“The Wild Robot” (2024). Cast (voices): Lupita Nyong’o, Pedro Pascal, Kit Connor, Bill Nighy, Stephanie Hsu, Ving Rhames, Mark Hamill, Catherine O’Hara, Matt Berry, Boone Storm. Director: Chris Sanders. Screenplay: Chris Sanders. Book: Peter Brown, The Wild Robot. Web site. Trailer.

There are times in our lives when nearly all of us exceed the limits of our capabilities (and often quite unexpectedly at that). But that can be a tremendous blessing, especially when we’re confronted by circumstances where such enhanced aptitudes are called for. When this happens, we might well surprise ourselves and those who know us, but such amazing revelations can produce miraculous results that benefit many in need. Such is the case in the delightful and insightful new animated feature, “The Wild Robot.”

When a freighter loses a portion of its cargo during shipment, the items wash up on shore on a remote island. The sudden appearance of these mysterious goods, in turn, captures the attention of the island’s residents, an array of curious woodland animals who wonder what has suddenly materialized in their midst. They approach the cargo tentatively, quickly becoming stunned when they inadvertently manage to activate something in the debris. Amidst a flurry of flashing lights and whirring sounds, an enigmatic electronic anomaly begins springing to life. And, before long, an answer emerges in the awakening of a castaway robot.

As soon becomes apparent, the robot, nicknamed Roz (voiced by Lupita Nyong’o), begins functioning as she’s been programmed – as a domestic servant for her human owners. Roz appears to be well versed in a variety of tasks, but, as one who’s been designed to perform these functions for human masters, she’s confused about how to respond to these four-legged creatures, especially since they don’t appear to need any of her services. Meanwhile, the animals are just as clueless about the strange new metallic being in their presence, not always knowing how to react to her. Because of this impasse, Roz prepares to use her transponder to send a recovery signal to her manufacturer but is struck by lightning as she does so, thus leaving her stranded on the island.

An adjustment period follows as Roz and the island’s inhabitants attempt to figure out one another. It’s a bewildering, often-manic time as they seek to understand each other and to find ways to communicate. Overcoming this challenge, then, becomes the first of many that Roz must address – and the first one in which she gets practice at exceeding her limitations.

Slowly but surely, Roz and the animals are able to relate to each other and begin forging relationships. Roz establishes a particularly strong connection to a fox named Fink (voiced by Pedro Pascal), who ends up acting as an impromptu liaison between Roz and his peers, including Pinktail (voiced by Catherine O’Hara), a mother possum, Paddler (voiced by Matt Barry), an industrious but sometimes-cantankerous beaver, and Thorn (voiced by Mark Hamill), a crusty but benign bear. But Roz’s closest connection arises with Brightbill (voiced by Boone Storm), a baby goose whose parents are killed, leaving the gosling orphaned. Roz feels responsible for their deaths and becomes a surrogate mother to the baby bird, an act that prompts her to go even further beyond her basic domestic programming.

Over time, Roz assumes new responsibilities to help Brightbill develop and mature. But, as the fledgling goose grows into an adult (voiced by Kit Connor), he must learn new skills, such as flying, an ability essential to partaking in his flock’s upcoming migration. Fortunately, by this time, Roz has learned how to seek out help from others when needed, turning for guidance to Longneck (voiced by Bill Nighy), the elder statesman of Brightbill’s flock, and Thunderbolt (voiced by Ving Rhames), an adept falcon flight instructor, to teach the youngster how to get airborne.

As Brightbill embarks on his migration, Roz is satisfied that she has fulfilled her mission but is unsure what comes next in her life. She takes another stab at activating her transponder to send a retrieval signal, although to no avail. Meanwhile, with winter approaching, she helps the other animals on the island prepare for the impending inclement weather before shutting herself off for the season. Following Roz’s leads on matters of self-sufficiency and cooperation, the creatures, in turn, join forces to build a communal shelter in which they can all safely cohabit during the winter months. And it proves to be an effort that pays off, as Roz discovers when she awakens in spring to find all of her furry friends still alive and well.

Roz takes comfort at the quality of life she has helped to establish for herself and her peers, adapting as needed to the prevailing circumstances. It’s an existence she has come to embrace for the future, making a new life for herself where the prospects of doing so once seemed slim. However, much to her surprise, upon awakening, she learns that the retrieval signal she sent to her manufacturer indeed went through, with the company dispatching a recovery robot named Vontra (voiced by Stephanie Hsu) to collect the missing unit.

By this point, however, Roz has evolved to become more than just a programmed domestic servant. She’s now a sentient being all of her own and wishes to stay put with her friends in her new home. After all, it’s far preferable to being taken away from those she knows and cares about, especially since erasure of her memories on the island are to become part of the impending retrieval process.

Faced with this, Roz now stares down her biggest challenge to date. But how will she respond? Indeed, can she even respond? This will almost assuredly be another instance of having to rise to the occasion, to exceed the expectations of her capabilities. Previous experience has shown that she can do so, but will she be able to do so again?

That depends, of course, on whether she believes she can. And that’s important to recognize in light of the role that our beliefs play in the manifestation of our reality, an outcome of the conscious creation process, the philosophy that makes such outcomes possible. It’s unclear how many of us (let alone an artificial life form) are aware of this school of thought. But it’s imperative that any intelligence – be it natural or artificial – that hopes to attain such an outcome considers this way of thinking to materialize the results hoped for.

Like any of us, Roz has allowed herself to follow the programming given to her, a collection of beliefs with set limitations. However, when confronted with circumstances that require extraordinary solutions, she (and we) might find that those limited beliefs aren’t enough. It may be easy to just throw in the towel and give up at this point, but what good would admitting failure do? The challenge would still exist – unresolved – leaving us in the lurch. So it’s times like that when we can’t help but wonder that there must be another way to get past the issue at hand. And the key in that is looking to our beliefs, for they ultimately afford us limitless possibilities in devising potential solutions.

This scenario brings to mind the time-honored adage that “necessity truly is the mother of invention.” And the way to invoke that thinking is to tap into the wellspring of beliefs available to us in our consciousness. That’s clearly what Roz does here, and it’s an excellent example for us to follow in our own circumstances.

However, that might sound a little too easy for some of us, something that could be characterized as naïve wishful thinking. And, to a certain degree, that might well be correct. Simply mouthing the words for what we’re trying to create generally isn’t enough; it takes bona fide belief in the proposed notions, backed by faith and a clear vision of being able to conceive proposed manifestations to bring them into tangible existence. That takes a little more work than simple lip service, which is why some of us may want to give up on the idea when our hoped-for outcomes don’t spontaneously spring into being on demand. However, if we put in the “belief legwork” necessary to realize the envisioned result, we just might surprise ourselves at how adept we can be in making things happen. And that can be a tremendous boon when the needs are significant.

Again, look to the examples Roz sets in this film. What’s more, look at the inspiration she provides to others by doing so. Her influence clearly rubs off on them, and it has a tremendous impact on the ways that they approach life and make it more fulfilling. It’s an important life lesson, not only for the practitioner, but also for those she mentors. Imagine what a world we could create for ourselves if we all employed that thinking both for ourselves and those around us. We might quickly find ourselves living in a very different – and much better – existence. And who says cartoons can’t teach us anything?

Actually, calling “The Wild Robot” a cartoon shortchanges this work somewhat. Writer-director Chris Sanders’s latest is an animated fantasy that’s both stunning to look at and inspiring to learn from, more so than many other releases in this genre, qualities that set it apart from many of its peers. The picture’s focus on developing a sentience that goes beyond one’s basic conscious awareness is a lesson we can all draw from to enable us to survive when the ante of our lives is upped and our existence is on the line. This offering’s breathtaking animation is a sight to behold, resembling a series of gorgeous water colors strung together in succession. These visuals are suitably backed by solid writing and the delightfully amusing voiceover performances of Nyong’o, Pascal, Nighy, Hamill, O’Hara, Rhames and Hsu, all of whom disappear into their roles so effectively that it’s difficult to recognize them. Collectively, the ensemble delivers a fine mix of hearty laughs, inspiring insights and touching moments, all without becoming silly or saccharine. Admittedly, the film has a little trouble finding its footing at the outset, with some of its early sequences verging on being somewhat cloying at times. What’s more, a few story threads feel a little underdeveloped, such as subplots related to important but underexplained environmental themes, references that are alluded to without much meaningful elaboration. However, these modest shortcomings are more than made up for the further one gets into the story, growing progressively stronger as the narrative unfolds.

These assets aside, though, I must admit that it’s mystifying at times trying to figure out exactly who this offering was made for, as the material frequently comes across as more mature and more intense than what one might expect from an animated feature, one typically designed for younger viewers (despite the presence of its adorable, funny, furry forest creatures). Indeed, parents with small children may be somewhat disappointed if the picture fails to hold the attention of their young ones. Nevertheless, those who are a little older and more impressionable are likely to come away from this one inspired and uplifted. It’s truly gratifying to see a production that genuinely rises above the low bar that has been set for many animation releases these days. “The Wild Robot” is one of those films that’s sure to please a wide range of moviegoers, including those who generally aren’t particularly enamored with animation, a feel-good movie that doesn’t resort to wearing that trait on its sleeve but that nevertheless achieves an admirably heartwarming effect anyways. Because of that, the film has successfully developed tremendous staying power in theaters, having played there for quite some time now. Viewing this release in a big screen venue is arguably the best place to watch it to fully appreciate the beauty and grandeur of its animation. However, for those who prefer home viewing, the movie is also available for streaming online.

Being able to rise to the occasion when circumstances warrant is a skill that we all hope we’re capable of developing. It may not be easy at times, challenging us to think outside the box more than we may be typically accustomed. However, when we sit back and examine the results that can emerge under such circumstances, we can take pride in our accomplishments, especially those that provide us with solutions to particularly thorny situations. An expanded awareness of our consciousness and manifestation capabilities can thus provide us with valuable attributes that can serve us well in a wide array of applications. In these cases, we can truly become more than mere robots, beings who are able to be far more than we may have ever envisioned for ourselves.

Copyright © 2024, by Brent Marchant. All rights reserved.