I sat in the packed theater, the only adult not accompanied by a child, waiting for the film to begin.
As it did, I was quickly swept into the audience’s reaction to the film. The theater erupted into laughter at nearly every single joke, and the laughter was not only coming from children.
“The Wild Robot” is the latest film from animation studio Dreamworks and Director Chris Sanders. The film is fairly simple in regard to the plot; a robot, Roz, activates on a desolate island and begins trying to find tasks to accomplish. The first act has minimal dialogue but manages to entertain the audience through a barrage of slapstick comedy as Roz attempts to help the animals living on the island.
Eventually, Roz finds a task to accomplish. A gosling is abandoned by its family and as the egg is picked up by Roz, it hatches and the gosling inside imprints on the robot. The remainder of the film is that heartwarming tale of a group of outcasts becoming close friends.
The plot is not anything too unique and the themes are vague concepts like “kindness” and “friendship.” Where the film distinguishes itself, however, is its beautiful art direction. The images dance on screen like paint on canvas and dazzle the audience with vibrant colors and fun character designs.
The film’s visual presentation demands itself to be seen on the biggest screen possible. I felt myself getting absorbed in the illustrious world of the film.
Unfortunately, the film is not perfect. It has been met with an incredible groundswell of adoration from audiences and despite feeling some of that myself, I still found myself disappointed by the end.
If it were not for the fantastic visuals and entertaining performances, the film would not be anything special. The writing leaves a lot to be desired. I felt that with the main character being a robot and the setting being a desolate island, the film would lean more heavily toward themes of environmentalism. Unfortunately, this aspect was nowhere to be found. It takes the safer approach by having the universal theme of kindness, a topic that nearly every children’s film tackles.
Furthermore, the film’s editing has some serious flaws. At only an hour and forty-two minutes, the film should fly by but due to the pacing, the last act felt choppy. There were two moments in which I thought the film had ended only to find out that there was still more. The pacing of the last act was tedious and made the ending feel rushed. Suddenly, themes and characters were being introduced within the final 30 minutes of the film and by the time the credits rolled, I was exhausted.
“The Wild Robot” is a good film but remains thoroughly disappointing. With appealing visuals, entertaining humor, and fun performances it will no doubt win over most viewers but it is certainly not perfect. The editing and writing leave a lot to be desired and while I encourage people to see this film, it is certainly not one of the year’s best.
Benjamin Martins can be contacted at
bmartins@kscequinox.com
