Movie Review: The Wild Robot

The holidays are quickly approaching, which means families will have additional time to spend together while children are out of school. Whether these extra hours of quality time bring parents a sense of joy, anxiety, or mixed emotions, there is one thing you can do together – watch The Wild Robot movie.

A baby gosling loses his family in a storm before he hatches — the same storm that causes a cargo ship carrying service robots to wreck on the gosling’s island. Upon hatching, the gosling sees a robot named “Roz” and immediately loves her as his mother. While Roz does not understand emotions, her sole purpose is seeing things through to the end. Roz is programmed to be of service to others, continuing tasks until they are completed. When an opossum from the island tells Roz she needs to teach the gosling, named Brightbill, to fly before the winter migration, that becomes her mission.

Although the movie does not specifically use the word “adoption,” it is a clear theme.

Roz becomes Brightbill’s adoptive mother when he loses his birth family, and some of the issues adoptive families face in the real world occur throughout the movie. In one scene, there are young goslings who make fun of Brightbill because he calls Roz his mother even though they look completely different. The goslings ostracize Brightbill and make him feel othered. In another scene, Brightbill confronts Roz about the reason for his birth family’s separation and Roz must come to terms with the sad reality that Brightbill deserves to know the truth.

There are several parts of the movie that would be considered emotional to many viewers, but truly tug on the heartstrings of those connected to adoption.

The Wild Robot is one that kids and adults can all enjoy, whether they are part of the adoption constellation or not.

As an adoptive mom, I am warning you ahead of time: bring the tissues!

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