Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Review: THE WILD ROBOT [Toronto Intl Film Festival 2024 - Toronto, Ontario]

The best animated films are the ones that are original enough but give just the briefest wisps of the past without losing itself. “The Wild Robot” [Gala Presentations/World Premiere] written and directed by Chris Sanders is the best of both these worlds by both understanding the heart and the humor…the natural world and the tech side…the dark humor and the light. This is beyond the animation style which has a new perspective but is not jarring enough that it takes you out of the progression. Sanders said at CinemaCon there was a Monet aspect to it but it plays without taking a viewer away or out of the frame. Most will talk about a certain relation to “Wall-E” but it is a completely different thesis although it does speak to the importance of connection first of a mother toa son and then (with Fink) of a friend to a friend.

Lupita Nyong’o plays the robot but has to understand the timing to really make it work. Pedro Pascal has to play Fink against her without overwhelming the balance with either saccarine or snarkiness. The music, the cute factor and certain elements inbetween have to play to the end result but the screenplay makes it work without becoming too archetypal. The humor offsets this but again without making it forced. Everything is placed exactly as it should be but the film still feels organic despite having to be methodical simply by the nature of its medium. It is simple except making this kind of film is not simple. “The Wild Robot” crosses a lot of different borders in many ways that many films can’t do. It will be interesting to see its trajectory once it opens since, if the premiere shows anything, it affects everyone whomever they may be. A

By Tim Wassberg