The ROZZUM unit 7134 – or “Roz,” as we can call her for short – is an intelligent robotic assistant designed by Universal Dynamics to make humanity’s lives easier by handling the menial tasks they no longer want to do. When a cargo ship carrying ROZZUM units crash-lands on an uninhabited island and Roz survives, she is left shipwrecked, like a painter without a canvas. As Roz traipses through the wilderness, startling the local wildlife in her quest for a task to complete, she stumbles upon the most tiresome, thankless, and demanding task imaginable: motherhood.

After entering a learning mode to observe the local wildlife, Roz begins to learn the “language” of the animals inhabiting the island, thus allowing her – voiced with machinelike precision by Lupita Nyong’o – to communicate with the fauna, their “words” rendered in plain English for the audience. However, communication doesn’t stop the animals from being utterly terrified of this strange, persistent robot. A series of ill-fated encounters eventually leads Roz to accidentally destroy a nest of geese, leaving only one egg surviving. From that egg – which the local sly fox, Fink (voiced by the internet’s “daddy,” Pedro Pascal), aggressively tries to eat – a runt gosling is born.

As all goslings do, this runt imprints on the first thing it sees: the giant, emotive camera-eyes of Roz. Mistaking Roz for its mother, the gosling follows the robot through the forest as she continues her search for a task. After encountering a mother possum named Pinktail (vocalized by the great Catherine O’Hara), Roz learns that she must feed the gosling, teach it to swim, and ensure it is ready to migrate by fall. Delighted to finally have a task, Roz accepts the responsibility of raising the gosling, unaware of the depth of the commitment she has undertaken.

Recognizing Roz’s naivety as an opportunity, Fink – also a de facto outcast on the island due to his species – offers his services in helping raise the young gosling, whom they name Brightbill. A foster family is forged in the truce between robot and fox, as Fink relishes the newfound comforts of shelter and food supplied by Roz, and Roz is schooled on the intricacies of child-rearing and companionship by Fink. But as Brightbill grows, he is shunned by the other geese, who see him as a freak. Bullied for being short, socially awkward, and raised by the island’s “monster,” Brightbill struggles to find his place in the world, almost as much as he struggles to learn to swim. One can hardly blame Brightbill – a robot designed to take out the trash and wash dishes isn’t exactly equipped with aquatic expertise.

"Roz" and Brightbill in 'The Wild Robot' DreamWorks Animation / Universal Pictures via MovieStillsDB

Still, as all mothers do, Roz adapts, changing and reprogramming her code in pursuit of completing her task, because a ROZZUM always completes its task. Yet, one could argue that a parent’s job is never truly finished, and to her surprise, Roz begins to realize that perhaps she doesn’t want it to be. Despite being unnerved by the challenge of defying her programming, Roz repeatedly does so for the sake of her adopted son. And as she strives to raise a gosling that never should have survived, she begins to reprogram her entire community as well.

Equal parts fable about the trials of motherhood, heartwarming found-family story, and impassioned fairy tale about finding one’s place in the world, The Wild Robot is the most delightful animated film to emerge from America this year. Based on the popular book series by Peter Brown, The Wild Robot boasts some of DreamWorks’ most beautiful animation to date – evoking a painterly, brushstroke quality despite being computer-generated – to tell a timeless story that will resonate as deeply with children as it will with parents. Animation veteran Chris Sanders (co-director of Lilo & Stitch and How to Train Your Dragon) has delivered a film that not only has a fighting chance but perhaps even a locked-in certainty of winning Best Animated Feature at the Academy Awards.

Repurposing elements from robot-centered animated classics like Wall-E and The Iron Giant and infusing them with a healthy dose of Miyazaki influence, The Wild Robot represents the pinnacle of American animation in 2024. However, it also serves as a reminder of the genre’s regional limitations. If there’s one thing holding the film back, it’s that it often feels targeted toward the near-nonexistent attention span of a young American audience – or perhaps any American audience, if we’re being honest. The pacing feels relentless, with few scenes lasting longer than the average TikTok video, which only serves to make the movie feel longer than it actually is at just over 100 minutes.

Had The Wild Robot employed the more methodical pacing and environmental realism of the Hayao Miyazaki films it clearly draws inspiration from, there’s no doubt it would be the masterpiece many are already claiming it is. The idyllic, “let’s all just get along” coexistence that the film proposes buckles under the weight of even the most rudimentary logistical scrutiny, considering that the survival of most of its characters depends on a predatory food chain. Even so, while I’m not ready to declare The Wild Robot as the crown jewel of DreamWorks animation, it’s undeniably fun for the whole family. The film is sure to make the kids laugh, the parents smirk, and the twenty-something weirdos (like me) who chose to spend their Friday night at a kids’ movie call their mothers and tell them how much they love and appreciate all the sacrifices she made.