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| Lupita Nyong'o in "The Wild Robot" Photo Credit: RottenTomatoes.com |
One of many things that movies have taught us over the years, especially those that are animated, is that characters made of wires and machinery can be just as warm and heartfelt as those made of flesh and blood. A couple of the finest cases in this matter are Brad Bird’s “The Iron Giant” and Andrew Stanton’s “WALL-E.” Through these titular characters, we saw how they interacted with our world and expressed feelings that are all too human, and in the process, brought forth stories that resonated because of how deep their emotions ran.
Writer-director Chris Sanders now adds his stamp to this type of narrative with “The Wild Robot,” an adaptation of the first book in author-illustrator Peter Brown’s trilogy of children’s books. Through superb voice performances, dazzling animation, and an approach that grasps the ethos of the source material, this is a movie that’ll capture your imagination.
ROZZUM unit 7134, or “Roz” (Lupita Nyong’o) is a robot who’s shipwrecked on a deserted island. As she spends more time there and adapts to her new environment, she’ll soon become a mother to an orphaned goose, Brightbill (Kit Connor).
Nyong’o gives a soulful voice performance as Roz, bringing to life a character who becomes much more than she ever expected, finding inside herself someone who’s capable of feelings that were once beyond her programming. As her character begins her journey, Nyong’o exhibits the humor of Roz trying to understand what’s foreign to her, exploring her surroundings and understanding how the wildlife operates. When the film moves forward, Nyong’o makes a smooth shift from her strictly robotic cadences to that of a loving parent who tries to comprehend having emotions, and then implements them towards her newfound family. This vocal performance has a warmth to it that has you know, even if circumstances get tough for the characters, Roz will be there to protect her friends and family, and the strength of Nyong’o’s work has you hang onto every hopeful word she speaks.
Connor has strong emotional chemistry with Nyong’o, portraying someone who feels ostracized from everyone and trying to come into his own. The connection that they build is something that shows the affection they have for each other, but also the tension in knowing that they don’t quite have the parent-child bond that the other animals have. The film’s best drama comes from Connor and Nyong’o bonding and trying to understand each other, and it’s a connection that, as it goes on, does well in showing how each of them will move forward in their separate journeys.
Alongside Nyong’o and Connor are some fine supporting performances from Pedro Pascal, voicing a sly fox who advises Roz about the ins and outs of the animal kingdom; Catherine O’Hara, who turns in some very funny work as an opossum who teaches Roz about motherhood; and Bill Nighy as a goose who tries to help Brightbill through his first migration from home. Through their work, we not only get some laughs, but also moments of warmth as they interact with Roz and help her come to terms with the new emotions that she’s experiencing.
The screenplay by Sanders crafts a faithful adaptation of Brown’s bestselling book that makes the characters as lovable as they are on the page. We get a sense of who they are as Sanders takes his time in setting up Roz’s journey of motherhood, having a lot of the first third of the movie show her getting to know the landscape and inhabitants of the island and how she’s going to navigate it all with her adopted son. This makes way for the rest of the narrative to show the deeper aspects of these characters, displaying a strong focus on the challenges that Roz and the other animals face, both within their own groups and as a whole community. In relation to this, Sanders doesn’t shy away from the book’s somewhat darker edges that involve animal nature and what it takes to survive, adding a layer to these characters as they go up against several threats.
Brown’s books include terrific black-and-white illustrations, and Sanders presents them through stunning animation that places 3D characters against hand-painted backdrops, allowing for a distinct visual style that provokes the feeling of seeing something wondrous. The breathtaking images match the strong emotions of the story, immersing you in a lush, colorful world that displays the beauty and danger that encompasses nature, and this provides a grandness to the scenery that has us see the world with the same sense of wonder as Roz. Backing up Sanders’ vibrant visuals is a powerful score from Kris Bowers that captures the dramatic highs of the characters and their perilous, yet moving adventures.
Given how Sanders and his team were able to capture the essence of Brown’s work, they prove to be a perfect match to the trilogy if they choose to adapt the other two books, “The Wild Robot Escapes” and “The Wild Robot Protects.” As a robot getting to know the world, there’s still much for Roz to learn, and much for audiences to learn about her.
Grade: A
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