By Jonathan Klotz
| Published
For decades, theatergoers have complained that everything is a sequel, a remake, or part of a larger franchise where, in order to enjoy it properly, you have to do hours of homework. Sci-fi in particular has suffered, with The Creator’s marketing campaign calling out how it was an original film, but that didn’t stop it from underperforming. Turns out, the best original sci-fi film in a very long time is The Wild Robot, an animated Dreamworks feature that does a better job explaining the meaning of family than Fast and Furious.
Family Matters
The Wild Robot didn’t reveal much in its trailers; then again, it’s hard to get across the emotional depth of the story in a one-minute sizzle reel. The film features Lupita Nyong’o as Roz, or rather, ROZZUM Unit 7134, accidentally turned on by woodland critters after it washes up on the shore. Alone and unaware of where it is, Roz is under attack by the animals, accidentally crushing a nest in the process and destroying all but one egg.
Raising the lone goose, Brightbill, as its own, Roz learns about family and community, even bringing in a fox, Fink, voiced by Pedro Pascal, who goes from using Roz to ensure his own safety to accepting his newfound family. The Wild Robot spends most of its runtime on Roz and her family, through their ups and downs, before more robots and Universal Dynamics, the corporation that created Roz, arrive on the island. It sounds like a fairly standard children’s movie, and in most ways, it is, but the story has moved countless adults to tears.
The Wild Robot Wears Its Heart On Its Sleeve
By playing its card close to its chest, The Wild Robot landed in theaters without a lot of expectations and then went on to stun Hollywood by earning $35 million in its first weekend, on the way to a total of $325 million worldwide. Megalopolis hit theaters the same day, and one week later, Joker: Folie a Deux started disappointing moviegoers, allowing the lowkey animated sci-fi film to start picking up word of mouth, and those who saw it started telling everyone they knew that they had to experience the film. In this case, “experience” is the right word, as you can’t just watch the gorgeously animated adventure of Roz and her new family, you have to experience the ups, the downs, and the intensity of discovering emotions for the first time.
A robot learning how to feel may not, on the face of it, seem to be particularly original, but The Wild Robot breaks free of the simple framework by, ironically, keeping it simple. The film isn’t afraid to be sentimental, and you’ll tell the exact moments engineered to make adults break down and cry, especially parents, not because anything tragic happens, but because, finally, there’s a movie not afraid to be corny, with no winking to the audience. The Marvelization of Hollywood has been a topic discussed to death, which is why when Roz gets her moment, without a sarcastic beat undercutting it, it’s the purest moment of cinema captured on screen in the last decade.
A sequel to The Wild Robot has already been greenlit, as the film debuted in the top spot on Peacock. The heartfelt, emotional, gorgeous film is perfect for everyone from families to sci-fi aficionados who have seen everything, and it’s going to be a massive streaming hit for years to come. As theaters continue to be filled with adaptations, remakes, and prequels no one asked for, the tale of Roz and her woodland friends is a breath of fresh air, proving that sci-fi still has plenty of room left to tell original stories.
The Wild Robot is available now on Peacock.
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