I don’t think that starring at this blank page for too long will somehow magically transform into a review. I’ve been putting off writing this review for a couple of days now because I loved the movie so much that I don’t know how to make it justice.
Sometime last year, Lupita Nyong’o was doing the usual press tour for her movie A Quiet Place: Day One (loved that one, too – it kind of tracks as I don’t think I’ve seen a movie of Lupita’s that I didn’t like) and she briefly said she also has an animation coming out later in the year, called The Wild Robot. I don’t think there was too much fuss around this animation, as I haven’t really heard too much about it. Randomly, about a couple of months ago I saw this middle grade book on the shelf of The Works called just like Lupita’s new movie, The Wild Robot. And I thought – can this be just a funny coincidence? Noup. The animation was actually based on that exact book and it was so exciting to find it without even looking for it or knowing about it! (The book has also been translated in Romania by Editura Arthur)
As the robot looked out at the island, it never even occurred to her that she might not belong there. As far as Roz knew, she was home.
The Wild Robot was written and illustrated by Peter Brown, and published in 2016. This was meant to soon become a series which has now been completed by another two volumes, The Wild Robot Escapes and The Wild Robot Protects. A picture book, set around the events of the first volume, is due to come out in June 2025, titled The Wild Robot on the Island.
Roz, our main character, is confused and lost when she finds herself on a remote island. The robot overrides the programming she has been built with, and develops a beautiful and touching connection with the surrounding wild life.
The story is simple, but at the same time it is the most complex, important, and extraordinary story I have seen in an animation in a very long time. Released in 2024 by DreamWorks, the movie was written and directed by Chris Sanders who is already planning the sequel (and I honestly could not be more excited!). The Wild Robot has been nominated for three Academy Awards (amongst many, many other nominations and wins in competitions around the world), including Best Animated Feature Film. It follows the story from the book exactly as Peter Brown imagined it, giving it a new dimension and all the emotions that take you more or less by surprise. I cried so many times during this movie that I lost count. It is absolutely beautiful! 💛 And where to add that the score and soundtrack are just as phenomenal as the movie itself!
The themes of The Wild Robot are vast and wide, touching on family, friendship, understanding, the future, the human race and how much damange we can do if we don’t make sure we use the technology and tools we have available for good and only good. How any invetion we can come up with, as humans, can be a weapon that will be used against us one way or another.
The Wild Robot, my new favourite animated movie. Wow, wow, wow! 💛
My mind is strong, but my body will not last forever. I want to survive as long as possible.
And to do that I will need the help of my friends.
The only differences I have noted while at the cinema, were: *spoiler*
· Roz doesn’t have the “task message” in the book
· The “return to factory” scene and plot is different than how it is presented in the book when Roz is being tracked down
· Roz finds another robot that she is talking to only in the movie
· In the book, the bears that attack Roz are two bear-brothers who get admonished by their mama-bear to leave Roz alone
Trailer: