Director Chris Sanders’ newest animated feature, “The Wild Robot,” explores the collision between technology and nature. Based on the book by Peter Brown, the movie is considered one of the best family films this year with its touching plot and remarkable visuals. Despite its PG rating, “The Wild Robot” isn’t afraid to dig down into its emotional core and impart happy and sad lessons to its audience.
“The Wild Robot” follows the story of Roz, a robot who is shipwrecked on a deserted island. Despite being built to complete tasks, Roz has nobody to order her around in a forest full of animals and must learn to adapt. Slowly, she builds relationships with the native critters when, following a sudden accident, she develops a parental bond with an orphaned gosling. The film tracks the unlikely relationship between the robot, the gosling and their fox friend, Fink, as the three try to fit in a world not designed for them.
The project is a central creative pivot for DreamWorks, which was franchise- and sequel-based for decades. In the past few years, they have released both “Kung Fu Panda 4” and several new “Trolls” movies. While the projects were highly anticipated, they did nothing new in either plot or style. On the other hand, “The Wild Robot” is a breath of fresh air that has attracted audiences of all ages. With a story that children can grasp and adults can relate to, the film has already earned $148.5 million in one month. From the critically acclaimed “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” to “How to Train your Dragon: The Hidden World,” DreamWorks has started to push its animation style in a new direction it will hopefully continue to pursue.
In addition to its heartfelt story, “The Wild Robot” features a unique, painterly animation style. Rather than striving to look as lifelike as possible, the film uses visuals marked by watercolor, brush strokes and pastels, allowing it to transcend the confines of realism. As he was adapting a book with a deep emotional story, Sanders wanted to represent its complex ideas through an equally sophisticated art style; for instance, animators passed over photo-realistically rendered animal furs and feathers for soft, organic color schemes and details. Since software within the animation industry has moved towards replicating real-world physics and designs, Sanders and DreamWorks had to “break” and rebuild their tools to give animators direct control. In the end, the film ended up looking beautiful and more realistic than the creators expected. The movie’s creative style made the storyline even more emotionally immersive, making the difficult process worth every minute spent.
“The Wild Robot,” along with other recent ground-breaking animated films, shows audiences the possibilities of animation enabled by technological advancement. The film is currently playing in theaters nationwide and streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
