REVIEW: ‘Wild Robot’ Shows Humans How to be Civilized

By ASHLEY WORLEY/Staff Writer

The current culture, oversaturated with angry Facebook posts and combative internet rants, blares bad news from all sides. Political conflict, violence, division – plus dozens of gritty films and TV shows about it all. It’s so common that true-crime stories are now considered entertainment rather than tragedies.

If you judged by our media, you might think it’s a dog-eat-dog world out there. You might think empathy, connection, and unity are rare commodities. And times being what they are, a team of artists backed by DreamWorks Animation decided to make a movie about it.

Or rather, about a robot.

Based on the bestselling 2016 novel of the same name by Peter Brown, “The Wild Robot” introduces us to ROZZUM unit 7134 – Roz, for short – as she’s sent down to an untouched island. She boots up and bursts to life in an explosion of color and sound.

“A ROZZUM always completes its task!” she chirps. Then, seeking to fulfill her purpose, she searches the island for anyone in need of assistance.

Oddly, there are no humans to be found. Just deer, porcupines, moose, opossums, squirrels, and every other living thing – none of whom she can understand.

But Roz learns.

She sits quietly in a clearing for days, listening. The animals’ chatter gradually turns into words, phrases, and sentences. When she tries once more to assist, she finds out the wildlife despise and fear her. She doesn’t understand that the island is dangerous, at first.

But Roz learns.

The art style of the animated film brings the island to life like a watercolor painting in motion. It’s soft, textured, colorful and a striking contrast to the way the island’s inhabitants behave. The animals scrap for survival in often comical, but violent sequences. Raccoons try to tear Roz apart, piece by piece. Minutes later, a bear charges and sends her tumbling down a steep hill.

She crash-lands on a nest. There’s a crushed cluster of broken eggs, and a broken bird, beneath her. Having essentially been born yesterday, Roz doesn’t understand what she’s done. She especially doesn’t understand what she’s meant to do with the surviving egg, who hatches into a curious, clumsy, clingy gosling.

But Roz learns.

With writer and director Chris Sanders at the helm (the mind behind relationship-oriented films like “How to Train Your Dragon,” “Lilo and Stitch” and “The Croods”), Roz’s motherhood moves to the forefront of the film. Her journey goes hand in hand with a prominent theme of change.

What starts as a “crushing obligation” – after all, a ROZZUM always completes its task – evolves into a connection that positively impacts the world around her. “Sometimes, to survive,” Roz realizes, “we must become more than we were programmed to be.”

“The Wild Robot” depicts a world as beautiful as it is broken, much like our own. There’s love and hatred, life and death, equally prevalent in the story. But at the end of the day, there’s hope. Something we could all use a bit more of.