Dries’s review published on Letterboxd:
I suppose there's still a slight chance that Robert Eggers's Nosferatu remake might overtake this come december, but fuck it, I'm calling it right now: this is my favourite new release of 2024.
And I know this is going to sound strange, but I genuinely mean it: I knew this was going to be my favourite film of the year even before I saw it. A few months ago I happened to see a digital billboard display of this weathered android surrounded by some wildlife critters with the words "The Wild Robot: Coming to Theaters This Fall" (or something to that effect) below it, and I remember thinking to myself right then and there that, barring any truly abysmal lapses in judgement on the part of the filmmakers, this was going to be the one film that would strike a chord with me unlike anything else that was coming out this year.
Now, if you want me to offer an exhaustive explanation of why I loved The Wild Robot as much as I did, I'm afraid I'm going to have to come up short. If you want me to ignore the fact that the film hits basically every cliché from the "animated kids' movie" playbook, I'm not going to do that. If you want me to pretend like the film's pacing isn't uneven at best, and completely erratic at worst, I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to disappoint you. The only areas where I think I can put forward an objective defence of the film are the animation and the music. As far as the animation goes, I will make no bones about calling The Wild Robot the best-looking animated film of the past 10 years (eat your heart out, Spider-Verse), and as for the music: I have already pre-ordered my coloured vinyl record of the soundtrack.
All I can offer by way of justification for my unapologetic adoration of this film is the following: given the state the world is in currently, a wholesome family film about a cute little robot and her cute little animal friends was exactly what I needed right now. If, like me, you periodically need a reminder that there really is beauty and goodness in this vale of tears we call "the universe", I have only one thing to say to you: go see this film. You won't regret it, I promise.
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