Movie review: ‘The Wild Robot,’ the best animated film of the year
Breathtaking to watch, “The Wild Robot” is easily the best animated film of the year and may even enter the ranks of one of the best DreamWorks films of all time.
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Incredible visuals, ruthless humor
Going into “The Wild Robot,” I had extremely high hopes. Right from the first trailer, I was hooked — the visuals looked amazing, and the story elements shown made me feel like I needed to cry. So, when it premiered at TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) and received incredibly high praise, I was not surprised. Nor was I surprised at how hard I fell in love while watching the film for myself.
It is established early on in “The Wild Robot” how breathtaking the visuals are. As mentioned in previous reviews, the new layered animation style that DreamWorks is exploring can make for some incredible landscape shots. It works extremely well for a film that primarily takes place in the wilderness. I also appreciate how the animals in the film (there are a lot) have a distinct look from other animated films, including other DreamWorks movies.
I also really appreciate the comedy in “The Wild Robot.” It’s ruthless. A lot of the humor is situational and, as DreamWorks always does, the comedy toes the line between adult comedy and kid comedy.
The Chris Sanders factor
When you think of animated films about an animal (of sorts) and how they became friends with a being that isn’t of the same species, what do you think of? My head goes to two of my favorite animated films of all time: “Lilo & Stitch” and “How to Train Your Dragon.”
While doing my research after seeing “The Wild Robot,” I realized that those two movies happen to share the same writer/director, Chris Sanders. Funny enough, Sanders is the writer/director of “The Wild Robot,” as well. So in a few years when the world needs another heartwarming story of different species coming together, I think we know the guy to call. He seems to knock it out of the park every time.
‘The Wild Robot’ final thoughts and score
“The Wild Robot” is a beautiful story of trying to scramble to learn how to be a parent and what it means to love. The film doesn’t hesitate to make you laugh and quickly turns around to make you sob uncontrollably (the second half of the film doesn’t hold back). This is a perfect film to bring the whole family to because everyone will undoubtedly enjoy it.
SCORE: 4.5/5
“The Wild Robot” is rated PG and is in theaters Sept. 27, 2024! There are no post-credit scenes.
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