Between Baymax and The Iron Giant, a new helping robot joins the crowd, and yet is unlike anything before.

The Wild Robot is a new film released on Sept. 27 this year which was based on a previously written book of the same name. The story follows a helper robot named Roz, who finds herself on a deserted island, and she must find a way to survive the animals who think she’s a monster. She eventually builds relationships with the animals, one in particular being a gosling.

Since the film is based on a book, expectations for the movie were easily comparable with the ‘original’ version. And with at least three of the voice actors also playing roles in the Star Wars universe, this movie had a lot to live up to. 

The expectations were outperformed in numerous respects. From the beginning, the animation was extremely unique and the contrast between the nature style and the animation of the technology portions was interesting and refreshing to see. The animation style of any nature parts were more of a watercolor-based, organic and artistic look, with fluid movements in the animals. This created a lush, textured look for the majority of the scenes, which kept it looking realistic while also being an innovative way of styling the movie. Director Chris Sanders used contrasting blocky and quick movements for Roz and the other industrial aspects. The opening scene was vibrant with life and color that seamlessly blended into the next, keeping watchers engaged and invested.

In terms of content, the film was pretty much nonstop action. Scenes blended together seamlessly and there was constantly something interesting happening. Of course there were still emotional, funny, and sad parts as well, but the point is that they got directly to the point and kept the story moving forward.

The music and overall sound was well done, too, a cohesive piece full of sharp backgrounds and a mix of appropriate sound effects overlaid. It was so interesting to see how director Chris Sanders mixed the use of normal speaking and animal noises to create a unique blend that seemed to fit perfectly into the nonstop world they had created.

Above all of that, however, I have to say that the most enjoyable part of the movie was the fact that it was so close to the storyline of the book. Often when movies are based on books, the directors take some major creative liberties that can ruin people’s opinions of the movie since the book was a masterpiece by itself, and changing the story ruins the world created in the book. This is not the case for The Wild Robot. Every character, scene, and detail was almost word for word with the book, and it was so refreshing to finally have a movie that did this.

From the precise attention to detail to the powerful arching storyline and the themes of life, death, and letting go in-between, The Wild Robot is an astonishing new movie with old ideas that still ring true today: how change is hard but inevitable and necessary for growth, how one’s purpose may not always be what it first seems, and how kindness really can come back around to you if you are willing enough to show it in the first place.