Movie Review: DreamWorks The Wild Robot. A New Classic?

While DreamWorks animation brought us the direct-to-streaming cinematic marvel Orion and the Dark, their big theatrical film for this year is The Wild Robot, directed by former Disney director Chris Sanders. After helping to bring to life other franchises like Lilo & Stitch, How To Train Your Dragon, and The Croods, Sanders once again tugs at the heartstrings of audience members with a film adaptation of the 2016 children’s book by Peter Brown.

Here is ‘The Wild Robot’ Trailer.

When the first trailer was revealed, many thought that it would be the studio’s attempt at Wall-E or The Iron Giant. However, there is more of a Studio Ghibli vibe from the overall narrative, and not just because the main character looks like one of the robots from Castle in the Sky.

So, is “The Wild Robot” one of DreamWorks’ emotional gut-punching movies? Or is it more of the eye candy that will keep your kid(s) quest for two hours? Let’s find out.




“The Wild Robot” follows a robot named Roz (Lupita Nyong’o) who washes up on an unknown island following a storm. After awakening, she attempts to communicate with the island’s wildlife but is unsuccessful until she is able to learn their language through observation. After nearly dying multiple times, she accidentally falls into a bird’s nest, destroying it, except for one little egg. 

Fascinated by the egg, Roz looks after it until it hatches. The little gosling imprints onto Roz and is talked into raising the little fella in order to learn to fly before the next winter. She also befriends a fox named Fink (Pedro Pascal) in helping to raise the baby goose. Eventually, Roz becomes less of a machine and more of a caring mother, which goes against her original programming and thus creates a conflict within her.



The film is the usual tale about a group of misfits forming a family. However, instead of feeling cliché, you really do feel for the characters as the story goes on. Much of the film’s strength is in the performances of the characters. In addition to Nyong’o and Pascal, we have the voices of Kit Conner, Catherine O’Hara, Bill Nighy, Mark Hamill, and Ving Rhames. 

Roz is the key focus of the story, and as we go on, we begin to relate to her more and more as she starts to become more human. Putting herself in danger for the lives of others on multiple occasions makes her honestly one of the best “mother” characters DreamWorks has ever had.

Much of what makes Roz a unique character is the way she is able to move and adapt her body to her surroundings. She is a learning machine, and her ability to move, come apart, and reassemble herself is very visually creative. 

It should be noted that, at least in the beginning, multiple dark jokes relating to animal deaths are used to emphasize the dangers of nature. However, some of these jokes may be a bit too dark for those who are sensitive to animal cruelty. Again, it is mostly during the beginning, but it goes really dark in certain areas.



OVERALL RATING: 8/10

Aside from the rather unnecessary dark humor near the beginning, this is a wonderful film about family and motherhood. You don’t have to be blood to be family. Sticking together and looking out for one another, even at your own expense, is what you do when you love someone else. It is a very visually pleasing and emotional experience that is sure to bring a tear to some and entertain most.

What did you think of the movie? Is it another instant classic from the studio? Or was it not your thing? Let us know your thoughts.