When looking at what to watch on Netflix this week, "The Wild Robot" is the clear top choice. Sure, "Sirens" seems worthy of a binge-watch by all accounts, but it can't compare to this Oscar-nominated masterpiece.
And it is a masterpiece, at least in terms of its visuals. The animation is gorgeous and at times breathtaking. The remote island setting is picturesque.
Thankfully, the other aspects of the movie are equally impressive. "The Wild Robot" is an impressive balance of heartwarming and heartbreaking, of comedy and tragedy. For the first half of the movie, I couldn't stop laughing, and despite its more serious, emotional turn in the latter half, it's still one of the funniest movies I've seen in years.
So here's what you need to know about "The Wild Robot," and why it's what you need to be watching next, now that it's on Netflix.
What is 'The Wild Robot' about?
"The Wild Robot" is based on the 2016 novel of the same name. It stars Lupita Nyong'o as the voice of Roz, a service robot who finds herself marooned on an uninhabited island.
She's immediately thrust into some dangerous situations, with seemingly everything on the island trying to kill her, or thinking she wants to kill them.
While struggling to get her bearings, she accidentally orphans a gosling egg, and when it hatches, she's tasked with preparing it for migration. As her surrogate mother, she must teach the gosling, whom she names Brightbill (Kit Conner), to eat, swim and fly, or it won't be ready to flee the island for the winter with the other geese.
'The Wild Robot' is equal parts comedy, tragedy and breathtaking animation
This movie is almost a tale of two halves.
The first half is hilarious. I found myself laughing almost every minute at one point, especially when a family of opossums led by Catherine O'Hara all pretend to be dead — to play possum, if you will — and the baby possums are all choosing a mode of death. Multiple babies pick sepsis as their cause of death, which sparks an argument in the family.
But the second half of the movie is more tragic and dramatic, though it doesn't fully ditch the comedic elements. Occasionally, the movie devolves into cliche in this half, though I think most parents will find some of the plot points deeply relatable.
One final note, despite this being a "family-friendly" animated movie, it's surprisingly violent. This is done both for comedic and dramatic effect, but there's a fair amount of animated animal death and violence. So maybe keep this from the youngest in your family for now.
Still, if you need something for the family to watch or are just looking for a great movie this weekend, "The Wild Robot" is a must-watch. Go stream it now on Netflix.
Stream "The Wild Robot" now on Netflix
