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The Wild Robot -
This beautiful animated feature tells a sometimes exciting, sometimes sad and always moving story about what it means to be part of a community. In the unlikely parent that is displaced robotic assistant Roz (Nyong'o) and her ward, the orphaned goose Brightbill (Connor), we have two kinds of outsiders: one who is not part of her new island home's ecosystem and one who is, but whose size and not exactly gooselike behavior make him one. Both of them really make you feel the pain of being a misfit, whether it's the threat of the island's racoons who are eager to angrily disassemble Roz or the geese who bully Brightbill, proving that these birds can really be that mean (I could tell you some stories). Conversely, it makes the satisfaction of seeing their efforts to improve their communities pay off all the more satisfying. The same goes for their response to Roz’s manufacturers discovering what she's been up to (here's a hint: they don't exactly approve). Again, it's a very nice-looking movie, which except for the malevolent corporation that built Roz and her kin depicts a futuristic world I wish could visit. Also, in addition to Lupita Nyong'o as Roz and Kit Connor as Brightbill, there's a stacked voice cast featuring Pedro Pascal as a sly fox akin to Nick in Zootopia and Matt Berry as an outspoken beaver.
Regardless of whether you are in a situation resembling Roz's or Brightbill's, being made to feel like a misfit can make one miserable. This movie charms in its optimism for how it proves that what you do in your community matters a lot more than where you came from. With this movie and the How To Train Your Dragon series - the first of which Chris Sanders also directed - DreamWorks Animation may have shed its "Pixar Lite" stigma. Oh, and if you are confused or disappointed that the animals speak, a clever sequence explaining how they can makes up for it.
This beautiful animated feature tells a sometimes exciting, sometimes sad and always moving story about what it means to be part of a community. In the unlikely parent that is displaced robotic assistant Roz (Nyong'o) and her ward, the orphaned goose Brightbill (Connor), we have two kinds of outsiders: one who is not part of her new island home's ecosystem and one who is, but whose size and not exactly gooselike behavior make him one. Both of them really make you feel the pain of being a misfit, whether it's the threat of the island's racoons who are eager to angrily disassemble Roz or the geese who bully Brightbill, proving that these birds can really be that mean (I could tell you some stories). Conversely, it makes the satisfaction of seeing their efforts to improve their communities pay off all the more satisfying. The same goes for their response to Roz’s manufacturers discovering what she's been up to (here's a hint: they don't exactly approve). Again, it's a very nice-looking movie, which except for the malevolent corporation that built Roz and her kin depicts a futuristic world I wish could visit. Also, in addition to Lupita Nyong'o as Roz and Kit Connor as Brightbill, there's a stacked voice cast featuring Pedro Pascal as a sly fox akin to Nick in Zootopia and Matt Berry as an outspoken beaver.
Regardless of whether you are in a situation resembling Roz's or Brightbill's, being made to feel like a misfit can make one miserable. This movie charms in its optimism for how it proves that what you do in your community matters a lot more than where you came from. With this movie and the How To Train Your Dragon series - the first of which Chris Sanders also directed - DreamWorks Animation may have shed its "Pixar Lite" stigma. Oh, and if you are confused or disappointed that the animals speak, a clever sequence explaining how they can makes up for it.