The Wild Robot Parent Guide

ROZZUM 7134, or “Roz” (Lupita Nyong’o), is an advanced robot who accidentally washes up on an uninhabited island. With no humans around to give her tasks, Roz slowly adapts to her harsh surroundings and the animal inhabitants. After a tragic accident, Roz finds herself caring for an orphaned gosling, a task for which she has no programming. With the help of a wily fox, Fink (Pedro Pascal), and the wise words of a mother possum (Catherine O’Hara), Roz learns to become more than her programming, as do the animals around her.

The Wild Robot is a rare film that makes me say something I famously never say: I wish it was longer. It’s obvious that the movie used to be longer, and the production team was forced to cut it down. There are a few story beats that don’t quite flow, and a glaringly conspicuous scene transition that doesn’t quite make sense. I understand the rationale for keeping children’s media on the short side, but this film would have been near perfect with another 10 to 20 more minutes to breathe. Here’s hoping that there’s an extended cut when this film comes to a streaming platform.

Now that my one complaint is out of the way, let’s focus on the movie’s abundant positives. First and foremost, The Wild Robot is one of the most beautifully animated films I’ve seen in a long time. The cinematography and animation exquisitely combine to create rich, colorful scenery and sequences. Roz doesn’t have a mouth or human eyes, but the animators are able to capture her emotions and internal world perfectly. The score by Kris Bower works seamlessly with the visuals to create an emotionally resonant, powerful experience. The main characters are richly developed and superbly acted, as are the side characters. Even those with very little screen time or dialogue feel lived in and developed. And the writers didn’t forget to pen a fabulous story to showcase those characters and their world.

There are a few themes running throughout the script, making it a rich text for discussion and evaluation. The most prominent themes center around finding your place, kindness, and becoming the best version of yourself. On top of having beautiful messages, the film also manages to be quite funny, perfectly balancing the humor with the more serious emotional beats.

Parents will be pleased to know that there is very little negative content, making this movie a great choice for most audiences. The first act features some nature-based violence, as the wildness of the setting and the predator-prey relationships between the animals are established. I found this section to be the most violent: compared to the fantastical sci-fi violence of the final act, these scenes of animal predation are far more rooted in reality. If you haven’t discussed that reality with your young child yet, you may want to before they see this film, lest you find yourself explaining the circle of life to a weeping child in a dark movie theatre.