The Wild Robot

Based on Peter Brown’s bestselling children’s books, this adventure from Oscar-nominated director Chris Sanders (Lilo & Stitch) and DreamWorks Animation follows a robot (voiced by Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o), designed to assist humans who finds herself stranded on an island populated exclusively by beasts. Also featuring the voices of Pedro Pascal, Catherine O’Hara, and Oscar nominees Stephanie Hsu and Bill Nighy, The Wild Robot is an epic tale of survival, in which animals and machines must question their programming and embrace their hidden strengths.

Rozim 7134 (Nyong’o) exists to receive orders. But on the rugged isle where Roz first boots up, no orders are forthcoming. There’s no owner is to be found and none of the island’s motley menagerie of animals have any use for her skills. Until, that is, she meets Brightbill (Kit Connor), an orphaned gosling who attaches to Roz the moment he’s born. Taking advice from a fox called Fink (Pascal), Roz compiles a set of directives to help Brightbill through his infancy. But in this place where every creature is either predator or prey, learning to eat, swim, and fly isn’t enough. Brightbill needs to negotiate sticky social situations and find entry into a flock before migration season comes. In short, he needs qualities like tenderness and nurturing — things Roz will need to look deep inside her robot soul to find.

Filled with spectacular imagery and hilarious encounters, The Wild Robot is perfect family entertainment. It is also a heartfelt story about the sort of love that only comes from believing in yourself — regardless of what materials you’re made of.