Robots to the rescue

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Today is Friday, September 27th.

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Good morning. I’m Myrna Brown.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher.

Coming next on The World and Everything in It: another kids’ movie arrives in theaters.

Last weekend, the animated action adventure Transformers One underperformed expectations in its debut. And this weekend a new animated kids’ film arrives in theaters hoping to do better.

Here’s WORLD arts and culture editor Collin Garbarino on The Wild Robot from Dreamworks Animation.

ROZ: Helloooo, bonjour, guten tag, hujambo, hola… Congratulations on your purchase of a Universal Dynamics robot. I am a ROZZUM 7134. A ROZZUM always completes its task. Just ask.

COLLIN GARBARINO: In The Wild Robot, a sentient robot that’s intended to help humans with household chores ends up shipwrecked on an uninhabited island. Except the island’s not totally uninhabited. There are plenty of wild animals around struggling to survive. Without any humans to help, the robot sets out to learn what she can about the island’s fauna.

Despite Roz’s friendly demeanor, the island’s animals won’t have anything to do with her, labeling her a monster.

RICO: You do not belong here. This is a wilderness.

She eventually finds a task that needs completing when she rescues an orphaned gosling. The gosling imprints on Roz, and Roz imprints on the gosling. And just like that Roz becomes a mother. She determines that she will teach the gosling how to fly before its time for him to migrate for the winter.

The Wild Robot is an adaptation of Peter Brown’s 2016 children’s book of the same name, which seems to be a favorite among the kids at my daughter’s middle school. The film doesn’t precisely follow the book, but it manages to cover the same story in broad strokes.

ROZ: On a scale of one to ten where ten is most satisfied and one is least, how would you rate my performance.

Whether kids have read the book or not, I think they’ll enjoy the film. Parents probably will too.

ROZ: I will register that as a ten.

The story is cute, funny, and fast paced, but the best thing is the animation. For the last few years, DreamWorks has been churning out animated films using inventive techniques that make the Pixar-style feel stale. The Wild Robot takes a painterly, almost impressionistic, approach to its visuals that brings to life the beauty and danger of this island wilderness.

The film is rated PG for some action and peril, and while it’s not too scary it doesn’t shy away from depicting nature red in tooth and claw. Some woodland creatures will get eaten.

ROZ: Aggression detected. My communication package includes strategies for conflict resolution.

Roz must learn to override her programming to become a wild robot, and at the same time she teaches the animals to override their natures so they can cooperate.

The action and comedy will keep kids entertained, but filmmaker Chris Sanders, who’s also responsible for Lilo & Stitch and How to Train Your Dragon, shifts the subtext to play on parents’ heartstrings. The book teaches kids lessons about embracing those not like us. And while the movie does too, at points it also becomes a touching metaphor for the trials of parenthood. As the kids get older, the job doesn’t necessarily get any easier.

POSSUM: As far as he’s concerned, you’re his mother now.

ROZ: I do not have the programming to be a mother.

POSSUM: No one does. We just make it up.

When watching The Wild Robot, it’s hard not to be reminded of another movie featuring a robot who befriends a child.

You might consider revisiting Warner Bros.’ The Iron Giant which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. It’s a modern animated classic.

The Iron Giant was also based on a children’s book, and it takes place in 1957 during the Cold War. It’s about an active boy named Hogarth who tends to wear out his widowed mother with good-natured antics.

HOGARTH: Hey, Mom! You won’t believe our good luck. Guess what I found?

MOM: Hogarth, we’ve been through this before. No pets.

After a huge alien robot crashlands in the woods outside his hometown, Hogarth befriends the metallic giant. His challenge is convincing everyone else that his new friend isn’t a monster.

HOGARTH: You can’t go stomping around, and you can’t come with me. My mom will wig out.

IRON GIANT: [rumbles]

HOGARTH: That’s right.

Brad Bird, who would later go on to create Pixar’s Incredibles and Ratatouille, made his directorial debut with this film. Even in 1999, it felt like something of a throwback. Computers were revolutionizing the animation process, but this film features traditional hand-drawn animation. The Iron Giant is a laid back movie, with a less frenetic pace than most contemporary kids’ films. It doesn’t try to do too much in its spare 86-minute runtime. I think the slower pace and uncluttered plot serve to heighten the poignancy of the film’s climax. Nowadays, films can completely exhaust the audience before they get around to delivering the emotional punch.

Annie And Dead - The Iron Giant Soundtrack

Both of these films feature outcast saviors who must swoop in to save the day. And both promote the value of peaceful coexistence. I think I prefer the somewhat subtler messaging in The Iron Giant, but I love the visuals of The Wild Robot. If you try one or the other this weekend, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

I’m Collin Garbarino.

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