In the near-ish future, ROZZUM 7134 is the only surviving unit out of a cargo of server-robots washed up on an island wilderness. Crab-crawling up the cliff-face - using the first of many skills she’ll mimic from the island’s wildlife - humanoid ‘Roz’ (voiced by Lupita Nyong’o) makes a home in the woodland.
The most striking thing about The Wild Robot is how it continues mainstream animation’s ongoing visually inventive streak (the Spider-Verse movies, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish). This CG-animated film has a sumptuous, painterly quality that magics brushstrokes out of pixels. It’s delightful to gawp at, and makes the ideal canvas for the tech-meets-nature story.
