Lupita Nyong’o lends her voice to a heartwarming animated tale about love and acceptance.
By James Verniere/Boston Movie News
Dreamworks Animation, which is now owned by Universal Pictures, is best known for the “Shrek,” “How to Train Your Dragon” and “Kung Fu Panda” franchises. Once upon a time, the company released conventional, computer-generated, and stop-motion films. For now, it dabbles only in computer-generated fare. Chris Sanders, the director and co-writer of the pleasant enough, new DA release “The Wild Robot,” which is based on the popular book series by Peter Brown, previously directed (or co-directed) the live-action film “The Call of the Wild” (2020), mixing real actors with CGI animals; and the computer-generated animated efforts “The Croods” (2013), “How to Train Your Dragon” (2010) and the delightful “Lilo & Stitch” (2002).
“The Wild Robot” is a “Robinson Crusoe” tale about the robot Rozzum 7134 aka Roz (Lupita Nyong’o) manufactured by, ahem, Universal Dynamics. Roz, who is female, is shipwrecked on a planet and finds herself on an island surrounded by Earth-like animals such as a sly and amusingly frank red fox named Fink (Pedro Pascal), the vulnerable gosling co-protagonist Brightbill (Kit Connor), wise elder goose Longneck (Bill Nighy), a raptor named Thunderbolt (Ving Rhames), a lovably realistic opossum mother named Pinktail (chronic scene-stealer Catherine O’Hara of the current hit “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice”), a grumpy beaver with an inexplicable British accent named Paddler (Englishman Matt Berry) and enormous grizzly bear Thorn (Mark Hamill). Cue: “Circle of Life.”
At first, Roz struggles to communicate with the animals, who believe she is a “monster” and resolve to kill her. Roz only has programs to help her adjust to her surroundings. As far as screen robots such as the Robotrix of “Metropolis” (1927) and the non-speaking robo-compactor of the Pixar delight “WALL-E” (2008) go, Roz is not much to look at. Visually, she is all spheres and cones. Her expressionless face has two large, perfectly round, glass-like “eyes.” Roz tries to communicate, if not “phone home” a la “E.T.” (1982), with her makers. But she usually fails. In the meantime, Roz finds herself “imprinted” by a hatchling goose and forced to teach the creature how to eat, swim, and fly. In short, this artificial intelligence is forced into the role of the helpless gosling’s mother.
The “aw” factor in this arrangement left me a bit underwhelmed, although the beauty of the film’s animation is enough to disarm criticism of its sentimentality. Sanders, who is currently credited as a writer and the “voice of” Stitch in a 2025 live-action reboot of his biggest hit “Lilo & Stitch,” appears to be making a somewhat bland, less-inspired version of Pixar’s “WALL-E” here.
As the plot progresses, Roz develops more compassion, a more profound understanding of the interplay of the inhabitants and their surroundings, and even maternal love. In one of the film’s most amusing scenes, Fink tries to explain facts of life to Roz and Brightbill while trying to eat the hatchling. In opening scenes, Roz mimics a tiny crab to avoid being swept away by a giant wave about to crash. Later, Roz will become a futuristic Noah, collecting the animals of the island her well-built lair to save them from a big freeze. Nyong’o’s voice is almost unrecognizable at first. It’s only when Roz begins to become “humanized” that we hear the actor we know from “12 Years a Slave” (2013), “Us” (2019) and “Black Panther” (2018). Nyong’o’s voice work is the film’s most delightful music.
Although “The Wild Robot” is a form of science-fiction, complete with giant space cruisers, visually, it often recalls lush landscape paintings, sometimes reminiscent of Maxfield Parrish. In a nod to climate change, a wildfire threatens the island’s forest. Country music singer Maren Morris performs the typically uplifting theme song “Kiss the Sky” (even the title is recycled) over an emotional sequence in the film. Other music is courtesy of award-winning composer Kris Bowers (Netflix’s “Bridgerton”). Shall I go ahead and say it? For all its virtues, “The Wild Robot” is a bit tame.
‘The Wild Robot’
Rating: PG for action/peril and thematic elements.
Cast: Lupita Nyong’o, Pedro Pascal, Mark Hamill.
Director: Chris Sanders
Writer: Sanders, Peter Brown.
Running time: 101 minutes
Where to Watch: AMC Boston Common, AMC Causeway, Alamo Drafthouse Seaport, Coolidge Corner, and other suburban theaters.
Grade: B
Boston Movie News 
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