Review: Kleenex stock hits all-time high with the release of The Wild Robot

Since I saw The Wild Robot last night, I've been trying not to think about it. Because there are only so many tissues in this house. I don't feel like walking to the store to grab more, snot dribbling down my face, eyes puffy and red. I thought I was fully cried-out by the time the credits rolled, but it seems that's not the case. There are lines and moments from this movie that I won't ever be able to think about without welling up. Kleenex stock is through the roof this weekend!!

Genuinely, what a massive triumph The Wild Robot is for DreamWorks. Adapted from Peter Brown's book of the same name, and helmed by Chris Sanders (Lilo & Stitch, How to Train Your Dragon...yeah, this guy gets it), this movie is a massive success on every front.

Even if this movie was only relying on its style, it would still get a passing grade from me. This thing is gorgeous. Its painterly presentation of its storybook-beautiful world is a genuine feast for the eyes. The island where a helpful robot named Roz (Lupita Nyong'o) inadvertently lands is brought to vibrant life with diverse, stunning landscapes -- crashing waves, towering cliffs, dense forests, rocky shores. The animal denizens have such a fun spark of life to them, where they feel very much like what they are (the movements and behaviors feel really natural and right), but they also have that extra amped-up personality pop that only animation gives us. The island feels, in its way, like a little pocket of paradise in a world that has forgotten it, especially when compared to the sleek, sterile city we catch glimpses of throughout the film. 

Thankfully, though. this movie is so much more than its style. This is classic story-telling done in its finest form, the apotheosis of a studio movie aimed at entertaining the whole family. All the storytelling beats you want and expect are there, delivered expertly, with heart and humor and warmth. Now feels like a good time to mention that my favorite movie of all time is WALL-E, because this movie gave me some shades of that, particularly in Roz's motivation. As a helper robot specifically designed to take on tasks and see them to their ends ("Directive!), she certainly has shades of EVE. Her arc toward feeling is so brilliantly rendered, both in her appearance (becoming wilder and wilder as she spends more time on the island) and, more thrillingly, in Nyong'o's performance.

I really think this is one of those voice performances that will go down in history as one of the best. Think Robin Williams in Aladdin or Ellen Degeneres in Finding Nemo. Nyong'o delivers stunning work here, starting the movie with the hyper-articulate (yeah, robotic) diction of an object and gradually becoming more...not human, I guess, but here, animal? Her voice gains warmth, depth, nuance, humor as the character learns to overwrite her protocols, to make decisions for herself, to love. Why, why do I love watching movies about robots learning to love? Who knows.

She's got a stellar supporting cast, too. I had seen the roll call in trailers, of course, but I kind of had forgotten who all was in this, and I didn't clock anyone save Bill Nighy during. So I was pretty delighted to see who was who during the credits. A lot of really strong work by a starry cast. Cheers to all.

As relatively simple (or let's say "classic") as the story is, The Wild Robot really shines because of what it's doing thematically alongside that story. Again, I don't think the wheel is being reinvented, but you know what? Wheels work really well! And it's great to see wheels being employed in effective and exciting ways! Which is certainly the case here. This is a gorgeous take on a found family story, finding where you belong, marching to the beat of your own drum, daring to be more than what you feel you were designed to be. Just the image of this sleek, massive robot walking through the woods is so striking. That fish-out-of-water element could be enough to build a movie around. But here, it just serves as the jumping-off point for commentary on parenthood, community, and even a touch of climate change. It's a thematically rich tale that really keeps you gripped.

This is a good time to mention Kris Bowers' gorgeous score, which does a lot of emotional heavy-lifting and provides suitably epic accompaniment to the movie's more adventurous moments. Again, I was getting shades of Thomas Newman's work for WALL-E, which is about as high praise as I can give a movie's score.

Also,  man, does this thing move. Perfectly paced, bouncing along at a steady clip with a couple great montages, a time skip here, a break for some humor here, an action set-piece there. It's such a *ahem* finely-tuned machine, always giving us something new to look at, to laugh at, to think about. All the way to the thrilling and absolutely emotionally devastating finale, which had me shaking in my seat, shirt soaked, just a blubbering mess. Regardless of this is DreamWorks' best movie (it definitely might be), I think, for me, it's at least their most emotionally powerful. My heart is still hurting. I can't wait to see it again.