Wild Robot, The

This topic contains:

• overall comments and recommendations
• details of classification and consumer advice lines for Wild Robot, The
• a review of Wild Robot, The completed by the Australian Council on Children and the Media (ACCM) on 16 September 2024.

Overall comments and recommendations

About the movie

This section contains details about the movie, including its classification by the Australian Government Classification Board and the associated consumer advice lines. Other classification advice (OC) is provided where the Australian film classification is not available.

ACCM review

This review of the movie contains the following information:

• a synopsis of the story
• themes
• use of violence
• material that may scare or disturb children
• product placement
• sexual references
• nudity and sexual activity
• use of substances
• coarse language
• the movie’s message

A synopsis of the story

A personal assistant unit known as ‘Roz’ (voice of Lupita Nyong’o) is set off course during a storm and crashes onto a deserted island in the middle of the ocean. This desolate place is inhabited by dangerous predators and fearful animals who prey on each other to survive. Roz tries to help the animals she encounters and thereby fulfil her purpose but the mistrusting animals call her a monster, attacking, fearing and shunning her. Undeterred, Roz learns to adapt to her environment, she teaches herself how to communicate with every species on the island and she does all she can to assist those around her. Attempting to escape an angry grizzly causes Roz to crash down a cliff side and land in a gosling nest. Her impact accidentally kills the mother and crushes the unhatched eggs. In the debris, Roz finds a single egg, still intact, and makes it her mission to keep the egg safe. This proves easier said than done as Fink (voice of Pedro Pascal), a friendless fox, is determined to eat the egg himself. Roz and Fink strike a deal and when little Brightbill (voice of Kit Connor) hatches, they wind up becoming co-parents to keep the gosling safe and help him learn to swim and fly. As the time for the geese to migrate draws closer, Roz goes to great lengths to ensure that Brightbill is as prepared as he can be but a misunderstanding threatens their relationship and Brightbill flies away with the geese. Feeling that her task has been successfully completed, Roz sends a signal to her manufacturer so that they can retrieve her. However, their presence on the island is not what it should be and despite all the sacrifices Roz has made as a mother, she will have to make one more in order to protect those she loves – demonstrating that in order to survive, sometimes you must become more than you were ever programmed to be.

Abandonment; Adoption; Bullying; Racism; Predators and Prey; Technological advancement at the expense of humanity; Sacrifice; Ostracism.

There is some violence in this movie, including:

• Roz is nearly hit and crushed against a rock cliff by a massive tsunami.
• A crab is taken by a seagull and presumably eaten.
• A squirrel throws a nut in a rabbit’s face.
• Roz is kicked backwards by a deer.
• A series of wild animals eat each other, advancing up the food chain.
• Wild animals attack and fight each other.
• A tiny, child-like animal asks Roz if she is here to kill them.
• A moose knocks into Roz with tremendous force, blasting her backwards and proclaiming: “It’s dead.”
• Roz is hit by lightning.
• A bunch of animals attack Roz, taking parts off her and attempting to dismantle her.
• Animals punch and grab each other.
• A racoon electrocutes Roz and tries to disconnect her wires and inner components.
• A bunch of racoons are catapulted off a tree and land in the ocean.
• A grizzly bear attacks Roz, scratching its huge claws across her chest and leaving a scar imprinted on her metal. This same bear, lunges, attacks and chases Roz as she tries to escape.
• Roz accidently destroys a bird nest, killing the mother and some unhatched eggs.
• When Fink steals the egg, Roz uses a saw to cut through the earth and grab the shifty fox.
• Fink hits Roz in the head with a branch and she falls over the edge of a cliff.
• Fink puts the egg in his mouth and then falls on a porcupine. Roz uses a special mechanical feature that looks like it will be very painful, to remove the quills from Fink’s face.
• Baby Brightbill knocks into a tree and falls down a hole.
• Baby Brightbill is kicked into Roz’s face, gets carried off by a bird, dropped to the ground and is covered in honey.
• Fink says that when they come across another rabbit they will kill it.
• Fink boils a crab, along with other sea creatures and eats them.
• Fink throws pine cones at critters in a tree, knocks one down and tries to eat a mouse.
• Fink nearly smashes baby Brightbill with a rock.
• Baby possums repeatedly talk about death and ways to die. They come to watch Brightbill learn to swim, discussing if he will drown, get hypothermia or if the impact alone will kill him.
• A bunch of nasty geese make fun of Brightbill and try to drown him in a lake.
• Robots shoot hundreds of geese who have taken shelter at a farm.
• Animals fight, hit and try to eat each other.
• A skunk lets out a stink bomb inside Roz’s house.
• Robots chase and shoot at Roz.
• The animals attack the robots who are trying to take Roz.
• The Robots begin to self-destruct. The individual explosions engulf the animals around them.
• A swarm of geese attack a robot ship and the ship shoots at the geese.
• Brightbill smashes his way through a window on a ship and breaks his wing in the process.
• Roz and Brightbill are shot at.
• Roz and Brightbill fall from the sky as a robot ship explodes.

Material that may scare or disturb children

In addition to the above-mentioned violent scenes, there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children under the age of five, including the following:

• The opening scene details a terrible storm with thunder and lightning, in which Roz’s pod is damaged and cracked, and she is lying amongst the debris on a distant, rocky shore.
• Some of the animals are shown with red, glowing eyes, especially at night or lurking in the back of caves. They appear very dangerous and menacing.
• A bunch of possums suddenly play dead. Shortly thereafter, one of the baby possums screams and (off screen) it sounds as though it is being attacked and eaten. It shows up moments later, looking mangled but otherwise fine.

In addition to the above-mentioned violent scenes and scary visual images, there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children aged five to eight, including the following:

• Brightbill is grabbed by a creepy, eel-like creature with huge teeth. It swims up under the water, grabs Brightbill and drags him down. Roz just manages to save him but then the other geese tell him that Roz killed his mother and siblings, and they call him a freak, saying that he doesn’t belong there. Brightbill is devastated, confused and feels like he will never fit in.
• A terrible snow storm threatens to kill the animals on the island as all the shelters prove to be inadequate and no one can get warm. Some animals die but Roz manages to bring most of them to her home where she has made a fire and, despite her fatigue and injuries, tries to keep everyone safe. The animals are all fighting and trying to eat each other until Roz and Fink make them see that they will not survive on their own and that they need each other.
• When the robots explode, they cause fires to burn out of control and rage across the island, destroying much of it and causing all the animals to flee for their lives.
• A creepy and sinister octopus-like robot straps Roz into a chair and tries to take her memories. Roz is asking if she can keep just one and the robot refuses. Roz, looking battered and worn, goes limp and shuts down. When Brightbill comes to find her, she is dark and unresponsive. Brightbill’s love does the impossible and allows Roz to reboot.

• Nothing further noted.

Product placement

• None noted.

Sexual references

• None noted.

Nudity and sexual activity

• None noted.

Use of substances

• None noted.

Coarse language

There is some coarse language in this movie, including:

• Dummy
• Freak
• Stupid
• Vermin
• Sucked
• Weirdo
• Jerk
• Runt
• Male bovine excrement.

In a nutshell

The Wild Robot is a futuristic, animated adventure based on the book by Peter Brown. The film features beautiful cinematography and special effects, along with valuable life lessons about learning, adapting and the importance of family. The film is not suitable for younger viewers but is likely to be enjoyed by audiences over the age of 8.

The main messages from this movie are that kindness is a survival skill; that there is no force on earth more powerful than love; that there is great strength in unity; and that sometimes in order to survive you must learn from your surroundings, override your training and choose to become more than you were ever programmed to be.

Values in this movie that parents may wish to reinforce with their children include:

• Helpfulness
• Love
• Compassion
• Determination
• Endurance
• Teamwork
• Perspective.

This movie could also give parents the opportunity to discuss with their children attitudes and behaviours, and their real-life consequences, such as:

• Ostracising someone because they are different.
• Keeping yourself apart from others and living in fear.
• Trying to destroy what you don’t understand instead of learning from it.
• The power of kindness and selfless actions and the ripple effect that can come from them.