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The Wild Robot centres around robot ROZZUM unit 7134 – aka “Roz” (Lupita Nyong’o – A Quiet Place: Day One) falling off a container ship, and ending up on a ‘Life After People’-type planet, where there’s only wildlife around her.
Roz is one of a number of customer service robots who really wants to find someone to help, but none of the many animals can understand her, causing her to temporarily hibernate, so she can study the animal lingo – like Dr Doolittle – as they move around her.
However, after being struck by lighting and attacked by other animals, she later accidentally crushes a goose nest, it’s up to her to look after an egg, help it hatch, and ends up adopting a gosling, calling him Brightbill.
Might sound a rather odd plot in that it’s down to a Fox, Fink (Pedro Pascal – The Last Of Us), who teaches Roz how to be more ‘human’, but in lieu of any family, she’ll have to teach Brightbill how to eat, swim and fly, so he can join the autumn migration. Those are the three directives… What, no fourth, like Robocop? 😉
With a large cast that also includes Bill Nighy, Stephanie Hsu, Ving Rhames, Mark Hamill, Catherine O’Hara and Matt Berry, I was really expecting to enjoy this, but while it was good, and very sweet, its paper-thin storyliner is ather heavy on the environmental message. Plus, they keep referencing the name of Roz’s robot company, Universal Dynamics, to reinforce the fact it was made by Universal Pictures. I’m such a cynical old Hector 😀
However, there is a nice use of the 3D, such as flying about with the style of a Harry Potter movie in a Quidditch match.
Still, maybe a second viewing would help, and The Wild Robot also hints at a potential sequel, which I understand is being worked on, as it’s doing a lot better than the awful Transformers One
NOTE: There is a post-credit scene as per the video below.
The Wild Robot is in cinemas now, and is available to pre-order on Blu-ray and DVD, ahead of its release date TBA.
There’s also the Peter Brown paperback book, also available on Kindle.
Detailed specs:
Cert: 
Running time: 102 minutes
Release date: October 25th 2024
Studio: Universal Pictures
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
Cinema: Odeon Trafford Centre
Rating: 6/10
Director: Chris Sanders
Producer: Jeff Hermann
Screenplay: Chris Sanders
Novel: Peter Brown
Music: Kris Bowers
Voice Cast:
Roz / Rummage: Lupita Nyong’o
Fink: Pedro Pascal
Brightbill: Kit Connor
Longneck: Bill Nighy
Vontra: Stephanie Hsu
Paddler: Matt Berry
Thunderbolt: Ving Rhames
Thorn: Mark Hamill
Pinktail: Catherine O’Hara
Baby Brightbill: Boone Storm
Snowdown: Alexandra Novelle
Peck: Raphael Alejandro
Feather: Paul-Mikél Williams
Honkington: Eddie Park
RECOs: Randall Thom
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.