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‘The Wild Robot’ is Straight-Up Gorgeous
Chris Sanders’ film adaptation is a stunning visual tale that provokes thoughts, laughs, and tears alike.
I’m picky about seeing animated films. (No idea why, I grew up inhaling them in the ‘90s.) When one of them strikes me as a must-see, I make the time for it — and I’m rarely disappointed. I’m thinking back to Pixar’s Soul, which blew me away enough that I revisit it regularly, especially when I feel I’m lacking perspective.
The Wild Robot comes to us from DreamWorks, and it’s the final film to be animated entirely in-house there. (Outsourcing strikes again.) Writer-director Chris Sanders adapted it from Peter Brown’s 2016 children’s book of the same name, which might explain why it felt like a different kind of animated story to me from the jump. (Watch the trailer here.)
It’s tough to make an A-to-B-to-C tale for kids that also hits a ton of philosophical notes for adults: the search for purpose, nature vs. nurture, what constitutes love (and from whom). The creators of The Wild Robot wisely lean into the fact that kids are way more perceptive — and adults more starved for simplicity — than people think.
What I’m trying to tell you is to bring tissues to the theater.
