Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.5

The Wild Robot 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

"I do not have the programming to be a mother." "No one does. We just make it up."

Reviewed by Justin Dekker December 5, 2024

DreamWorks' latest animated feature, 'The Wild Robot', adapted from the work of Peter Brown, arrives on 4K UHD disc courtesy of Universal. Featuring the voice talents of Lupita Nyong'o ('Wicked") as the "lost" robot, ROZZUM unit 7134 ("Roz"), and Pedro Pascal ('The Last of Us') as Fink the fox, with Bill Nighy ('Shaun of the Dead'), and Mark Hamill ('Star Wars: A New Hope') in supporting roles, the film follows Roz's efforts to learn and adapt in her new environment as she cares for a young gosling named Brighbill, a task much more complicated and challenging than initially perceived. Directed by Chris Saunders ('Lilo & Stitch'), the film's 4K UHD presentation is dazzling and is accompanied by a rambunctious Dolby Atmos track, and the disc is complemented by a decent assortment of supplemental material which includes and audio commentary. A Blu-ray disc, an embossed slipcover, and a Digital Code redeemable through Movies Anywhere are also included.

On an unknown shore, a group of sea otters finds a strange object in a damaged crate among the rocks at the water's edge. Their playful and inquisitive nature quickly overpowers their caution and as they clamber in and around the damaged cargo, they accidentally activate something they've never encountered before. A robot. Not designed for either the environment or existence without someone to provide it with tasks (and therefore purpose) it struggles to adapt within the confines of its programming. When its efforts to be rescued by its manufacturer are stymied, it does its best to adapt to the alien environment, finally finding purpose when an accident results in it becoming the adoptive parent of an orphaned gosling. With the help of an unlikely forest creature, the pair of misfits must push past their own limitations to find what matters most and a place to belong.

So often with animated fare, the focus of the content remains squarely on younger viewers. Characters are designed, plots are constructed, jokes are crafted, and punchy music is included to gain and maintain the focus of young cinema-goers/movie watchers with shorter attention spans where a brisk pace is of paramount concern. Chris Sander's The Wild Robot is not the product of this formula. The robot, Roz, isn't cute and is instead rather featureless and increasingly in a state of disrepair. The various woodland creatures are more authentic than their often overly anthropomorphized brethren, and while they each have a personality few approach the threshold of being a caricature. The film's pace is often slow. Deliberately slow. Scenes are allowed the time they need for characters to explore, emote, and reflect as the camera lingers on them and their environment. Witty banter does bubble forth at times, from Roz, who is initially something of a fish-out-of-water, the trouble-making loner Fink, and the exasperated mother Pinktail, an opossum who is forever plagued with neverending broods of joeys. But even more frequently, the film revels in silence, giving viewers time to process what they're seeing and simply experience the film without distraction. Music plays a critical role, but far from being bombastic, the mostly orchestral score expands on and drives the emotional core of the story, helping to build a sense of triumph at Roz and Brightbill's successes and breakthroughs, and threatening to coax a tear or two at their setbacks and failures. While it no doubt appeals to younger viewers, the film is decidedly more geared toward a more mature audience.

It all works to shape The Wild Robot into a film that, at times, has much in common with the work of Miyazaki with its world that is familiar yet foreign and fantastical, somewhat languid pacing giving way to spurts of action, and strong emotional center. While much time is given to helping Brightbill learn and grow to be an adult, even more time is given to Roz, a being who, at the outset has no place in the essentially old-as- all- creation natural world. Over time, Roz is humanized. Her speech patterns change, and her perfect inorganic exterior exhibits damage and is "augmented" with elements from its environment. Roz also begins to exhibit very typical maternal instincts and boundless compassion for the island's other inhabitants that far exceeds and supersedes its original programming. More importantly and of primary concern to the film's heart, through Roz the viewer experiences much of what it is to be a parent, in a very compressed but very real way. When Roz takes charge of Brightbill, it is ill-equipped; its programming and previous skillset did not prepare it for the care and feeding of a gosling. Advice from an experienced parent, Pinktail, helps Roz learn that it's alright to make mistakes and that much of parenting is learned "in the moment". As Brightbill grows, Roz very much wants him to fit in with the other geese on the island, doing what it can to help him learn the things that it believes to be essential. As with many parents, there's an undeniable air of overprotection, a sense of heartache when things don't go as well as hoped, a desire to do whatever it takes to help its progeny succeed, and a loss of purpose and an overwhelming emptiness when the task is complete and the child has left the nest. As Brightbill is a goose, this all happens in mere months, but the experience is no less poignant and powerful. And it's no less human.

As I watched the film, I couldn't help but notice that The Wild Robot and Chris Sanders' first full-length directorial effort, Lilo & Stitch share a bit of DNA. Both films feature a castaway in an alien world (Earth) that they do not recognize and are not immediately equipped to navigate. The fact that Roz is from Earth is moot as the robot finds itself in a world for which it was not intended and does not understand. They are both from a more technologically advanced world than the one they are forced to inhabit and bear absolutely no resemblance to its denizens making them outcasts in a number of respects. Both Stitch and Roz survive and thrive due to their found families, and both of these interlopers experience profound personal and emotional growth due to their relationships and bonds. This personal growth comes with a host of missteps and pitfalls as they attempt to craft these relationships - Stitch as a friend and Roz as an adoptive parent. Also, in each film, the most significant threat they face is being whisked away by their creators in a spacecraft, although Stitch, an escapee, does not wish to be found, and Roz, who was marooned, initially desires to be recovered and triggers a homing beacon. Both of these encounters result in a fair amount of destruction. By the time the credits roll, family has become the most important thing for both Stich and Roz. Quirky, but still of note, both of the castaways originally have numbers for names - Experiment 626 and ROZZUM unit 7134, respectively, before adopting a monosyllabic moniker, and Ving Rhames shows up in a small role with a spectacular name in both films (Thunderbolt in The Wild Robot and the unparalleled Cobra Bubbles in Lilo & Stitch).

The Wild Robot 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Over the course of the last several years, DreamWorks' projects have become some of the very best-looking animated films released on Blu-Ray and 4K UHD disc. The Wild Robot continues with that tradition and is graced with a beautiful 2160p transfer that showcases the dazzling painterly style of animation employed here. Those going in expecting the kind of optical results associated with standard CGI works where every single strand of fur is distinct, visible, and practically countable on any given animal's coat may be initially surprised by what they see here. The image, while beautiful, is not consistently verging on being photo-realistic as so many others have become. That's because, for this picture, Chris Sanders wanted a finished image that looked and felt more organic and handcrafted, in line with the feeling generated by drawings, sketches, or paintings. Endless fields of grass are more suggested, with enough specific detail present to convey the effect and trick the mind into seeing what the animators intended. That being said, exacting levels of fine detail are still present when need be, such as when examining the incrementally increasing wear, tear, and damage that Ros endures, environmental particulars such as the pebbled beach in the film's opening moments, and the technologically advanced center where Roz's distress call is received. Colors are brilliant and the expanded Dolby Vision palette and levels of saturation never fail to impress. The mood- mirroring lights that Roz emanates pop nicely, as do various other bold organic colors such as those present in the swarm of butterflies that Roz disturbs. These are but a few of the many eye-catching moments and scenes that populate the film. Blacks are deep, inky, and absorbing but do not crush detail, and whites can be brilliant when given cause. I did not detect any defects or issues. The Wild Robot may not look like the CGI to which we have grown accustomed, but it is beautiful.

Please note, all screenshots are sourced from the included 1080p disc.

The Wild Robot 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Dolby Atmos track that accompanies the film is rather impressive. Listeners should immediately notice and appreciate the power and depth added to the waves by the substantial bass presence in the opening scene as Roz first comes to life and navigates the very alien environment. It brings with it a suitable amount of peril and justifies the robot's evident concern. Again and again throughout the film, the subwoofer rumbles to life in support of storms, crashes, falling trees, and the like. Immersion is relatively constant, sometimes with ambient environmental sounds such as insects and birdsong, and more robust and impressive in moments such as when the viewer is surrounded by flocks of birds. For all of its very noisy and sometimes chaotic scenes, The Wild Robot is frequently very calm and quiet, allowing the track to demonstrate its deftness at handling more subtle sound cues as well. Regardless of the scope and scale of the scenes, dialogue is always properly prioritized, clear, and intelligible. Directionality is excellent, with objects and voices moving fluidly and realistically through the sound field. Sound effects, whether those indicative of forest life, bursting forth from a technological source, or resulting from a force of nature, are never less than absorbing and convincing. No defects or anomalies were detected. It's a wonderful track.

The Wild Robot 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Alternate Opening with Introduction by Writer/Director Chris Sanders (4.08) - This commercial for the ROZZUM robots is shown in it's storyboard form with finished audio. It was eventually placed in the middle of the film.

• Moments from the Mic (2.28) - Watch as members of the cast record their voicework.

• Meet the Cast (6.34) - Lupita Nyong'o, Pedro Pascal, Catherine O'Hara, Chris Sanders, and others discuss their impression of the film and the collaborative experience working on the new DreamWorks feature.

• Deleted Storyboard sequence - "The Overprotective Mother" (3.13) - Introduced by Chris Sanders, the scene addresses how Roz's overprotective nature is creating challenges for Brightbill.

• Assembly Required: Animating 'The Wild Robot' (10.25) - Director Chris Sanders discusses how he came to the project, and his history with hand-drawn animation. He and members of the production team share information on how a painterly look was achieved for the project to lessen the digital look and feel of the film. A fair amount of time is given to Roz's character design as well, both visually and from a sound design perspective.

• Feeling Alive (9.08) - Writer Peter Brown discusses the inspiration for the original book, as Sanders, Nyong'o, Pascal, and others talk about their feelings about the book, and the themes and tone of the film.

• Wild Sounds (6.01) - Composer Kris Bowers, with input from others, shares how he approached scoring the film, while the members of Sandbox Percussion demonstrate the types of instruments they used to add a variety of flourishes. Maren Morris also appears to discuss the two original songs she wrote for The Wild Robot and the latitude she had in crafting them. Clips from the film are intermixed to emphasize their work.

• How to Draw (22.03) - Chris Sanders shows Nyong'o and the viewers how to draw Roz. Next, Genevieve Tsai provides detailed instructions on drawing Fink, Brightbill, and Pinktail.

• Fly Your Own Brightbill (10.39) - Crafty viewers are provided instruction on how to construct their very own Brightbill kite with materials found at any arts and crafts store. Adult help will be required for younger builders.

• Feature Commentary - This lively and unmoderated commentary is populated by Director Chris Sanders, Producer Jeff Hermann, Editor Mary Blee, Production Designer Raymond Zibach, Head of Story Heidi Jo Gilbert, and Head of Character Animation Jakob HjortJensen. The group is rarely silent, with one person's comments or recollections spurring input from others. Other times, one member of the team will ask another to comment on specific elements that are within their area of expertise. Character design is a significant topic, as is character development, departures from the original text, and how the project developed. They also share entertaining bits of trivia, such as the fact that there are 991 raccoons that pursue Roz up the tree. Later, they reveal the unusually colored fire seen late in the film was a conscious decision to amplify the threat level. It's one of the more entertaining and interesting commentaries I've heard in a while.

The Wild Robot 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The fact that I frequently had to stop myself from using the pronoun "she" when writing in reference to Roz is a tribute to both Chris Sander's well- crafted story and the outstanding performance of Lupita Nyong'o as the titular character. A powerful and gripping story, The Wild Robot gets to the heart of what it is to be a parent in a manner that is as humorously disarming as it is emotionally authentic. Brought to life in dazzling fashion by beautiful animation and an exceptional voice cast, it's a film viewers of all ages can enjoy, but one in which those who either have raised or are currently raising children will find even more resonance. The supplemental material is something of a smorgasbord with selections designed for a variety of viewers, though I found the commentary to be the most engaging. The Wild Robot 4K comes very highly recommended.