‘The Wild Robot’ Review: It’s No ‘Iron Giant,’ Though DreamWorks’ Tale of a Wayward Droid Is a Keeper
variety.comPeter Debruge Chief Film Critic A gorgeous computer-generated cartoon with a human heart beating beneath its sleek, state-of-the-art surface, DreamWorks Animation’s “The Wild Robot” arrives at a time when the public seems more concerned than ever about being outsmarted by artificial intelligence.
It’s somewhat ironic then that the movie, a lovely chosen-family fable adapted from the first book in Peter Brown’s open-ended series, features no human characters of consequence.
Instead, “The Wild Robot” concerns an overzealous automaton named ROZZUM 7134 (or simply “Roz” for short), whose personality comes partly from Lupita Nyong’o and the rest from the artists at DWA.
Together with “How to Train Your Dragon” co-director Chris Sanders, they imbue this bot — basically, two spheres, four limbs and more tools than a Swiss Army knife — with maternal instincts and something that could pass for a soul.
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