The Wild Robot (2024) Spoiler Thread

[Eric Dylan]

Discuss

[AniNate]

I have to admit it was more DreamWorksy than I was hoping and felt like the story beats needed more room to breathe, but the central narrative is moving and the voice cast is all terrific. 

 

Was thinking they might've included some elements of the future books, but they did more or less just follow the broad narrative of the first one. Definitely looking forward to adaptations of the next two if DreamWorks is aiming that way.

[cannastop]

I rate it 8/10 or 9/10

 

Some of it was overwrought 

 

Also Pedro Pascal sounds exactly like Jason Bateman from Zootopia

[wattage]

I didn't read the books so I didn't know they'd actually care about her killing her child's family. I figured that's what happened from the trailer but I thought it would just be jokes like we got at first and we move on. 

 

I don't really think there's anything I would've wanted them to linger on, maybe more time on raising bright bill in the middle stages. 

 

Voice performances were mostly perfect, I would say Pedro Pascal was the one who's voice was leaking through the most to me but if I didn't know it was him I probably wouldn't have even noticed. 

[wattage]

22 hours ago, AniNate said:

I have to admit it was more DreamWorksy than I was hoping and felt like the story beats needed more room to breathe, but the central narrative is moving and the voice cast is all terrific. 

 

Was thinking they might've included some elements of the future books, but they did more or less just follow the broad narrative of the first one. Definitely looking forward to adaptations of the next two if DreamWorks is aiming that way.

Oh the way it played out I assumed they combined books, like the first was getting brightbill to migrate and then the other was the aftermath and then him coming home and then maybe the third book was what wasn't adapted with Ros back in the city and getting back to the wild. Interesting. 

 

Any particular story beats that stood out as needing more time to you? 

 

I get what you mean by DreamsWorksy. I like their movies so it was about what I expected, skunk cloud joke included lol. I made sure to avoid the book until I watched the film since even with a kids book it would be likely to color what I'd want to see. I'm gonna be queuing up the audiobook this weekend I think. 

[AniNate]

The only part that's really taken from a later book is the final scene where Brightbill reunited with Roz in the tech world. They more or less stuck to the first book's narrative but added that to end it on a happier note. I presume if they do a sequel it's gonna start as a buddy adventure to get back to the island as opposed to one that becomes one a third of the way in like Wild Robot Escapes does.

 

I would've liked the winter scene to be longer I think, the book was more subtle about the animals learning to trust Roz and the movie went with a dramatic speech to streamline it. Again, probably should've kept expectations in check for a cinematic adaptation but what can you do.

 

I get why they did it for runtime's sake but I was still kinda disappointed they left Chitchat out (even though I think they were still aiming to give a nod to the character with the squirrel extras). She gave Brightbill an extra emotional dimension in the book that he doesn't really have here, his emotional arc is basically just reacting to decisions Roz makes. Kit Connor gave an excellent VA performance though.

[wattage]

1 hour ago, AniNate said:

The only part that's really taken from a later book is the final scene where Brightbill reunited with Roz in the tech world. They more or less stuck to the first book's narrative but added that to end it on a happier note. I presume if they do a sequel it's gonna start as a buddy adventure to get back to the island as opposed to one that becomes one a third of the way in like Wild Robot Escapes does.

 

I would've liked the winter scene to be longer I think, the book was more subtle about the animals learning to trust Roz and the movie went with a dramatic speech to streamline it. Again, probably should've kept expectations in check for a cinematic adaptation but what can you do.

 

I get why they did it for runtime's sake but I was still kinda disappointed they left Chitchat out (even though I think they were still aiming to give a nod to the character with the squirrel extras). She gave Brightbill an extra emotional dimension in the book that he doesn't really have here, his emotional arc is basically just reacting to decisions Roz makes. Kit Connor gave an excellent VA performance though.

Ill report back when I get through the audio book but depending on the book but if its more internal reflection that leads to the subtly of that arc you mentioned then its not just because of runtrine I think. I tend to notice this with book adaptations in general, for movie purposes it's just nicer to have big flashy "moments" even if subtly would be nicer.

 

I'm even more interested in the book now, in this cut character and everything. If this movie does well then I can see sequels coming down the line in the vein of what you're saying. I like that this movie can just be a standalone but there's definitely subtle sequel setup if the financials work out for it. 

[Morieris]

I feel like it was paced very quickly in the first half hour or so. I didn't understand why they were rushing so much, every typical plot beat felt like it happened and they didn't linger on it.

 

It got better but - wow. Ironically, the same criticism I had of the other Universal movie I saw this year.

 

It's also interesting to hear the new voice actors for KFP 4 and go "These are not good", and then to come here and go "Wait, everybody is delivering, and most of these people aren't VAs either." Different directors and teams but I was wondering "Well, what happened there?"

 

Impressed with how they managed to adapt the book quite closely while leaving room for a sequel.

 

Spoiler

I really loved the touches that it was probably a post-apocalyptic world, like the Golden Gate Bridge underwater. Did that brochure say "Florida - Souther Than It's Ever Been!"?

 

Edited September 28 by Morieris

[Eric Dylan]

Said this in the weekend thread, but I cried 4 different times here. When Brightbill first left for the migration, when Brightbill told her mom how much he loved him, when Roz left the island, and the final ending when mother and son reunite. This was made for all the autistic runts like me who love their mother way too much, and it wrecked me hard. This is the kind of movie I wish came out when I was a kid.

 

Though I will say, and this is very obviously a nitpick, it is funny how all the animals all decide to make a truce and be nice to each other...so what did the predators eat during all that time? What do they still get to eat? This is like Zootopia where they never answer something that stupid grown adults like me care about and it's hilarious.

[Eric Dylan]

Also I'm not even into shipping, and I want to have a ROBOT and a FOX marry each other. They are the coolest parents ever holy moly.

[cannastop]

2 minutes ago, The Wild Eric said:

Also I'm not even into shipping, and I want to have a ROBOT and a FOX marry each other. They are the coolest parents ever holy moly.

I didn't really get those vibes at all. Don't really ship Roz and Fink. Just because they both care about Brightbill doesn't mean that.

[Morieris]

20 minutes ago, The Wild Eric said:

Though I will say, and this is very obviously a nitpick, it is funny how all the animals all decide to make a truce and be nice to each other...so what did the predators eat during all that time? What do they still get to eat? This is like Zootopia where they never answer something that stupid grown adults like me care about and it's hilarious.

 

I thought they were supposed to be hibernating so they just slept, but the movie skipped it.

 

Spoiler

In the book that's how it goes.

 

[Skim Beeble]

"What if I need to tell you something and you're not here?" 😭

 

A movie with so many universal themes and experiences, that it would be impossible for someone not to resonate with it somehow.  It's a very simple narrative, but sometimes that's all you need. I also find it very amusing that they're called Universal Dynamic Robots. Surprised Universal allowed that, but I'm not sure if that's what they were called in the books.

[wattage]

55 minutes ago, The Wild Eric said:

Also I'm not even into shipping, and I want to have a ROBOT and a FOX marry each other. They are the coolest parents ever holy moly.

They're actually in a lavender marriage, according to the council of me and me. 

Edited September 28 by wattage

[wattage]

37 minutes ago, Morieris said:

 

I thought they were supposed to be hibernating so they just slept, but the movie skipped it.

 

  Hide contents

In the book that's how it goes.

 

That's how I read it in the movie. It's only a truce during winter while they chill out to stay alive and then other seasons it's back to the circle of life. 

[Webslinger]

I'll have more to say about this later once I've had more time to process my thoughts, but... yeah. I don't think my face stayed dry for more than five consecutive minutes the whole running time.

 

A beautiful film about surrogate motherhood, found family, not fitting in, responding to threats with kindness and compassion, and transcending your "programming." It's one of the best movies I've seen this year, and maybe even DreamWorks Animation's best ever? I'll have to sit on it and weigh it against my Shrek nostalgia, but I think it might be their best ever.

[AniNate]

2 hours ago, Morieris said:

I feel like it was paced very quickly in the first half hour or so. I didn't understand why they were rushing so much, every typical plot beat felt like it happened and they didn't linger on it.

 

It got better but - wow. Ironically, the same criticism I had of the other Universal movie I saw this year.

 

It's also interesting to hear the new voice actors for KFP 4 and go "These are not good", and then to come here and go "Wait, everybody is delivering, and most of these people aren't VAs either." Different directors and teams but I was wondering "Well, what happened there?"

 

Impressed with how they managed to adapt the book quite closely while leaving room for a sequel.

 

  Hide contents

I really loved the touches that it was probably a post-apocalyptic world, like the Golden Gate Bridge underwater. Did that brochure say "Florida - Souther Than It's Ever Been!"?

 

 

I think it was "More shoreline than ever" or something like that

[Flopped]

This was just fine. I thought it'd blow me away with originality and creativity but it's predictable and not that fresh, and it's emotional the way many animated films are so that was expected too. It's like a "good if it was on Netflix, just fine otherwise" kind of movie. B-/C+

[Noctis]

The best animated movie of the decade, and one of the most emotional films in years.

 

A

[filmlover]

An instant animated sci-fi classic worthy of being mentioned alongside WALL-E, The Iron Giant, and the Spider-Man: Spider-Verse movies, the best animated studio film since Soul, and a strong contender for the best DreamWorks movie ever made. A beautiful (and beautifully animated) tale about the bonds of parenthood presented with the kind of depth most mainstream cartoon fare tends to shy away from. At a time when there is so much lack of compassion towards others in the world, it's refreshing to see a movie that embraces the notion with such humor and warmth.

 

A wonderful lead voice performance from Lupita Nyong'o carries the film, and an equally terrific supporting cast that includes Pedro Pascal, Catherine O'Hara, Mark Hamill, Bill Nighy, Ving Rhames, Stephanie Hsu, and heart(stopper)throb of the moment Kit Connor also adds tremendously to the experience. 

 

It's both easily the best movie I've seen in 2024 so far and a reminder of just how rich and rewarding an animated movie can be beyond existing as a diversion for children, and also worth seeing on as big of a screen as you can find.

 

A