The Wild Robot follows a robot named Roz, shipwrecked on a deserted island, who must adapt to its new surroundings. As Roz attempts to build relationships with the animals, she soon finds herself parenting a young orphaned gosling. Starring in the lead voice role is Lupita Nyong’o with an ensemble cast including Pedro Pascal, Bill Nighy, Stephanie Hsu, Mark Hamill, Catherine O’Hara, Matt Berry, Ving Rhames, and Kit Connor. This is DreamWorks Animation’s final movies to be animated entirely in-house before they begin relying on outside studios after this year.

When I saw the stills and the cast attached to the project, that sold me immediately. I didn’t need to watch the trailers or know the plot, so I went in cold. That’s a first for me in a long, long time. I am so glad that I did, because there a lot of surprises here. Director Chris Sanders said that he took inspiration from Disney classic animated movies and the works of Hayao Miyazaki. I didn’t know that was the intent until after the movie, because that’s exactly the impression I got when I was watching it. It’s clear that the film took inspiration from that and embraced the studio’s originality and where they came up from.

The film embraces a lot of thematic messages that I haven’t seen a whole lot in DreamWorks films. Sure, there can be a few, but not to this extent. I found myself enthralled from beginning to end with its messaging of parenting, belonging, and community. At the end of the day, the film’s biggest message is to simply be a good person and look out for those around you. You can’t go wrong with that. The film certainly embraces the Disney style without making it into a direct replica. I think they were able to do that with the story and the humor.

The story manages to pack multiple layers into one cohesive film that doesn’t need a sequel. The film is smart for doing that. I honestly thought as one story was about to end, the film was about to end. I was just thinking there was no way the film could end that soon. To my surprise, the film finds a way to keep going without feeling like it needs to fit the runtime. There’s a lot to say in this world, and the film effectively finds a way to make it happen within its runtime.

As for the humor, I don’t think I have laughed out that loud since the Shrek early days. It got really, really dark to the point where my jaw dropped. Not only was it funny, but I was so happy to see DreamWorks take risks in its humor again that works for the adults as well and doesn’t just cater to the kids.

Speaking of a big swing, the animation is gorgeous. They did what they did with Puss in Boots: The Last Wish and kept the momentum going with its grand landscape and detailed animation. As the film integrates animals with robots and humans, the film hits a sweet spot that I believe is best seen on the big screen. The score is also worth mentioning. What a breathtaking score that really brings you in the moment and helps capitalize on its tone.

The grand landscape gives a lot of room for the film to explore and most importantly, its themes. The film manages to keep going in its pacing, because this world is quite large, giving the characters plenty to do and explore. Aside from the thematic messaging with how to be a good person, the animated nature gives purpose to its story. It’s better to be real & authentic than a computer that’s void of any feelings. There’s a lot of great opportunities of belonging when you find your tribe.

The final aspect I want to speak on is the voice acting. Sometimes you could tell where the main character was voiced by Lupita Nyong’o. For the most part, you really couldn’t tell, giving her one of the best voice performances probably of this year. I don’t know how he does it, but Pedro Pascal manages to fit his busy schedule in to voice one of the roles in this film that reminded me so much of Donkey in the Shrek movies. I don’t want to give much else away, but the rest of the cast really bring a lot of value to their respective characters.

Overall, The Wild Robot exceeded my expectations. I teared up. I laughed. I was invested. This feels like DreamWorks is getting back to what made them great in the first place. I can’t wait to see it again, and I especially can’t wait to see it get the love it deserves come awards season.

VERDICT: 5/5 (Perfect)