AVS Discussions
Movie and TV Discussion => Movie reviews => Topic started by: David Vaughn on December 09, 2024, 08:08:53 PM
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(https://i.imgur.com/Gywp7Gg.jpeg)
Studio: Universal
Release Date: December 3, 2024
Rating: PG
Film: 4/5
Plot
An adaptation of Peter Brown’s award-winning, #1 New York Times bestseller, THE WILD ROBOT is an epic adventure staring Academy Award® winner Lupita Nyong’o (Us, the Black Panther franchise) as Roz, a robot that is shipwrecked on an uninhabited island and must adapt to the harsh surroundings. Gradually Roz starts building relationships with the animals on the island, including a clever fox voiced by Pedro Pascal (The Last of Us, The Mandalorian), and becomes the adoptive parent of an orphaned gosling named Brightbill voiced by Kit Connor (Ready Player One, Heartstopper). THE WILD ROBOT is a powerful story about self-discovery, a thrilling examination of the bridge between technology and nature, and a moving exploration of what it means to be alive and connected to all living things.
My Thoughts
I had heard really good things about this film and I had very high expectations going into it. Thankfully, it met my very high expectations. It helps that the film was directed by three-time Academy Award nominee Chris Sanders (Lilo & Stitch), who really knows how to flesh out characters and turn animated objects into beings you actually care about.
Typically, computer animated films woo you with their stunning visuals and in this case, the picture is a sight to behold, but the animation comes across as rudimentary and has almost a “hand drawn” look to it. This was a bit unsettling while watching the film, but it turns out it was intentional and when reading about the director’s thoughts (https://variety.com/2024/film/focus/wild-robot-chris-sanders-explains-painted-animation-1236026430/), it makes sense. Sanders wanted the audience to be emotionally tied to the story and characters and so he somewhat mimicked the painted images in the book—certainly an out of the box thinker.
That being said, the video transfer is excellent and I have zero complaints with the video transfer and is at times quite mesmerizing and very 3D-like. Colors are bold and bright and you can definitely glean the emotions of the animals based upon their well-detailed facial expressions. The Dolby Atmos track is excellent, although isn’t quite as aggressive as some other animated titles so I deducted a half a point. The film opens with a lot of energy—especially on the low-end—and there are moments where the soundstage comes alive, but there are a lot of quiet moments of tenderness that help with driving home the emotional aspects of the story.
Video 10/10
Audio 9/10 (Dolby Atmos)
Special Features:
· Commercial for Rozzum
· Moments from the Mic
· Meet the Cast
· The Overprotective Mother
· Assembly Required: Animating The Wild Robot
· Feeling Alive
· Wild Sounds
· How to Draw
· Fly Your Own Brightbill
· 4K + Blu-ray + Digital Copy
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njPNg0A9VpY&ab)Theatrical Trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njPNg0A9VpY&ab)
Conclusion
Since my kids have become adults, animated titles don’t have the same alure as they once did. Thankfully, this is a story that transcends the animated core audience of young kids and really speaks to what it means to be a parent. My wife and I really enjoyed the story and even moved us to tears in some parts. Throw in an excellent A/V presentation and it makes it very easy to recommend this on.
Reference Review System:
JVC DLA-RS3100 4K Ultra High-Definition Front Projector
(Calibrated with Portrait Displays CalMAN color calibration software & C6-HDR Meter from Portrait Displays)
Stewart Filmscreen - Firehawk 110” 2.35:1 Screen
Trinnov Altitude 16 Audio/Video Processor
ATI AT527NC Powering Bed Channels
ATI AT524NC Powering Atmos Speakers
Zidoo UHD8000 Media Player
Panasonic DP-UB820 Ultra HD Blu-ray Player
System Controller: URC MX-990
M&K S-150 THX Ultra (R-C-L Speakers)
M&K SS-150 x4 (Surround Speakers)
Atlantic Technology IC6-OBA x 4 Overhead Speakers
Dual Rythmik FV15HP2
Mini DSP HD controlling all subwoofers
Audioquest and Monoprice - Audio/Video/Speaker Cabling
PureAV PF60 Power Conditioner
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Great review! We've been looking forward to this one as well, as we've also heard good things about it.
Interesting about the painted look of the movie. I had similar thoughts when watching the extras from the movie Monster House, where the painted concept art looked so much better than the rather crude CGI for that time. I had wondered if it could be possible to transform that bland CGI art into something special by flatting it and adding some kind of computer painting effect to the image. I'm guessing that with the advent if AI, we might just be able to make that transformation ourselves in the near future.
Glad you added that comment, as I'll keep it in mind while watching it. I admire the director's bold choice on that, as opposed to going with the standard.
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Wife said it was sad. You confirmed that. Lol
Pass
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Greetings,
Yeah, I really liked this one too. Nice review Dave.
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Greetings,
Yeah, I really liked this one too. Nice review Dave.
Thanks Ralph!
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My wife and I watched this over the weekend, and we both liked it, she more than I did. The first two acts were more involving and interesting than the third, around the time when the story became less intimate and expanded in scope.
We both loved the look of the movie, though. That bold, colorful painting style worked really well for the story and not having that generic computer animation look to it. The sound was good, as well, although the bass was a little light for my tastes (I should have applied the BEQ curve before watching).
For the nerds out there, you may catch the connection between Roz's name and R.U.R. (short for Rossum's Universal Robots), the Czech play from the 1920s. It was written by playwrite Karel Čapek and introduced the word "robot" to the world. It was a nice nod to the past.
It was well worth watching, and my wife has instructed me to add it to our growing collection.
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Watched this with a friend recently. I find myself in line with Scott's thoughts about it. Really enjoyed the first 2/3 of the movie but the tone shift in the last 3rd went to what felt like a standard Hollywood action template, which was a little disappointing to me. So I found the movie very good, but not quite great. I also liked the animation style; I think the "softer" look of a painting for the natural world Roz inhabited worked well to contrast with the hard, tech centric world left behind.