The Wild Robot

A storm causes a Universal Dynamics cargo ship to lose six ROZZUM robots, which wash up on an uninhabited island. Only Unit 7134 survives and is accidentally activated by wildlife. "Roz" is called a monster by the frightened wildlife and injures herself trying to help them. Unable to find anyone needing her services, even after learning how to communicate with all animals, she signals for retrieval, but gets struck by lightning and is attacked by animals. While fleeing from an aggressive grizzly bear named Thorn, Roz accidentally crushes a goose nest, resulting in the destruction of all but one egg. After Roz protects the egg from an hungry red fox named Fink, a gosling hatches, imprints on Roz, and accidentally breaks her long-range transmitter. A mother opossum named Pinktail "provides" Roz with the task of caring for the gosling to ensure he can eat, swim, and fly by himself before the winter migration. Fink discovers he can benefit from Roz who builds a shelter. Roz names the gosling Brightbill, and the three cohabitate. As Brightbill grows up, he is rejected by other geese. Upon discovering that Roz accidentally killed his family, Brightbill feels betrayed. Roz reconstructs ROZZUM unit 6262, nicknames her "Rummage", and asks for advice. Rummage, giving her transmitter to Roz, tells her to return to the Universal Dynamics factory. Roz enlists the help of a peregrine falcon named Thunderbolt to help Brightbill learn to fly and receives advice from Longneck, a leader for the geese's migration, allowing Brightbill to master flying just in time to join the migration. Missing Brightbill and unsure of her continued purpose, Roz reactivates her transmitter but shuts it off immediately after Universal Dynamics detects her signal. During the migration, a thunderstorm forces the geese to shelter inside a Universal Dynamics greenhouse, triggering a contamination alert that sets reconnaissance (RECO) robots after them. Longneck sacrifices himself so Brightbill can lead the flock to safety. Meanwhile, Roz and Fink save the island's animals during a severe snowstorm, urging them to a truce supported by Thorn before Roz powers down. By springtime, Roz reawakens to find the animals still following the truce and Brightbill returning, hailed now as a hero. Shortly after, a Universal Dynamics dropship captained by a Virtual Observational Neutralizing Troublesome Retrieval Authority ("Vontra") robot arrives to recover Roz. Roz flees with Fink, pursued by RECO robots dispatched by Vontra. The animals band together to fight off the RECOs, but Vontra detonates the damaged RECOs to incapacitate and capture Roz, starting a forest fire in the process. The geese and Thunderbolt attack the dropship so Brightbill can save Roz as Fink and the others extinguish the fire. Despite Roz appearing to have been shut down by Vontra, her love for Brightbill restores her systems. Roz eventually destroys Vontra and evacuates Brightbill as the dropship explodes. Roz decides to return to Universal Dynamics to protect the island from future attacks, but promises to return. The animals continue to live together on the island while Roz works at another Universal Dynamics greenhouse, maintaining her memories. Brightbill visits her, and the two embrace. ==Voice cast==

• Lupita Nyong'o as: • ROZZUM unit 7134 ("Roz"), an abandoned robot from the tech company Universal Dynamics that was washed onto an island and learns to adapt to the new environment. The name of her product line, ROZZUM, and her manufacturer are references to ''Rossum's Universal Robots'', the play that created the term "robot". • ROZZUM unit 6262 ("Rummage"), a broken robot that was washed onto the same island as Roz who gives Roz her transmitter to return home • Pedro Pascal as Fink, a sly but well-meaning red fox who is the first animal that Roz befriends • Kit Connor as Brightbill, an orphaned runt Barnacle goose who is raised by Roz as her own son after losing his biological family • Catherine O'Hara as Pinktail, a maternal Virginia opossum who gives Roz advice on raising Brightbill. • Randy Thom as the RECOs, reconnaissance robots designed by Universal Dynamics to serve Vontra ==Production==

Development , creator of The Wild Robot book series, pictured in 2014. Before the release of The Wild Robot—a novel created by Peter Brown—in 2016, DreamWorks Animation bought the screenplay, setting the budget at $78million. Upon reading it, Sanders immediately fell in love with the story and felt he was the right person to adapt it to film. He described the book as "deceptively simple" and "emotionally complex". Sanders had previously considered the idea of a creature bonding with animals in a forest for his directorial debut Lilo & Stitch (2002). Sanders contacted Brown and would later describe the phone call as critical to the film's development. Brown told the production team that his intended theme for the book was that kindness could be a survival skill. Sanders sought to weave that theme through the film and felt he achieved that goal. Another theme in the story that Sanders was drawn to was that of motherhood. He felt he had never done a story of this nature before. Sanders wanted Roz to be a compelling character and felt an extraordinary voice performance was necessary to achieve this. He wanted to avoid a two-dimensional fictional take on a robot, where they go straight from being emotionless to emotional. Animation and design The Wild Robot would be the final film to be animated entirely in-house at DreamWorks, as Cartoon Brew reported on October 6, 2023, that the studio would be shifting away from producing films in-house in their Glendale campus to relying more heavily on outside studios after 2024. Additional character rigging was done by French studio Stim Studio. After reading the book, Sanders felt the story's innocent tone and natural setting required a look that strayed away from the standard CGI photorealism in many modern animated films. He considered Bambi (1942) and My Neighbour Totoro (1988) as the biggest influences on the visuals. Additionally, two original songs were announced to be made for the film, performed and co-written by Maren Morris. The first, "Kiss the Sky", was released on August 28; the second, "Even When I'm Not", along with the full soundtrack album, was released on September 27. Morris and her team of co-writers were inspired to write a second song for the film, "Even When I'm Not", which is featured in the film's end credits, when they screened the finished film. ==Themes==

The Wild Robot incorporates environmental themes throughout its narrative, including a reference to climate change in a sequence depicting a futuristic San Francisco with a partially submerged Golden Gate Bridge. DreamWorks Animation developed the film in collaboration with both Universal's GreenerLight Program and the Natural Resources Defense Council's Rewrite the Future initiative, with environmental experts consulting on the ecological elements and a sustainability-focused PSA featuring Lupita Nyong'o. The film's environmental themes were showcased at Climate Week NYC 2024, where it received a special screening at the inaugural Climate Film Festival. ==Release==

The Wild Robot had its world premiere as the opening front runner of the Toronto International Film Festival Grand Opening celebration on September 8, 2024. It was initially scheduled for release on September 20, but was postponed to September 27. This shift was reportedly made to avoid competition with Transformers One. On December 29, 2024, it was announced that The Wild Robot would be re-released in theaters in the US on January 17, 2025. Marketing The first trailer for the film, featuring a rendition of Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World", plus a poster, were released on March 5, 2024. The trailer debuted in theaters three days later in front of screenings of DreamWorks' other new film Kung Fu Panda 4. Writing for Polygon, Tasha Robinson compared the design of Roz to familiar film robots such as BB-8 (the Star Wars sequel trilogy), WALL-E (in his titular film), Baymax (from Big Hero 6), and The Iron Giant (in his titular film), and noted that the only words spoken in the trailer - "Sometimes, to survive, we must become more than we were programmed to be" - evoked the message of The Iron Giant (1999). Home media The Wild Robot was released to rent on digital streaming on October 15, 2024, and on Blu-ray and DVD on December 3. The film was made available to stream on NBCUniversal's Peacock streaming service in the US on January 24, 2025. As part of Universal's long-term deal with Netflix for its animated films, the film streamed on Peacock for the first four months of the pay-TV window, before moving to Netflix for the next ten beginning on May 24. It will return to Peacock for the remaining four. ==Reception==

Box office The Wild Robot has grossed $143.9million in the United States and Canada, and $189.9million in other territories for a worldwide total of $334.1million. The film made $11.2million on its first day, including an estimated $1.9million from Thursday previews. The film went on to debut to $35.8million, slightly above predictions and topping the box office. In its second weekend, the film made $18.9million (a drop of 47% from its first weekend), finishing in second behind newcomer Joker: Folie à Deux. In its third weekend the film made $14million (dropping just 25.9%), finishing in second behind newcomer Terrifier 3. The film then made $10.1million and $6.8million in its fourth and fifth weekends, respectively. Critical response It is DreamWorks Animation's second highest-rated film on the site, behind How to Train Your Dragon (2010). Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, while those surveyed by PostTrak gave it a 96% overall positive score, with 62% saying they would definitely recommend it. Pete Hammond of Deadline Hollywood said, "If Spielberg's E.T. had been an animated film instead, it might resemble what writer-director Chris Sanders has created here. However, Wild Robot weaves its own magic and for that we can all cry tears of joy." Adrian Horton, writing for The Guardian said: "Clever, heartfelt and frequently stunning, The Wild Robot offers the type of all-ages-welcome animated entertainment that will delight kids and leave a lump in one's throat." Adam Graham of Detroit News gave it a "B-" and wrote: "It's heartwarming the way a latter-era Coldplay track is heartwarming: by design, so its effect feels somewhat synthetic." Robbie Collin of The Daily Telegraph gave the film a five out of five scoring, saying, "DreamWorks was founded 30 years ago this month, and this well-timed anniversary release is their richest, most moving film since 1998's reputation-making The Prince of Egypt." In his review for Vulture, Bilge Ebiri praised Nyong'o's performance and found that it "turn[ed] this heartwarming family film into an unforgettable one". Collider thought it was one of Sanders's best films yet, while Screen Rant called it the best animated film of the year. Filmmakers Tim Fehlbaum, Jeff Fowler, Reinaldo Marcus Green, Chad Hartigan, Matt Johnson, Dana Ledoux Miller and Juel Taylor all cited the film as among their favorites of 2024. Viewership According to data from Showlabs, The Wild Robot ranked fifth on Netflix in the United States during the week of 26 May–1 June 2025. Accolades ==Sequel==

In September 2024, when asked about a potential sequel, Sanders stated, "I would very much like to. This was a labor of love on the part of everybody at the studio, and yes, I think I'd love to go and stay here for a while." In October 2024, he confirmed that a sequel is in development. In March 2026, it was announced that Troy Quane would direct the sequel, based on and titled after Brown's second book The Wild Robot Escapes, with story artist Heidi Jo Gilbert co-directing and Sanders returning to write the screenplay. ==See also==