Daniel's Productions’s review published on Letterboxd:
Gets bonus points for reminding me of the Jungle Book (2016) at several points, especially that third act
This looked like another Dreamworks win for a while and thankfully it was, in what is looking to be the studio's 3rd or debatebly 2nd Best Animated Feature win. After having to deal with an almost month UK delay, I finally got to see it. To start, this animation is incredible at continuing the stylised and textured look of Puss in Boots the Last Wish but with more urban lighting. The way this shows nature through this style looks beautiful seeing the smaller aspects like the animal furr, snow and butterflies. This is just such an inviting world to look at and feel the colour scheme of, especially compared to the few other locations and art styles attempted. The robot also just moves in a really engaging way. It's the general movement and cinematography that succeeds here. The visuals speak for itself, but the movie's story is also really strong. I like how it just starts and sets the scene of helping robot dropped off an island with the wildlife. It's similar to the Red Turtle, but with dialouge that fits the story well. The pace is strong and just lets this progress without needing everything established from the get go. It's incredibly fun and charming to see this robot try and understand animal culture. I like the robotic feel of a lot of film, mainly in some POV shots of her analysing things. There's also good tone fitting comedy from a lot of these animals. Mainly Fink the Fox being a big joy whenever on screen. I like his attitude and general growth as a supporting character in this movie. Roz is also a great protagonist who has a really interesting perspective. I like her arc and the way she gets the others to change their mind and fight by her. This is very friends made along the way, but this is the type of movie that makes it work. The third act may have felt like a bit of a strong turn but it still handled that well with the slow build up towards it. This feels distinct from Dreamworks and made a very unique tone and framing device, especially in the first half. My biggest real problem is in some elements of the second half feeling weaker like this one conflict. Also, there's this one pop song played that makes the scene feel like some inspirational ad when it would have been emotional without the needed manipulation. It's like that scene from Klaus but even worse since this isn't a good song. Back to praising things, this really lets it self be serious and heartfelt. It's a relatively typical story of motherhood but it's really wholesome and emotional. The found family formed between the three of them as those shunned is great. This is just so likeable and adds a lot of heart to the movie that effectively lands. Same with the theme of breaking programming and societal expection. It's all told through this on the surface simplistic story. There's a lot of interesting philosophical discussion in scenes that I like and really hope this means Dreamworks will know what they are doing with the Dog Man film next. The Wild Robot is a spectacular feat from Dreamworks and I think their next couple films will be promising before going back to their mixed ways. I wouldn't consider it perfect or even one of the studio's very best, but it's just really well executed and hard not to like. Also, I look forward to see the sequel that might be happening as this could benefit from more time with these characters.
