Review: ‘The Wild Robot’ is a lyrical ode to planetary love and parenthood

A heartfelt, futuristic fable of a helper android that washed up on the shores of an island where it must adapt to its environment and bond with animal inhabitants, “The Wild Robot” is easily the best animated film of the year — and perhaps the finest 2024 movie overall.

This fall, no other cinematic experience will transport you to such an immersive realm where humanity’s stewardship of our planet, loving parenthood, and harmony with nature take center stage. The experience is only enhanced by watching the film in the darkness of a movie theater, surrounded by fellow Earthlings.

Adapted from author Peter Brown’s 2016 children’s book of the same name, Universal Pictures and DreamWorks Animation’s “The Wild Robot” offers some of the most exquisite character designs and painterly backgrounds ever seen in the art of animation, harkening back to the Golden Era of Disney decades ago. Families have been enjoying these beloved “The Wild Robot” books for years and few kids’ bookshelves are without a well-worn copy.

This lush and lyrical project was directed by Chris Sanders with a light and confident touch, telling a beautiful story of Rozzum 7134, aka “Roz,” a Universal Dynamics robot that was shipwrecked in a typhoon and cast onto a wild unfamiliar location. After an unfortunate accident that unintentionally wipes out a nesting goose and her eggs, Roz discovers a survivor egg and takes it upon herself to rescue this orphaned gosling  that she names Brightbill. Roz then completes a series of tasks that enable Brightbill to migrate from its summer nesting grounds come fall.

Sanders is a seasoned animation luminary whose work includes “Lilo & Stitch,” “How to Train Your Dragon” and “The Croods,” and the full spectrum of his talent is on display in this lavish production. Incidentally, Rozzum takes its model name from Czech author Karel Čapek’s 1921 play titled “Rossum’s Universal Robots” (R.U.R.), which is recognized as the first recorded use of the word “robot.”

Along the way, this intelligent stranded robot learns to communicate with the forest’s inhabitants, including a family of possums, foxes, otters, bears, raccoons, deer, geese and porcupines. Roz begins to acquire additional depths of “feeling” with the island’s animals while raising the baby goose and teaching lessons of cooperation to ensure survival as Universal Dynamics mounts retrieval operations.

If “The Wild Robot” doesn’t make you the slightest bit misty as the narrative unfolds, you might want to check your pulse because Sanders layers each seasonal scene with such care and attention, never milking the emotions and allowing the story to unfold organically via its compelling compositions and intimate character interactions.

Adding to the breathtaking visuals expertly rendered by the skilled craftsmen at DreamWorks Animation is a poignant score by composer Kris Bowers. The project’s eclectic vocal cast includes Lupita Nyong’o (Roz), Kit Connor (Brightbill), Pedro Pascal (Fink), Bill Nighy (Longneck), Catherine O’Hara (Pinktail), Mark Hamill (Thorn), Ving Rhames (Thunderbolt) and Stephanie Hsu (Vontra).

Overriding her coded programming to unlock maternal instincts normally reserved for living beings, Roz tutors young Brightbill in eating, swimming and flying lessons to prepare him for the upcoming great migration. The story is a touching reminder of the importance of parenting, ecological stewardship, familial bonds and the necessary connections we all share with the planet, and with each other.

Sweeping impressionistic vistas, witty humor that never feels forced and well-paced editing help carry the plot forward to an emotional two-hanky conclusion that rewards its audience with a rare authenticity and tender sincerity.

Our compliments to production designer Raymond Zibach and head of story Heidi Jo Gilbert, who helped hone this modern masterpiece with Sanders, and a result, offers us a resonant CG-animated marvel that will no doubt be enjoyed by future generations in the same breath as timeless classics such as “Fantasia,” “Pinocchio,” “Bambi,” “Sleeping Beauty,” Hayao Miyazaki’s anime gems and the “The Iron Giant.”

“The Wild Robot” is currently screening in theaters.