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Movie Review: The Wild Robot

27 February 202526 February 2025Jon The Blogcentric1 Comment

This year is one Oscar year where predicting the Best Animated Feature winner will be difficult. One of the favorites is The Wild Robot. Does it have what it takes to win?

The film begins in a remote forest land on an uninhabited island unblemished by human intervention. The coast soon becomes an unintentional wash-up ground for Universal Dynamic’s ROZZUM robots coming from a capsized ship. Only one robot, Unit 7134, survives and running wildlife activate it. It’s obvious the robot has no place on the island as it can’t interact properly with animals. The robot is intended to be a customer service robot with a female voice. Nothing the robot does helps any of the animals and the animals respond in a hostile manner, chasing 7134. Upon falling from running away, 7134 crushed a mother goose to death and all but one of the nest eggs on its landing. The lone egg that was unharmed hatches the baby gosling. 7134 takes a fascination in it. Plus 7134 is programmed to continue with whatever mission she’s given until completion. She puts the egg inside her chest.

7134 finds a memory card in herself to make her communicate with animals better and inserts it. Soon after, she encounters Fink: a sly hungry fox who knows of the egg and wants to eat it. 7134 is able to prevent the theft. Soon the egg hatches and a male gosling is born and imprints himself on 7134. 7134 now has a mission to raise the gosling to adulthood, but how? 7134 first finds guidance from a mother opossum who’s currently mothering six babies. Fink returns but instead of eating the gosling, he makes a deal with 7134 to help raise the feller for a shelter in return. 7134 agrees and creates a hut for them all to live. In the naming of the gosling, 7134 gives the gosling number-names which annoys Fink. Fink gives 7134 naming tutelage and the gosling is given the name ‘Brightbill.’ 7134 even gets a new name of her own: Roz.

Over the months, Brightbill grows, albeit awkwardly. While the other goslings are goose-like and grow as naturally as geese do, Brightbill acts more like Roz than a goose. The other teen goslings taunt him for his awkwardness. Then one day, another flop day of goose training for Brightbill, one of the peers tells Brightbill that Roz killed his mother. It’s there Brightbill turns against Roz. Even though Roz still wants to mother Brightbill, a ROZZUM unit she reconstructs tells her to return to Universal Dynamics. Roz is determined to reconcile with Brightbill and raise him. That sends a signal back to Universal Dynamics. Meanwhile Roz finds the right bird to teach Brightbill how to fly: a falcon named Thunderbolt. With help from goose master Longneck, Thuynderbolt succeeds in making Brightbill able to fly in time for migration.

The migration is not what it seems. The birds encounter a thunderstorm as they fly in San Francisco. They hope the greenhouse from Universal Dynamics they spot in San Francisco is the temporary shelter they need, but the Universal Dynamics technology detects the birds as contaminant and a multitude of reconnaissance, or RECO, robots that look exactly like Roz go shooting at the birds. The island which has the hibernating animals goes through a severe snowstorm and they fear they will freeze to death. Roz and Fink build a shelter for all animals but demand a truce of all of them not to harm each other.

As spring returns, Brightbill and the geese return, Roz repowers herself and the animals are free to roam the island. Unfortunately, Universal Dynamics has sent a robot to retrieve Roz named VONTRA and she’s troublesome, reckless and remorseless. VONTRA is not even afraid to start a forest fire on the island to get Roz. It’s then the animals group together to rescue Roz and battle VONTRA as their land is burning in a bright red fire. I won’t spoil the ending but the film then ends not with the battle but the aftermath, reminding us of the bond between Roz, Brightbill and all the animals.

This film is based upon the 2016 children’s novel The Wild Robot by Peter Brown. The story itself is a story about togetherness. In many ways, children who watch this film can learn about the importance of getting along and actually coming as one. If animals who attack eat other or treat each other as prey can get along, so can other kids. Same way as a robot, who has no qualities to bond with animals, learns to have those qualities and does bond. Even raise a baby gosling to goose. The film also has other themes too of the environment and how development threatens animal’s habitats. Even the threat of having technology run things and make decisions with no human feelings is another thematic element of the story. At the beginning, I didn’t think Roz would be of any help to the animals of the island. Just an interference that acts on her own programmed logic to do only the things she’s programmed to do. A change of things changes everything and Roz becomes an unlikely hero.

The film’s quality is in its story. It plays the story well. The animals act like animals and Roz acts with her programmed logic. Over time we see the story develop. Roz goes from being an interference on the island to becoming a big help. Fink goes from a sly conniver to being a big help to the animals too. Brightbill also goes from being a robot-like gosling to the goose he was meant to be. It succeeds in making moments you think won’t develop properly develop into the way it was meant to be. At the same time, the film also adds in the other threats like how robots are sent to the island as Roz is not doing her commanded duties and VONTRA threatens to get her even at the cost of the island’s destruction. Unexpected moments like these and the film ending in the manner you didn’t expect add to the story. Also since this film is an adaptation of the first book of a Wild Robot trilogy of books, it also sets up well for the sequel that will be adapted from The Wild Robot Escapes novel. The box office results of this film have opened the door for the development of a sequel, but filming details and release date have not yet been confirmed.

The biggest credit should go to director/writer Chris Sanders. Sanders has over 40 years of experience in animation having first worked as a scriptwriter for the Muppet Babies cartoons and then becoming story writer for five of Disney’s films in the 1990’s during the ‘Disney Renaissance.’ He then broke out into directing with 2002’s Lilo and Stitch which is the first film he directed, co-directing with Dean De Blois. Since then, he moved onto Dreamworks Animation and has co-directed How To Train Your Dragon with de Blois, The Croods with Kirk DeMicco and his first solo project The Call Of The Wild. In this film, he succeeds in delivering an excellent story mixed with dazzling effects. He does a great job in making a film that can easily make Disney and even Pixar jealous!

Also great voice acting from Lupita Nyong’o. She knows how to make Roz the unfeeling robot at times she needs to be and help her develop into having feelings. Kit Connor also does a great job in playing Brightbill from his awkwardness to his anger. Pedro Pascal is excellent as the sly Fink. Stephanie Hsu is also great as the villainous VONTRA. Actually the mix of vocal talent is great throughout the film. Adding to the film is the musical score by Kris Bowers and the work from the film’s sound team and the visual effects team.

In the Oscar category of Best Animated Feature, this film has been in a tight battle against Flow. To think, its biggest rival is an independent film from Latvia! In this category, Flow has won the National Board of Review award, the Golden Globe, and the Online Film Critics Society Award. The Wild Robot has won the Critics Choice Award and the Producers Guild Award in this category. At the Annie Awards for animated films, it achieved ten nominations in nine categories including Best Animated Feature and it won in all nine!

The Wild Robot delivers in what one would commonly expect in an animated film. Although it’s more oriented for children than it is for adults, the parents will have no problem being entertained by the story. Don’t be surprised if it wins the Oscar on Sunday!

VIFF 2023 Review: Last Summer (L’Été Dernier)

15 December 202315 December 2023Jon The BlogcentricLeave a comment

Samuel Kircher and Lea Drucker play stepson and stepmother that goes too far in the French film *Last Summer*.

For those that attend film festivals, there are many patrons who hope to catch a film with a bizarre storyline that looks good. One film that attempts to do it is the France film Last Summer. It’s a bizarre story that comes with unexpected twists.

Anne is an attorney in family law. She knows the system well and what works and what doesn’t in the Corts, but she will fight for her clients. Especially children. Anne is well-respected with how she works with rape cases, especially those involving minors. Anne is married to Pierre and has two adopted daughters from China. She does a very good job of balancing family life with her career.

Things change when Theo enters the picture. Theo is the 17 year-old son of Pierre’s from his first marriage. Theo is a troubled boy frequently getting in and out of trouble. Pierre is hoping a summer stay at his house will help improve him and improve his relationship with his son. In fact Pierre picks Theo up after his release from a detention centre. Anne is hoping to have this time to establish a mother-son relationship with her stepson.

Over time, Theo has no problem with being one of the family. He comes to family occasions well. He’s able to be a fun brother to his step-sisters. Anne has also found Theo to be a lot of fun to be around. It seems like they’ve developed a good relationship…or it’s something more. Anne is attracted to Theo and lets him know it. Theo is attracted to Anne in turn. Their closeness becomes more. A lot more.

Only problem is secrets don’t stay secret for long. The first exposure comes at a family birthday party. Anne’s sister catches them too close. She is disgusted and hurls an insult. Soon Pierre hears the news from Theo. Anne insists it’s all a lie. Whenever Pierre tries to bring it up, Anne knows of the right thing to say. When Theo confronts her in her office, she levels with him. She reminds him of his bad reputation and that no one will believe him. As time passes, Anne has successfully convinced Pierre and her sister that what they thought all along isn’t true. Soon Anne has one last encounter with Theo, which shocks everyone in the end.

Now this film is something. Very rarely do we have a film about incest created. And rightly so. Incest is a topic that almost all of us find disturbing and still churns a lot of people’s stomachs. This is a bizarre case. Theo is the stepson of Anne. Even if you get yourself questioning your morality as he’s not a blood relative of hers, he’s still the son of Pierre. Theo is a boy Anne is not to be attracted to in more ways than one. Seeing how the romance that is not to be unravel itself is enough to shock the pants out of the audients.

The funny thing about this film is that this film appears be about an incident of incest but if you look closer, you’ll see the film looks to be about Anne. Anne is a lawyer and an advocate: a respected woman who appears to champion the causes of exploited children. Soon she finds herself in a ‘tangle’ with Theo — a tangle that would lead anyone in the hottest of hot water — but she’s able to state her innocence and successfully convince those closest to her that it’s all a lie. We often forget that is the profession of lawyers and politicians: the power of the talk. Talk that wins cases, talk that wins minds, talk that can even trump proven truths. Anne has that ability to deliver that type of talk power and we see it throughout. She has the talk to win cases for young girls in family court, talk that can convince her husband and even her sister who catches her in the act that there’s no incest, and talk to convince Theo he won’t win his case against her. Usually a film about such an incident would be a film consisting of the incident, arrest, trial, conviction and any aftermath. I think that theme of Anne and the power of her talk may be the reason why the film ended in the way it did.

This is an incredible film by Catherine Breillat. Breillat is not well known outside of France. Her films in France have been known for decades to do about sexuality and family conflict. Her most notable works are 2001’s Fat Girl and 2007’s The Last Mistress. This film which she directed and co-wrote with Pascal Bonitzer is her first release in ten years and is actually an adaptation of a 2019’s Danish film Queen Of Hearts. Breillat does a great job in capturing the intensities of moments and having only us the viewer knowing the truth of the story. She knows how to capture what’s at stake should Anne be found guilty and expose a power play between the accuser and the accused.

The thing to make a film like this work is the acting. Lea Drucker was excellent as Anne, the one calling the shots. She knew how to make Anne the imposing figure that she is with the ability to be convincing to everyone even if we know it’s all a lie. Olivier Rabourdin was great as the husband who’s struggling to make sense of the whole situation of whether this really happened, what type of father he is. He was excellent at playing the man caught in the middle. Also great is newcomer Samuel Kircher. He gives Theo his recklessness, his innocence and his vulnerability without missing a beat. Very well done for a first performance.

Let’s just say Last Summer is a film of intrigue. It’s a film that features of an unspeakable happening and it comes with a lot of surprises including an ending nobody anticipated to happen. It’s a film that will get you thinking of what you saw over and over again!

Oscars 2017 Best Picture Review: Get Out

28 February 2018Jon The Blogcentric1 Comment

I admit I was very late on the draw for watching Get Out. Could’ve been the schoolwork I had to deal with or I just didn’t rush out like I should’ve. I finally had the chance to see it a month ago and I can easily see why it’s one of the best films of 2017.

The story begins with a young black man abducted on the street. Soon after, black photographer Chris Washington is packing with white girlfriend Rose Armitage for a meet-the-parents visit. Rose insists to Chris that his race won’t matter, even though he is her first black boyfriend. Chris says goodbye to his friend Rod, a black TSA agent, and insists to him things will be fine. On the ride there with Rose driving, they hit a deer. The police visit the two and the white officer wants to look at Chris’ identification, even though he wasn’t driving. It took Rose’s intervention to stop this.

The two arrive at the home where they meet Rose’s brain-surgeon father Dean, hypnotist mother Missy and student brother Jeremy. All three make discomfiting comments about black people. Additional uneasiness to Chris comes when he notices housekeeper Georgina and groundskeeper Walter, both black, show strange behavior. Things get even weirder when Chris steps outside to smoke and notices Walter sprinting through the grounds and Georgina prowling through the house.

To try and take his mind off things, Missy gives Chris a hypnotherapy session to cure his smoking. During the session, he’s taken back to his childhood and the memory of his mother’s hit-and-run death: a death he feels guilty of. After that comes the void Missy calls ‘the sunken place.’

Chris wakes up the next morning wanting to think it was all a nightmare. Instead he’s surprised to learn that cigarettes turn him off and Walter even confirms Chris was in Missy’s office. Chris also notices Georgina unplugged his phone leaving the battery to die, but she claims it was an accident.

The next day, Chris is at a get-together hosted by the Armitage with dozens of wealthy couples; most of them white. However the topic is almost always the same from person to person. They all ask about his race and even bring up talk of prominent black figures. The only person who doesn’t bring up race is Jim Hudson, a blind art dealer, who takes an interest in Chris’s photography.

Chris meets one other black person at the party. His name’s Logan; he’s married to a white woman and he acts rather strangely. Chris telephones his friend Rod and lets him know of all the suspicious activity at the Armitage house. Chris snapped a flash photo of Logan from his phone, but Logan’s personality changes to a hostile manner, shouting for him to ‘get out.’

Despite Dean claiming it’s an epileptic seizure, Chris isn’t fooled. He knows there’s something wrong happening and persuades Rose to leave with him. Meanwhile Rod notices the Logan in the photo is Andre Hayworth: the man who went missing earlier. Rod tried to get his police department to go to the Armitage household, get Chris, and arrest whoever’s involved. His colleagues all think it’s a joke. Rod is on his own.

As Chris is about to leave, Chris comes across photos of Rose with other black boyfriends. As he tries to leave, Chris is blocked by the family from leaving and even Rose is part of the heist to abduct him. Jeremy acts violent but as Chris tries to fight back, Missy imposes hypnosis to make him weaker. While wrapped in bondage in a chair, Chris watches a video from Rose’s grandfather Roman where they take the brains of white people and puts them into black people. The host remains in the ‘sunken place’: watching but powerless. Hudson tells Chris through the screen he wants his body for his sight and his artistic talents. Meanwhile Rod telephones Rose to find out what’s happening, but Rose declines, making like Rod is a past boyfriend.

The night before surgery, Chris puts the cotton stuffing from the chair in his ears to block the hypnosis. The day of a surgery is when Chris has to make his getaway. The movie ends with a lot of surprises– including some surprising facts about the surgery — but it ends with the pleasing ending many would have hoped for.

This is a rarity. A horror film where racism is one of the main themes of the film. The story starts out as something simple: boyfriend meets girlfriends’ parents. The fact that he’s black shouldn’t make that much of a deal. I mean Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner was 50 years ago and lots has changed, right? You get the first impression race will be a topic when they hit a deer and Chris is asked for his identification. It becomes further evident when Chris is with Rose’s family and the father brings up Jesse Owens. I was actually surprised to see how often race was brought up in conversations between Chris. It was always a topic in Chris’ conversations with people, if not the first. And then a case of mental enslavement: white brains in black bodies. I notice the familiarity here.

I’m sure race has a lot to do with the police scenarios, but even then, there was one area that didn’t seem about race. That’s when Rod describes the situation to the police and all three laugh. The three Rod talked to were of various races, even one black woman. I felt that was trying to send me a message that even African Americans in the police force look at their own in a negative light. The end definitely had something to say. A cop car arrives with Rose shot and dying on the ground and Chris thinks he’s about to get arrested, only for Rod to be the cop. Glad to see it gave a happy ending. I think it was also trying to say something; about the importance of having friends who know the truth.

Even without the subject of race, this stands out as a psychological thriller in its own right. One of the difficulties of horror or thriller movies is including supernatural or paranormal things without looking ridiculous. The theme of hypnosis and mind control really makes itself present in a smart way. The inclusion of such themes even the addition of the brain surgery right in the family’s house didn’t look cheesy at all, fitting well within the story. Showing how Chris broke the mind-control aspect when he took a photo of Andre/Logan is shown intelligently and added to the story without looking ridiculous. The scene near the end where Walter shoots himself after shooting Rose didn’t appear dumb as it showed this mind-control was something only death can free them of. Even the goriness of the deaths didn’t look dumb. In summary, all the thriller or horror aspects had to make sense in order for them to work, and they did.

This film had to be 2017’s ‘sleeper success.’ The film made its debut at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. Lately Sundance movies haven’t been as big of a draw to the box office as they were ten or even twenty years ago. This film really caught people’s attention and grossed $176 million at the box office. It was no wonder it would be one of the stand-out films of 2017. It reminds you that 2017 wasn’t such a bad year in movies after all, and Get Out was one of the highlights. Get Out also contributed highly to the resurgence of the horror/thriller genre. Sure, the biggest news came from It, but Get Out is admired for its ability to create an original story and even add African-American elements to the horror genre, which is extremely rare.

The person who deserves the most acclaim here is writer/director Jordan Peele. He is one driven person. Past work of his includes acting and writing for MadTV as well as stand-up comedy. This is his first feature-length film as a writer and director and it really stands out because of its excellent story line. Also excellent is the lead acting from Daniel Kaluuya. He succeeded in making a performance in a horror movie three-dimension: something very rare. There were also good standout supporting performances from Lil Red Howery as Rod. Makes sense as Rod was the comic relief. Also a good scene-stealer was Betty Gabriel. Her portrayal as Marianne/Georgina best personified what it was like to be under this mind-control lobotomy. Smiling on the outside, but mentally-enslaved on the inside. Alison Williams also made a good villain, switching from the loving girlfriend to helping the family get their next ‘slave.’

Get Out did two things that most people would believe is impossible to do nowadays. The first is create a horror film that is as intense as it is smart. The second is for an African-American to create such a horror film. The film achieves all that, and more.