By Francisco Omar Fernandez Rodriguez Arts & Features Editor “The Wild Robot,” DreamWorks Animation’s latest animated film, was released Sept. 27. It is the last to be animated entirely in-house as they plan on relying on outside vendors in the future - maybe that’s part of the reason why this movie looks so beautiful. The film was written and directed by Chris Sanders, who has previously co-directed “Lilo & Stitch,” “How to Train Your Dragon,” and more. The movie is based on the book series of the same name by Peter Brown. The story features ROZZUM Unit 7134, eventually nicknamed Roz. She is accidently activated by curious animals on an island uninhabited by humans after a dangerous storm hits her company’s cargo ship. After failing to find any customers amongst the wildlife, she spends many days in a hibernation state, listening to the animals and learning their language. At first, this doesn’t do much to make them hate “the monster” any less. While escaping from a bear, she accidentally crushes and kills most of a geese family. A single egg is left, which Roz protects. She keeps it safe from a fox named Fink, who tries to eat it. Once it hatches as the runt - meaning it probably wouldn’t have survived naturally - Roz is told by a mother possum that the runt needs to learn how to swim and fly by fall to stand a chance at migration. Fink decides to “help” Roz as a “geese expert,” after realizing Roz can protect him in return. Eventually forming a new family, Roz and Fink take care of the baby bird, naming him Brightbill. Lupita Nyong’o stars as Roz. She is known for her other starring roles in “Us” and “A Quiet Place: Day One.” Roz has very limited facial expressions as a robot, so her emotions are primarily shown through her voice. Nyong’o avoids shifting from emotionless robot to emotional person, never quite losing Roz’s robotic-ness throughout the film. Pedro Pascal voices Fink, and Kit Connor voices Brightbill. If it isn’t obvious by now, the rest of the cast is full of relatively famous actors as well. The animation of this movie looks amazing. I’m unfamiliar with animation styles, but it seems similar to “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish,” and it has a nice painted aesthetic. Using this art style, there are some seriously beautiful scenes that are gorgeous on the eyes. Without going too far into the movie, the characters undergo a journey of belonging and found family. Roz, Fink, and Brightbill’s bonds are tested as they face a physically dangerous and emotionally hurtful world. They must be able to do more than they were programmed to, as the movie puts it. Everyone is trying to find where they belong. As a robot, Roz obviously doesn’t fit in well on a wild island. Despite this, she does her best not only to survive but to protect Brightbill and Fink from the many, many predators looking for their next meal. Throughout all of this, she proves that kindness can be a survival skill. Despite how dark the story could potentially be, it remains a children’s movie by pushing most of the deaths into the background through dark humor intended to go over children’s heads. There were moments where I was left speechless at what was implied, but not outright shown. However, it did not avoid death entirely - crabs and worms were fair game to be broken apart and eaten on screen. As much as I loved this film, I can’t completely ignore the few negatives I found. The pacing in the beginning felt slow, but that makes sense for this type of story. By the halfway point, though, the story starts introducing and almost speeding through new characters and plot points as it sets up its otherwise incredible and emotional finale. It’s not glaring if you’re just watching the movie for fun, like you should, but it was noticeable enough for me to see and now critique. Regardless, it didn’t take me out of the experience. Sanders has already confirmed that a sequel is in the works. “The Wild Robot” is exciting, hilarious, uplifting, and heart-wrenching. I can’t recommend it enough. Rating: A+ Everyone’s going wild for this robot!