfectly crafted. From the first moments when ROZ has no instructions on how to handle the little thing that landed in her life, to the subsequent scenes where she goes above and beyond, breaks down, improvises, and eventually loves this growing creature, which doesn’t immediately reciprocate the gratitude for all her efforts. When she finally lets it go and the round robot’s suffering is so palpable, there wasn’t a dry eye among the adults in the theater. Every doubt you’ve ever had about your own children, all your fears, hopes, sacrifices—you’ll see them all in ROZ. DreamWorks has never made an animation like this before; in the studio’s entire portfolio, there’s no other "cartoon" that’s more suited for adults than "The Wild Robot".
In addition to the emotional weight (I really struggled to hold back sobs halfway through the movie, and that rarely happens with "children’s movies" - usually, it’s just mild sniffling), "The Wild Robot" is also visually stunning. The animators opted for a mixed style that has recently become more popular, where the background looks like a painted animated picture, while the characters have a distinctive, different touch - they look painted but not overly realistic or plastic. DreamWorks already experimented with this style in the fantastic "Puss in Boots," which far outpaced earlier "Shrek" films and "regular" animations. It’s not quite on the wild, artistic level of the animated "Spider-Man," but it’s much closer to that than to all of the studio’s previous films. And it’s a perfect choice, as you can admire not only how many hairs were animated on a character to make it look "almost" real but also what’s happening in the background, how beautiful it is, how every animal, every frame, every movement is meticulously crafted. "The Wild Robot" is a film worth seeing more than once, just to calmly appreciate everything going on visually - the lighting, the movement of wings, the sparkle of water, the detail of a pine branch. Of course, that’s if you can see all this richness through your tears, because it won’t be easy.
The music is composed by Kris Bowers, one of the very young (born in '89) creators who will undoubtedly be making waves in the coming years. In "The Wild Robot," there’s a lot of freedom, a lot of jazz, which Bowers is well-versed in, and beautifully integrated electronic elements in the orchestra. It’s a wonderful piece of music that works perfectly with different scenes. But since this is a kids' movie, there are also songs. One of them will likely get an Oscar nomination in two and a half months. I write this with some skepticism because they aren’t songs on par with "The Lion King" or "Pocahontas" - but this isn’t Disney, for whom songs are the main event. DreamWorks did a great job with the beautiful music here, and the songs... well, let’s skip over them; they weren’t needed at all.
"The Wild Robot" isn’t without flaws. The concept, where nature, wild and brutal from a human perspective, which ROZ experiences firsthand on her metal plates and electronic circuits, doesn’t suddenly love unconditionally because it’s more efficient that way. "I’ll hunt you again tomorrow," jokes one of the side characters at the end of the movie—and an adult viewer knows it’s not really a joke, despite the pious hopes of the animation creators. This issue was also touched upon in "Madagascar," but even there, they only skimmed the surface, portraying all the furry animals as a beautiful community living in harmony and peace. Harmony, maybe, but peace? That’s not possible, because some will always be prey, and some will always be predators. No ROZ can change that.
The film also unravels a bit towards the end, where ROZ still needs closure, not just her little protégé. Too much, too fast, too sharp - while this part especially appealed to the younger male audience ("the best part was the fighting robots"), "The Wild Robot" wouldn’t have lost anything if this final battle hadn’t happened at all. Especially since the film itself hints earlier [mild spoilers ahead] that ROZ’s departure likely won’t change anything, as the gosling will need to be studied too... Five minutes later, it turns out, oh, never mind, everything’s fine, everyone’s happy. No, you just said something different a moment ago.
Despite these flaws that only show up towards the end of the film, I’m pleased with the direction DreamWorks has taken. Much of the credit goes to director and screenwriter Chris Sanders. He’s responsible for "Lilo & Stitch," an animation beloved by certain circles, as well as "How to Train Your Dragon" and "The Croods." But Sanders also worked on the biggest and most important Disney classics ("The Lion King," "Mulan," "Aladdin"), and the breath of those animations is evident in "The Wild Robot." It’s a beautiful story about unconditional parental love that will resonate with every parent and tug at those delicate strings we try to hide deep within ourselves. It’s a bit of a story about all of us because each of us is a little like ROZ. In short—go see "The Wild Robot," adults, to watch a movie about yourselves. Take your kids along; they won’t be bored. And in the dark cinema, no one will see you crying, so no one will notice.
