THE WILD ROBOT

The narrative, the morals and the emotions of The Wild Robot borrow wholesale from other, similar movies but when it comes to the gorgeous, painterly visuals the picture is peerless.

Bursting out of the gate with a dynamism and narrative propulsion I have seldom seen in an animated film, The Wild Robot then settles into all too familiar tropes about personal growth and the energy of connection. Though this ultimately dilutes its power there is no denying that the film sets a new benchmark in terms of visual splendour in animation.

The story sees a service robot stranded on a remote island, where she becomes a foster parent for a newly orphaned gosling. The remainder of the animals remains sceptical about the ‘monster’ in their midst though and as the movie progresses, earning their trust becomes The Wild Robot’s main goal.

That might sound mightily derivative and to a certain extent it is. Brad Bird’s classic The Iron Giant, Pixar’s Wall-E, last year’s Migration and even B-Max’ antics from Disney’s Big Hero Six clearly were an inspiration for the team behind The Wild Robot. Yet the familiar nature of the tale doesn’t mean the formula doesn’t work. There is plenty of heart and humour in the film to keep you engaged throughout, helped by solid voice performances from the likes of Lupita Nyong’o, Pedro Pascal and Matt Berry.

Those qualities are not what will linger in your mind the most however. That honour goes to the gorgeous visuals. Each and every frame of the film wouldn’t be out of place in a museum, with the filmmakers choosing an impressionistic painterly style that not only fits the film to a tee but reaps enormous emotional dividends: from a forest covered in red fire to the lush rainbow spectrum emanating from the robot’s curious eyes.

So while The Wild Robot doesn’t quite strike the perfect balance between innovation and tradition, it might be the most stunningly beautiful animated film I have ever seen.

release: 2024

director: Chris Sanders

starring: Lupito Nyong'o, Pedro Pascal, Matt Berry, Stephanie Hsu