The stuff that DreamWorks is made of. Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re discussing why “The Wild Robot” is DreamWorks’ best movie in years and one of their best ever.
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00:00Hello! Bonjour!
00:02Guten Tag! Pujamo! Hola!
00:04Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're discussing why The Wild Robot is DreamWorks' best movie in years,
00:10and one of their best ever.
00:12We must become more than we were programmed to be.
00:18Like many other American animation studios,
00:21DreamWorks has been leaning more towards sequels and recognizable IP as of late.
00:25Although this has resulted in a few movies that exceeded every expectation
00:29like Puss in Boots' The Last Wish,
00:31others have left us starving for something more innovative.
00:34The difference in try and triumph is just a little oomph!
00:39Go big or go home.
00:41Despite technically being based on Peter Brown's book series,
00:44The Wild Robot is truly a breath of fresh air,
00:47not just for DreamWorks, but for animation in general.
00:50On a scale of 1 to 10, where 10 is most satisfied and 1 is least,
00:55how would you rate my performance?
00:58I will register that as a 10.
01:00At first glance, the story of a robot gaining a soul might sound familiar.
01:04While sure to draw comparison to classics like The Iron Giant and WALL-E,
01:08this is the only movie we can think of where a robot's sense of humanity stems from wildlife.
01:13Processing language.
01:17We need to learn how things work on this island.
01:20Lupita Nyong'o deserves an Annie Award for voicing Roz 7134.
01:25Stranded in a remote forest with no humans in sight,
01:28Roz turns to the animals in search of an objective.
01:31A rosm always completes its task. Just ask!
01:35The animals are naturally alarmed by this mechanical quote-unquote monster,
01:39although nothing is scarier than nature itself.
01:41Harkening to the earlier works of Walt Disney and Don Bluth,
01:44The Wild Robot isn't afraid to depict just how unforgiving and cruel nature can be.
01:50As cute as the animals are, they know it's a dog-eat-dog world.
01:55Do you need assistance?
02:04Sometimes this is played for humor,
02:06like when a mother possum shrugs off the notion of her offspring being eaten.
02:10It happens.
02:11Other times, the film's portrayal of nature is as intense as a modern PG rating gets.
02:16Death's proximity makes life burn all the brighter.
02:19It's true.
02:20In arguably the most graphic scene,
02:22Roz stumbles into the objective of caring for an egg.
02:25Soon enough, that egg is a Canada goose and Roz's objective becomes her purpose.
02:30Task acquired. Return mode delayed.
02:33A rosm always completes its task.
02:36The goose, named Bright Bill, recognizes Roz as his mother.
02:40No amount of data or programming can prepare Roz for this role, forcing her to improvise.
02:45She also seeks assistance from a sly fox voiced by Pedro Pascal,
02:49who, despite his selfish tendencies, comes to see the robot and bird as family.
02:54Come on, find that awoooo inside you.
02:59Searching.
03:04In most animated films aimed at families,
03:06the protagonist is usually a younger person with at least one absent parent.
03:10The wild robot is a rare animated feature where a parent takes center stage,
03:15relating to older viewers in ways their kids might miss.
03:18Perhaps you could limit your range to stay within view.
03:22Roz, he needs to become independent if he's gonna migrate.
03:25I prefer he be independent closer to home.
03:28The film captures the unpredictability of being a parent,
03:31especially when a child is born with special needs.
03:34Bright Bill is considered a runt.
03:36Few believe he'll survive the wild, let alone fly south one day.
03:40Roz remains committed to the young goose, however.
03:42His chances aren't super good.
03:44I will protect him.
03:46Initially, this is due to her programming,
03:48which won't let her stop until a task is fulfilled.
03:51In time, though, Roz overrides that programming,
03:53becoming genuinely invested in seeing Bright Bill succeed.
03:57Hey, it's working!
03:59I think I got it!
04:00Well done, Bright Bill!
04:03In addition to people with special needs,
04:05Bright Bill could be seen as an allegory for anybody who's ever felt different.
04:09For many kids, confidence and perseverance start with a parent's support.
04:13When a loving parent stands by you until the end,
04:15you may surprise even yourself with what you can accomplish.
04:19But he has a chance.
04:22If where his wings end,
04:26his heart can pay the balance.
04:29Along with parenthood,
04:30The Wild Robot is a thoughtful commentary on artificial intelligence.
04:34As technology grows more advanced,
04:36people have rightfully questioned whether society has become too reliant on AI,
04:40both in the workplace and at home.
04:42The world is a smart box, and we am inside!
04:47I sneeze data? Wow!
04:50A machine can't replace an animator's personal touch,
04:53just as an iPad is no substitute for a parent.
04:56While The Wild Robot reveals the dangers of AI,
04:59it also examines technology's benefits when handled responsibly.
05:03Not easy to find.
05:05You are defective.
05:06I feel fine.
05:08You should not feel anything at all.
05:12Early in the film,
05:13Roz damages and loses several parts that make her less robotic.
05:17Through her experiences with the wildlife,
05:19she begins to think more like an individual.
05:22Roz finds an unlikely middle ground between the efficiency of a machine
05:26and the caring love that only a person can provide.
05:29I do not have the programming to be a mother.
05:32No one does. We just make it up.
05:35Speaking of evolving technology,
05:37DreamWorks has crafted one of their most beautiful movies yet.
05:40Remaining true to the source material's inviting illustrations,
05:44writer-director Chris Sanders wanted the film to possess
05:46a painted aesthetic akin to concept art books.
05:48I just thought it deserves that level of visual richness, I guess.
05:54And so you are absolutely right.
05:56It literally is a moving painting.
05:59It's reminiscent of the style that's been growing more popular
06:02ever since Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse.
06:04Instead of a comic book, though,
06:06Sanders' team draws inspiration from Disney films like Bambi
06:09and the works of Hayao Miyazaki, especially My Neighbor Totoro.
06:18Hey, we're the wings!
06:20The wild robot may have been made using computers,
06:23but every frame feels as if they were painted on location.
06:27In a film that's about cutting-edge technology learning to coexist with nature,
06:31the blending of styles serves as a perfect visual representation of unity.
06:35It's like this journey that I was on that we departed from the analog paintings
06:40and we went all the way away and picked up all these wonderful tools
06:44with CG, the cameras, and such,
06:46and now we've rejoined that, we've closed the circle.
06:48The visuals are so engrossing that we initially wondered
06:51if The Wild Robot would have worked better as a dialogue-free film.
06:55It might have been ambitious, but it'd deprive us of Sanders'
06:58timeless dialogue and several heartfelt performances.
07:01Just have a little fun for once!
07:05Kit Conner of Heartstopper hits all the right beats as Bright Bill,
07:08believably maturing the character from an outcast to a leader.
07:12Pedro Pascal might as well have voiced a chameleon
07:14because he's practically unrecognizable as Fink the Fox.
07:17Fink the Fox is devious, but incredibly loving.
07:22Nothing like myself.
07:24Catherine O'Hara, Bill Nighy, Matt Barry, and Mark Hamill
07:27round out the wildlife in wonderful supporting performances.
07:31Lupita Nyong'o is the movie's soul, though.
07:33Gradually evolving Raw's from a walking advertisement
07:36to a nurturing caregiver.
07:38Listening to these characters, we don't envision celebrities
07:41in a recording booth.
07:42We just see the characters.
07:43Woohoo!
07:45Yeah!
07:47Are you done?
07:48We can't hear you!
07:51All good.
07:52Unconventional families have been a recurring theme
07:54throughout Sanders' filmography.
07:56Beginning with characters is a great place to begin
07:58because you want your character to be fresh and compelling
08:01and have an interesting journey.
08:03In Lilo and Stitch, an alien helps to mend a broken home
08:06as two sisters adapt to life without their parents.
08:09In How to Train Your Dragon, a father and son see eye to eye
08:12for the first time as two feuding worlds come together.
08:15In The Croods, a traditional Stone Age family evolves
08:18while also coming to value each other.
08:20One, two, three, four, five, six, and seven.
08:29And a half.
08:33Echoes of Sanders' past films can be found in The Wild Robot.
08:37This includes his first live-action film, The Call of the Wild,
08:40which could also be brutal in its portrayal of nature.
08:43Yet it never feels like Sanders is repeating himself,
08:46exploring these themes as if we were experiencing them
08:49for the first time.
08:50If you can create a very simple, strong structure,
08:53a three-act structure, if it holds up the basic story,
08:57that's the architecture.
08:58Then you can go back to character, you can go back to the gardening.
09:02Sanders has been nominated for three Academy Awards,
09:05although he's yet to win.
09:07While 2024 has given us audience hits like Inside Out 2
09:10and independent darlings like Memoir of a Snail,
09:13The Wild Robot just might be Sanders' path to an overdue Oscar.
09:17Patience is the key.
09:20It's okay, Mom! I'm alive!
09:23Why stop there?
09:24Aside from considering Sanders in other categories
09:26like Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay,
09:29the Academy shouldn't overlook Chris Bowers' mystical musical score,
09:33Chris Stover's immersive cinematography,
09:35or Raymond Zeebaks' atmospheric production design.
09:39Too often, Oscar voters forget Best Animated Feature
09:42isn't the only category that can honor animation.
09:45That said, this may be DreamWorks' first win in the category
09:48since Wallace and Gromit The Curse of the Were-Rabbit.
09:51Excluding co-productions,
09:52it'd be DreamWorks Animation's first Oscar since Shrek.
09:56What kind of knight are you?
09:59One of a kind.
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10:16While The Wild Robot is sure to mark several milestones for DreamWorks,
10:20one carries a bittersweet sentiment.
10:22Per Cartoon Brew,
10:24DreamWorks will depend more on partnerships
10:26with outside animation studios going forward,
10:28meaning The Wild Robot may be their Glendale campus's
10:31last entirely in-house production.
10:33Are those your parents?
10:34I know predators, and those are predators.
10:39DreamWorks isn't going anywhere,
10:41but this seems like the end of an era.
10:43In a way, this is mirrored in The Wild Robot.
10:45Without going into spoilers,
10:47the film's ending deals with separation,
10:49yet provides hope that loved ones will find each other again.
10:52Mom?
10:53No!
10:57DreamWorks has gotten lost more than once throughout its history.
11:01If they continue to produce films like The Wild Robot, though,
11:04the future promises to be optimistic,
11:06no matter what changes await.
11:08This is a wilderness.
11:10And I am a wild robot.
11:17What did you think of The Wild Robot?
11:19Let us know in the comments.
11:20Bright Bill, is that satisfactory?
11:23Bright Bill?
11:24Processing.
11:25Boop boop.
11:26Satisfactory.
11:29Do you agree with our picks?
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