The Wild Robot

By Joshua Xiang

Chris Sanders described his approach to “The Wild Robot” as “a Monet painting in a Miyazaki forest.” This work is compelling because it can steal hearts from both young and old.

Directed by Chris Sanders, known for How to Train Your Dragon and Lilo & Stitch, the movie captures the gentle, emotionally resonant spirit of Peter Brown's novel. The story follows Roz, a robot stranded on a wild island, who learns to care for a gosling named Brightbill after accidentally harming its family. This journey explores themes of family and belonging, with Roz’s robotic logic humorously clashing with the natural challenges of parenting in the wild.

The humor in this movie is one of the best part of the movie, I seldom watched animations made mainly for kids that has such a great and mature sense of humor. The level of humor allows audiences of all ages to be captivated and feel included in their story. More importantly, the humor and melodrama are balanced just right, although it is much more focused on the dramatic side, but it is one of those that just warms your heart in a very cozy and touching way. And the musical score is simply fantastic, really what an inspired work by composer Kris Bowers, there were times when it even gave me goosebumps when it played in the big parts of the film.

The Wild Robot” is a film about mechanical beings and wild creatures, but it’s also a movie about parents and children. Roz learns the great difficulty of being a mother, discovering that sometimes the best way to care for a child is to discard the programming we thought would teach us how. Sometimes you just have to trust your heart. Sometimes you need to be wild.