The Wild Robot is the newest animated film from director Chris Sanders, who you might know as the guy who directed Lilo & Stitch and the original How to Train Your Dragon. His great track record continues here because The Wild Robot is a fantastic family film that warmed my heart. It follows a servant robot, Rozzum-7134 (Lupita Nyong'o) stranded on an island full of woodland creatures. Through unforseen circumstances she finds herself having to care for an orphaned gosling (Kit Connor) with the help of the mischievous fox, Fink (Pedro Pascal).

The film's highlight is definitely its fantastic character animation and gorgeous backgrounds which look painted. They make great use of unconventional colors to make some of the most gorgeous scenes I've ever seen in an animated movie. Even if you don't care for the story or don't like children's films, I think anyone can appreciate the labor of love that went into the stellar art direction.

But, it's not just pretty. I really dug the story, characters, and setting. As stated, it takes place on an island of animals and usually I don't like films with talking animals or a focus on the "circle of life." But here, nature is presented refreshingly unsanitized. The dangers of the wilderness and facts of the predator-prey relationships in the wild are not shied away from; the bleak reality of the wilderness is used both in the plot and with some real funny macabre jokes. Big props to the film for trusting its younger audience to handle it!

Despite lots of great jokes, the movie knows how to take itself seriously and tells a heartwarming story about found family and coming together as a community. Both the jokes and serious moments are elevated by the great cast! Nyong'o was adorable and had great emotion as the titular robot, helped by Pascal with his great comedic timing as the fox.

Overall, I enjoyed how much trust the film put in its audience... with the exception of the music. The score felt like it was trying too hard to invoke emotion when unnecessary. Some scenes would've been improved with silence or ambience instead. There was also a point I thought the movie had reached its proper conclusion, only for there to be a whole extra climax at the end that felt tacked on. The third act in general had me going "what a nice endi— oh, it's not over" a few times.

I was really impressed watching this movie. The plot as advertised didn't really grab me, but the great performances and beautiful art pulled me in. This really does feel more like a classic Disney film than what Disney themselves has been putting out recently and I'm very happy to see DreamWorks pushing the medium forward.

If you are an animation fan or have any younger relatives, I'd highly recommend this movie.

If you enjoy:	classic animated movies nature and/or robots found family stories something to watch with kids	this'll be a great time

If you dislike:	slower pace children's movies	it's still very pretty