The Wild Robot (2024) is directed by Chris Sanders and stars Lupita Nyong’o, Pedro Pascal, Kit Connor, Bill Nighy, Stephanie Hsu, Matt Berry, Ving Rhames, Mark Hamill, and Catherine O’Hara. The film follows Roz (Nyong’o), a state-of-the-art robot assistant who crash lands on an island uninhabited by humans. Roz finds she cannot leave because her transmitter is damaged, so she sets off to aid the local wildlife. Unfortunately, most of the animals fear Roz and refer to her as “the monster.” One day, she stumbles across an abandoned goose egg and makes it her new task to raise the chick to adulthood. When they meet a sly fox named Fink (Pascal), the three form a makeshift family. That is until Roz’s owners arrive seeking to recall her “home.” 

Nyong’o is fantastic as the voice of Roz. The voice comes across as a more advanced and approachable version of Siri that is still recognizably Nyong’o, but likewise never sounds human. I was worried to see Pascal cast here in the sense that he’s the hot commodity in Hollywood and an easy name to just slap on a poster. However, I actually think he’s well-cast as the “sly fox with a heart” character. It stinks, then, that the character itself is one we’ve seen in other animated films such as but not limited to Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009), Zootopia (2016), and The Bad Guys (2022). They’re all good characters, they just aren’t particularly original. 

The reason the characters work is because the first act takes the time to introduce them in ways that feel natural. The film also spends the first act showing the audience its world and characters instead of bombarding them with expository dialogue. This is only one example of the film’s biggest strength: visual storytelling. Not only is the art style unique and stunning but the choice to frame things from the various perspectives of woodland creatures is endlessly creative. Among other things, this is a movie about technology clashing with nature, but a more positive spin on the topic than most. 

The film’s explorations of what it means to be human tread new ground for children’s cinema, but the theme feels like old news to any adults watching. Even though it also features a handful of tired children’s movie tropes, I think it’s a movie that should generally appeal to adults as well. Along with the elements we’ve seen before, there are an equal number that feel creatively inspired. For example, a robot’s sentient eyeball fistfighting a pack of mischievous raccoons wasn’t on my checklist of things I thought I’d see this year.

Overall, this is a predictable, slightly unoriginal, yet emotionally effective animated feature that’s elevated significantly by its strong voice cast and one-of-a-kind visuals. Its wit is entertaining for adults and it succeeds in teaching kids various important lessons without being preachy or sacrificing pure entertainment value. There haven’t been too many big animated releases this year, but for my money, this is the best so far. Inside Out 2 < The Wild Robot. B+