Monday, July 07, 2025

Wild Assertions

The current entertainment pipeline often sees movies passing from theaters to streaming in a matter of weeks -- so even when you fall behind, you don't fall that far behind. But occasionally, we get a reminder of "the old days," when it would take many months for a movie to become watchable at home. I had almost forgotten that I wanted to watch the animated film The Wild Robot when it finally showed up on a streaming service.

The movie from DreamWorks Animation is based on the first of a series of children's books of the same title. In it, a robot abandoned in the wilderness comes online on an uninhabited island. In trying to fulfill her purpose to help, she befriends the local creatures, becomes mother to an orphaned goose... and ultimately attracts the attention of less-nurturing forces.

I enjoyed the movie overall, though I fear that praising it is going to come off as a series of backhanded compliments. For instance, one thing I really appreciated about The Wild Robot is how it doesn't try to push the boundaries of animation. These days, it seems like every animated movie is built around trying to pioneer some new way of rendering the most realistic animation you've ever seen. And while there is some clear effort put into the environments of this film (particularly in the extended forest fire sequence at the climax of the story), the character animation is refreshingly more simple.

I think this choice was perhaps forced on the production in at least two ways. One is that it's all based on a picture book. The movie is not trying to emulate the art directly -- it's not that basic. But I think those illustrations probably served as a reminder to streamline and simplify wherever possible. Secondly, I think all the talking animals of this story blocked off the possibility of too much hyper-realism -- at the same time that an abundance of pre-existing "talking animals movies" blocked off other ways you could have presented the characters. In order to chart its own course, distinct from Disney, Pixar, what-have-you, the movie needed to embrace a simpler animation style.

The story is sweet, with a few nice moments where the sentiment lands well. It is not the product of the well-oiled story machine that was Pixar in its heyday, nor Disney in its... though neither are Pixar and Disney themselves these days. The Wild Robot has some lovely things to say about found families, environmentalism, and more -- and that feels "good enough" even if it doesn't feel sharp enough to really tug on your emotions throughout.

The voice casting is the area where I can most unreservedly shine a spotlight. Lupita Nyong'o stars as the title character, deftly walking the tightrope of lending emotion to an ostensibly emotionless character. Surrounding her are Pedro Pascal, Kit Connor, Bill Nighy, Stephanie Hsu, Matt Berry, Ving Rhames, Mark Hamill, and Catherine O'Hara -- a deep bench of wonderful voices who lend pathos, comic relief, and texture to the world of the story.

Ultimately, I'd give The Wild Robot a B. That's not "can't miss" viewing, but I think it is good enough that just about anyone would find something to like in it, and find it worth the time.

No comments: