“ANIMATION IS A MEDIUM, NOT A GENRE”
Guillermo del Toro put it extremely well when saying “Animation is a medium, not a genre.” It feels like animation can transcend genres and find new ways to tell stories. The Wild Robot does exactly that. This is a fucking masterpiece of a film. This is a story about motherhood, coming of age, survival, and being accepted by others despite the countless differences and norms. I couldn’t enjoy more telling people this is one of the best films I’ve ever seen and it’s about a robot raising a gosling with a fix helping out that everyone hates played by Pedro Pascal. This film hits so hard from an emotional standpoint and I was not prepared for the amount of water that would come from my eyes during this. It’s unbelievable that the combination of the dialogue, interactions, score, and expressions on animated characters (my god the expressions got to me) could make you feel so much. That’s why this is one of my favorite and the best animated films I have seen, because you connect directly from your heart to it and it keeps you there the entire film.
VOICE ACTING SHOULDN’T UNDERSELL THIS CAST
One of the coolest things about animation to me is being able to still use high profile actors and actresses and letting them become the characters on screen in a fun and free way without you having to associate their physical looks to the character being played. Not saying that in a bad way, just sometimes when you watch a film with a high profile actor, you see that actor for that actor even when they are portraying someone different from their other films. This truly helps to create unique personalities and characters in animation. With that being said, Kitt Connor, Lupita Nyong’o, Pedro Pascall, Catherine O’Hara, Mark Hamill, and Ving Rhames is an incredible ensemble for any film, and we got them in this incredible story portrayal of The Wild Robot.
Lupita, Kitt and Pedro I truly want to point out. Not just cause they are the focal characters of the film, but those three together being so different but coming together throughout the film is beautiful. Lupita and Kitt perfectly portray a mother and son relationship through good times, tension, leaving, and sacrifice. Done better than a lot of live action films. Fink becoming accepted and friendly with the other animals and showing such character growth by the end is a true arc that you love to see on a supporting character. I can’t wait to see how these three perform in a sequel to this film.
THE MEANING OF FAMILY
I couldn’t believe how incredible this film touched on a the meaning of family. You have lessons about being a mother, raising your children, how to handle friction within your family relationship, and telling one another how you truly feel because you may not get another chance to. This is the part of the film that broke me emotionally, in a good way. The way you have Brightbill knowing that Roz isnt his biological mother but not caring because she has been his mother since birth and has raised and cared for him like no other. Rewriting her programming to learn to become a mother, which I feel like so many mothers should be able to relate to, learning, failing, and succeeding on the way to raising their kids.
With friction in their relationship during the migration scene, Roz says “Thank you for taking care of my…. For taking care of Brightbill”. To her she was going to say her son, because that is what he is, but thinking she won’t see him again, she holds back her emotional impulse. Then as soon as she saw him leave and decides to stay for him to return, I knew she would go whatever lengths were possible to make all things right in their relationship. I know the film gets a lot of action infused in the third act, but I think it works because it shows the levels she will go to in order to protect and be with Brightbill. Brightbill doing his part to go after her on the ship to say the words he has wanted to say to her and finally call her mom again after the issues they had prior to the migration was one of the best moments I’ve been able to witness in a theatre. It was so heartwarming and sweet I wanted to rerun that scene over and over again. At that point you felt their family dynamic was repaired.
A SENSE OF BELONGING
We shouldn’t undersell how this movie shows no matter your differences (predator and prey even), there is a space for all to get along and feel like a community. Not only does Brightbill eventually feel like he belongs with his own species, but Roz feels like she is no longer seen as the monster after saving everyone, and Fink finds friendship in everyone after the events of the film. For someone who was hated and pushed away by every other animal, this was a huge moment in the film because although Roz would be gone, Fink finally has friends and support for him. It is a long journey for Fink, and having a sense of belonging is prevalent in this film but it shines extremely well in Fink’s story. Pedro Pascal does an amazing job using his voice to sculpt this character out and be demanding or sarcastic at times, but also getting soft with his voice in serious moments. It really adds a lot to the film having this element in there amongst everything.
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
I went into this expecting a cute fun animation movie. It was that and a million things more. I was blown away. The way the animation was able to portray certain gestures and expressions was exactly why we should flock to our screens to watch a movie of this quality. A film that has something to say about family, belonging, leaving home, relationships, friendships, community, wisdom, learning, the list goes on and on. I am beyond excited for what the sequel has in store for us. The final scene as well where Brightbill is worried that Roz won’t recognize him, but she does,m. Her voice changes, she instantly knows him and all the memories and feelings remained with her. I have watched so many of these scenes over and over. I can’t get enough of this film and if you want a heartwarming tear jerker with some fun humor and incredible animation and cast. Throw this on and indulge!
The Cinema Speakeasy Theatre Room 
Leave a comment