The Wild Robot
Jord was busy, but E and I caught this in theaters, and I’m so glad we did, as we had low expectations from the trailer, and the Wild Robot totally surpassed those and then some. The artistic direction of this film, the colors, and animation were absolutely beautiful. Some masterful work in the department from DreamWorks. We hadn’t read the book series, but the story is really powerful, and I was particularly impressed with the dialogue, as it was very tight and genuine. The voice acting from Lupita Nyong’o, Pedro Pascal and Kit Connor as the three primary characters was brilliant. There were a few issues, namely the pacing, and a few moments where the plot was a little eye-rolly and/or cheesy, but all-in-all that’s very easy to forgive for such a heart-warming and visually appealing film. Loved it. Blows Inside Out 2 away in terms of best animated movies this year so far, and will undoubtedly earn a nomination at the Oscars.
-Z
“When you grow up without something you... end up spending a lot of time thinking about it?” -Fink
FINALLY got around to this one. I missed it in theaters due to a scheduling conflict (that lasted 5+ months as it was in theaters this long) but I rented it and watched it from home. I heard over and over again about how great this was from all kinds of people of all walks of life, but the most important review came from Z and E. They gave it an 8.75, so I knew it was going to be good but it did taper expectations. I liked how we jumped right into the story, and was really excited about the fact it didn’t shy away from truths of the world, which is the circle of life. Frustratingly though, that ended up creating one of my two issues with the film. It completely abandons that at the end of the film and completely switches themes from that to focusing on love and where it comes from, or ultimately can come from anywhere (which I do believe is the stronger of themes). It also took us on a journey of about 3 strong storylines, which I think is interesting for a film over TV show. Overall though, I do think it hits hard in a lot of ways and is an elite animated film of 2024. Any movie lover needs to find time, but know I do not think we are seeing an all-timer, just a great film for the year.
-J
