Not since last year’s Academy Award winner for Best Animated Feature, “The Boy and the Heron,” have I seen so many animated birds. And I am a filmic birdwatcher: “Winged Migration” and “The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill” are two of my favorite documentary films.
This is what made the Sunday matinee of “The Wild Robot” so special: Animated birds are back. This time, they appear as Canadian geese.
“The Wild Robot” takes place on a remote, wild island and is adapted from Peter Brown’s 2016 middle-grade children’s novel of the same name. Brown is a best-selling author and illustrator of children’s books.
Recently, I read about Brown’s long process of writing his first children’s novel. You can read it here, which I believe will pique your interest not only in the book but in the film adaptation that ruled the box office last weekend, too.
According to Brown, he became intrigued by an image of a robot in a tree. This led him to wonder: “What would an intelligent robot do in the wilderness?”
See for yourself:
The refreshing humanity of “The Wild Robot” could not be more timely. Last weekend, I grieved with the whole world at the news of Dame Maggie Smith’s death.
A late-night home screening of 1978’s “California Suite” took the edge off, and I dare say Alan Alda is verified hot here himself. So is Maggie; she won both an Oscar and a Golden Globe for her performance as… a first-time nominee for the Academy Award for Best Actress.
I also watched the documentary “Will and Harper” and saw the Lee Miller biopic “Lee” starring Kate Winslet over the weekend. Still, “The Wild Robot” offers something for everyone. It is the kind of movie you can see with the whole family or all by yourself and have a great time either way. Many of my colleagues report their kids want to see it again—which I completely understand!
But kids aren’t the only ones who want to escape from reality, so do see this on the big screen and enjoy the show. Also, don’t be surprised when “The Wild Robot” picks up some Oscar nominations early next year. Written for the screen and directed by three-time Oscar nominee Chris Sanders, this DreamWorks production will transport you, guaranteed.
You know the drill: Get up, get dressed, and go see “The Wild Robot.” It is playing at The Triplex Cinema and The Moviehouse in Millerton, N.Y. Critics love it, audiences love it, and “The Wild Robot” will restore your faith in imaginative people everywhere.
Bravo to Peter Brown, Chris Sanders, and the entire cast of “The Wild Robot.”
