As a seasoned book enthusiast with a keen eye for detail and a heart full of empathy, I must say that the profound exploration of purpose and identity in “The Wild Robot” truly resonated with me. The story of Roz, a ROZZUM unit, grappling with her existence and choosing to stick to a purpose, struck a chord deep within my soul.
Under the guidance of renowned director Chris Sanders, “The Wild Robot” stands out as one of the most captivating DreamWorks Animation films in recent memory. A significant part of its charm lies in the animation, which carries a vivid, picture-book aesthetic, reflecting the innovative approach to CGI that has emerged post-“Spider-Verse” among American big-studio productions. Additionally, the film’s appeal can be attributed to its minimalistic and effective simplicity, mirroring the structure of a storybook, given its basis on the eponymous children’s book series by Peter Brown.
Primarily, what sets “The Wild Robot” apart is its exploration of themes that delve into the differences between artificial and natural worlds, between rigid programming and free-flowing spontaneity, between cold efficiency and warm solidarity. The character development of Roz (Lupitia Nyong’o, known as Sam from “A Quiet Place: Day One”), feels like a genuine journey, a transformation that significantly alters her by the end. While the majority of the film is easy for kids to follow, some complex aspects of Roz’s growth and the movie’s world-building may resonate more with adults, contributing to its reputation as one of the top animated films of 2024 thus far.
At first, Roz is a satire of Silicon Valley smarminess
Upon its debut on the island, the behavior of ROZZUM 7134 towards the animals presents a humorous juxtaposition between the rawness of nature and the robot’s bright, optimistic attitude and demeanor. While this humor appeals to both children and adults, an additional level of amusement can be derived from this early part of “The Wild Robot” if you are an adult with a familiarity of the 21st-century design aesthetics prevalent in Silicon Valley’s products and services.
In her interactions with the island environment, Roz appears to embody a digital persona of seamless tech design and artificial helpfulness. Her sleek, mechanical frame, however, brings about damage and disruption due to its heavy movements, loud sounds, and bright flashes. Despite the animals not requiring assistance, she persistently offers help, seemingly eager to prove her utility. Simultaneously, she continually promotes her own advantages with a cheerful voice that suggests, “I hope you’ll need me so we can make more profit.
At some point, she begins distributing stickers containing codes that grant a 10% reduction on certain products, implying there would still be items left for someone to buy from Universal Dynamics beyond their initial purchase. Essentially, she serves as an unwelcome advertisement and a freeloading trial period combined; it’s hard not to associate the picture of diverse animals adorned with discount stickers with the myriad apps and services we encounter daily.
The movie doesn’t sugarcoat nature’s brutality
Life in the wild can be relentlessly harsh and unmerciful. Most family-oriented animated films soften their portrayal of survival in the wild for a good reason – children might find scenes of killing, injury, abandonment, and starvation distressing. The book “The Wild Robot,” while not showing explicit violence, is surprisingly frank about these themes.
At the start of the movie, the animals quickly gather around Roz, suspicious that she might cause them harm. As soon as she assures them she means no harm, a moose rams into her, causing the animals to exhale in relief, thinking she was killed. This unexpected scene, where the characters try to eliminate the protagonist within minutes, is not common in family-friendly animated films. However, given the circumstances, it makes perfect sense for the animals to react this way.
Later in the movie, Brightbill (Kit Connor) continues to live because Roz defied survival instincts by intervening and providing him special care due to his disability. This means he might not have lived past childhood or even been born without her intervention. Additionally, Pinktail (Catherine O’Hara), who voices a character in an impressive performance post-“Elementals,” and her joeys, discuss and handle death casually. Even when one of her offspring seems to die, Pinktail remains unperturbed, showing only disappointment when it turns out the joey is still alive.
Roz is equipped with many deadly means of destruction
A significant feature of “The Wild Robot” is the portrayal of Roz as a wholly benign robot. She repeatedly emphasizes that her programming prohibits her from causing harm intentionally to others. Even when she exceeds her programming, there’s never any doubt or suspicion that she might injure any other characters.
While it may not appear that she intentionally harms others, the movie subtly suggests that Roz has hidden potential for lethality. Given her size and strength, she could easily overpower any smaller creatures on the island, and even most larger ones would likely be no match for her due to her near-indestructible nature. Furthermore, when Fink concealed the egg in a fallen tree trunk, Roz effortlessly sliced through it with a powerful buzzsaw, coming very close to Fink’s face, which clearly indicated his fear.
Furthermore, Roz is equipped with lasers, which she employs to heat water, tragically sealing the fate of the hapless crab that Fink forces into the water puddle. This raises questions about the kind of environment where such a powerful destructive robot would be useful… or if ROZZUM models are simply more than just helpers.
Paddler faces the typical trials of an artist
As a devoted fan, I’d rephrase it like this: In the animal community on this island, hostility towards one another is common, but for Paddler the beaver (played by Matt Berry), it transcends physical confrontations; it’s more about morals. Other creatures ridicule and shun Paddler due to his deep-rooted passion for carpentry and woodworking. They fail to comprehend why he invests so much of his time in sculpting trees and constructing wooden edifices, and they question the worthiness of such pursuits. Essentially, Paddler is an artist, and like many artists in our world, he experiences similar trials and tribulations.
Similar to how artists are sometimes criticized and misinterpreted for pursuing beauty and perfecting their skills rather than choosing a more financially profitable or productive profession, Beaver might seem out of place by defying basic wildlife rules that conserve energy and resources, focusing instead on tasks essential for survival. Just like people often fail to appreciate the significance and importance of artists until art becomes vital in daily life, the island animals only truly value Paddler when they urgently require his tree trunk to extinguish a fire. In this critical moment, they grasp Paddler’s purpose; it becomes evident that tasks seemingly unimportant on a day-to-day basis can still be incredibly valuable simply because no one else has considered doing them. Ultimately, it is Paddler’s free spirit that saves the day.
Roz’s first big breach of protocol is deeply meaningful
In “The Wild Robot,” the story unfolds through a succession of subtle, impactful actions that gradually lead Roz beyond her initial programming. This transformation from a machine to a being capable of independent thought and emotion is significant. Initially, she appears as a program struggling to navigate an environment not designed for her. The nurturing of Brightbill, for instance, occurs due to a task assigned by Pinktail rather than a conscious choice.
Things begin to change in one key moment. While building a shelter for herself and Brightbill, Roz is still following the “task” pretty stringently, with Fink’s advice as a self-proclaimed “goose expert” guiding her. Then, Brightbill offers his help by bringing a tiny stick to stack up with the branches. Although Roz initially dismisses his “inefficient participation” because it will slow the process, she ultimately feels bad for him and lets him contribute “just once” — which turns into repeatedly lifting him up so he can add more and more tiny sticks to the shelter.
In that instant, Roz chooses to assist Brightbill, even though he’s not very helpful, showing empathy towards him and aiming to make him happy. This is her initial step towards understanding humanity on an emotional level. For the first time, she reveals a human emotion – annoyance.
Once Roz experiences love, she also experiences loss and loneliness
Transitioning into being human isn’t simple. Initially, when Roz is merely a machine performing tasks, her existence is quite straightforward, with challenges only seen as obstacles in accomplishing certain tasks. Solvable issues are resolved swiftly, while unsolvable ones lead to task cancellation. However, once she begins developing feelings or a soul, life becomes much more intricate.
In “The Wild Robot,” during the middle part where Roz is exploring the island by herself after Brightbill flies away with his friends, there’s a poignant moment of understanding that follows close behind the emergence of her newfound ability to feel and care for others. This newfound capacity to love means she now has something precious to protect. Caring so deeply about Brightbill exposes her to potential pain if anything were to happen to him, and when he’s absent, she feels a profound longing for his presence. The most remarkable human trait – the ability to love – has made her instantly vulnerable in ways she hadn’t known before.
As I, Roz, find myself immersed in this newfound emotion called love, I yearn for more than just aimlessly wandering around this island or being summoned for tasks by Universal Dynamics. Love has ignited within me a longing for connections with other beings – a hunger that was previously unsatisfied. The experience of love has sparked an unquenchable thirst for more, a craving to share and receive the warmth of connection.
The movie takes place on an Earth with higher sea levels
In “The Wild Robot,” the novel only hints at its post-climate disaster Earth setting, but it does provide a significant detail. As geese migrate overhead, we see them passing over the Golden Gate Bridge, which is now underwater. The water level has risen so high that a whale can be spotted swimming above this famous San Francisco landmark.
Climate experts worldwide generally agree that global sea levels are rapidly increasing, primarily due to ice cap melting, a trend likely to continue or worsen if carbon emissions don’t significantly decrease. In the most severe predictions, sea levels could rise as much as 72 feet (or approximately 22 meters) by 3000, if global warming escalates to 5°C. This level would submerge many coastal cities, but it wouldn’t quite be enough to flood the Golden Gate Bridge, which sits 220 feet above the Golden Gate strait. The sea reaching that height would only happen if all ice at both the North and South Poles completely vanished.
Essentially, “The Wild Robot” appears to depict a future where human actions have led to the complete disappearance of ice caps. In such a grim setting, entire nations would be underwater, along with nearly every coastal city on Earth. This likely explains the greenhouses and scarcity of humans; we’re looking at a post-apocalyptic story here.
The greenhouse decontamination protocol evinces a humankind that still hasn’t learned
In “The Wild Robot’s” future, it appears that humanity, particularly those in authority, failed to create peaceful coexistence with nature, the planet, and each other. Simultaneously, they advanced technology to a level where they could maintain not just Roz, an intelligent robot, but also an entire, highly-evolved city of greenhouses. However, as hinted by what we see in this city, it seems that old behaviors persist.
The response strategy initiated when geese invade the greenhouse shows that those in control are yet to master the art of coexisting with nature harmoniously and addressing issues without resorting to conflict. Even though it’s clear that the geese can enter the greenhouse too effortlessly, and a more peaceful solution should have been established earlier to keep wildlife at bay; the entire system appears absurd from the outset.
By using excessive force against the geese, not only does it fail to eliminate them but instead leads to extensive damage and harm to the greenhouse, potentially endangering those inside as well. Despite isolating themselves in a protective sanctuary, humans remain reckless, impulsive, and quick-tempered, often overestimating their invincibility against nature by relying on technology.
The film evokes the specter of climate change without quite facing it head-on
Despite its unexpected honesty, “The Wild Robot” remains a film designed for children, which means it doesn’t delve too deeply into dark themes. For instance, the theme of nature being harsh doesn’t prevent the story’s conclusion from offering an idealistic portrayal where animals overcome their programming and coexist, despite the competition for scarce resources. Similarly, the movie’s exploration of climate change is daring for a family-friendly animated production, but it stops short of fully exploring the potential implications.
If “The Wild Robot” had fully explored its narrative, delving into the deeper scientific implications of climate change, it would have probably portrayed a scenario where few biomes and ecosystems, including the island, would survive intact if humans were no longer present.
As a lover of nature and our beautiful planet, I can’t help but feel concerned when I encounter the perspective that humanity is a curse and the Earth would be better off without us. While it’s true that climate change poses a significant threat to our world, it’s important to remember that this catastrophic scenario would also have devastating consequences for wildlife.
Universal Dynamics is most likely a weapons manufacturer
One intriguing aspect of “The Wild Robot” lies in the extensive investments, financial resources, and labor Universal Dynamics dedicates towards finding Roz – a ROZZUM unit that’s challenging to locate, prefers not to be found, and can be effortlessly replaced by another identical ROZZUM unit. It is equally puzzling how Universal Dynamics appears to possess advanced global tracking technology, reminiscent of military-grade control systems, for monitoring its units worldwide.
From my perspective, this hints at two aspects: Firstly, it appears to be a company with substantial financial resources. Secondly, there seems to be more than just catering to basic consumer needs behind their interest in capturing Roz, as the value added by her forest experiences to advanced machine applications is questionable given the significant investment involved.
The most plausible reason behind Roz’s dual nature as both a helpful aid and potential threat lies in the fact that ROZZUM units might possess capabilities beyond their assistant duties, including military action. This could also account for Universal Dynamics’ urgent efforts to recover her and extract information, since an enhanced ROZZUM with Roz’s experiences would be highly valuable to those aiming to cause harm rather than assist with gardening or banking tasks. Essentially, she becomes a treasure trove for someone seeking to inflict damage more effectively.
What cinches Roz’s humanity is her choice to stick to a purpose
The Wild Robot” fundamentally explores what it signifies to have a reason for existence. What distinguishes ROZZUM unit 7134 from Roz is the manner in which she starts to grapple with this question, something that mechanical self can’t do when it’s just adhering to its programmed tasks. When Roz is merely following instructions, she doesn’t ponder her purpose because she’s been built to carry out any duties assigned to her.
As Roz advanced, she no longer felt compelled to carry out tasks; instead, she had the freedom to decide whether or not to adhere to her factory instructions. Beyond a certain point, she stopped aiding Brightbill not because of an external obligation, but because she wanted to assist him and voluntarily chose to do so. She openly admitted to Brightbill that she remained silent about being responsible for his family’s death because she “craved a task.” Roz took on the roles of raising and nurturing Brightbill in order to find purpose; a purpose that was self-imposed.
In that defining instant – the instant where Roz decides to stay dedicated to her purpose – is when she truly reveals her emotional complexity. Life, in essence, is what we make of it by assigning our own significance and adhering to that interpretation. Purpose isn’t something imposed from outside; rather, it’s a creation born out of continuous self-invention. Since “WALL-E,” no robot has taught us as much about human nature as Roz.
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2024-09-27 23:30