--- title: "The Wild Robot: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-wild-robot/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/the-wild-robot" critics_score: 83 critics_reviews: 19 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # The Wild Robot (2024): what the critics said Critics' score 83 from 19 reviews: 18 positive, 1 mixed, 0 negative. The reviews for The Wild Robot are almost uniformly warm, and the spread is narrow: nearly every critic recommends it and none dismisses it. Praise clusters in two places. The first is the painterly, hand-painted animation, which several critics call a new direction for the studio, setting metal against forest to good effect. The second is Lupita Nyong’o’s voice work as Roz, singled out repeatedly for the way it moves from mechanical to tender as the robot learns to mother an orphaned gosling. Critics also credit Chris Sanders with treating death and the harshness of nature frankly without turning heavy-handed. The reservations are mild. Several find the story familiar; Paste hears echoes of Wall-E and Finding Nemo, and The Times calls the plot derivative while still admiring the film. Radio Times thinks the final third leans too hard on action, and Sight and Sound, the lone mixed voice, finds it less focused than Sanders’ How to Train Your Dragon. ## The AV Club — Matthew Jackson Rating A-. 25 September 2024. The film is a deeply affecting animated adventure and one of the best of the year, blending charming family entertainment with thoughtful ideas about humanity and what cannot be engineered. It excels through its beautiful world-building, voice ensemble, and humanist vision. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/the-wild-robot-review) ## The Guardian Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 16 October 2024. The critic calls it one of the best animated films of the year and an Oscar frontrunner. They single out its emotional depth in showing how a robot learns unprogrammable human feelings amid a community of woodland creatures. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/sep/26/wild-robot-movie-review) ## Empire — Olly Richards Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 15 October 2024. The critic praises this charming animation as the best film Chris Sanders has made, highlighting its emotional intelligence, gorgeous painterly world, and honest treatment of life, death, and parenthood without heavy-handedness. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/the-wild-robot/) ## Screen Daily Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 11 September 2024. Festival review. The review describes a gorgeous painterly animation that delivers an affecting family story with fresh takes on belonging and modern families, praising Sanders for balancing spectacle and emotion while keeping the emotional core in focus. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/the-wild-robot-toronto-review/5197089.article) ## The Telegraph Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 18 October 2024. Festival review. The critic hails it as DreamWorks’ most moving animation in decades. They praise the crisp storytelling building to an emotional peak and the graphic style serving as a metaphor for the robot’s maternal journey. [Read the review](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/the-wild-robot-lff-review/) ## Los Angeles Times — Michael Ordoña Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 26 September 2024. The critic finds the film exquisitely human despite its machine-and-animal cast, praising its profound parenting parable and excellent voice performances. He notes it tells a story about family and community with lovely animation inside and out. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2024-09-26/the-wild-robot-review-animation-lupita-nyongo-chris-sanders) ## Radio Times — James Mottram Rating 4/5. The critic highlights the inspired animation, strong voice cast and insightful take on parenthood inspired by The Iron Giant and Miyazaki, while noting the final third becomes overly action-oriented. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-jhlgxg/the-wild-robot/) ## The Independent Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 17 October 2024. The review calls the film a beautiful Ghibli-inspired union of mainstream appeal and subtlety that will leave audiences in tears, singling out the voice performances—especially Nyong’o’s shift from robotic to tender—and its honest, darkly humorous take on life cycles and climate themes. [Read the review](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/the-wild-robot-movie-review-lupita-nyongo-pedro-pascal-b2630172.html) ## Time Out Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 18 October 2024. The review calls it a beguiling adaptation that balances natural peril and an unsentimental view of life with a delightful voice cast and community-building story that stays cute without becoming cutesy. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-wild-robot-2024) ## Total Film — Matt Maytum Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 26 September 2024. Festival review. The critic highlights Lupita Nyong’o’s excellent voice work and the film’s gorgeous animation in this positive early review of the DreamWorks adaptation. [Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/animation-movies/the-wild-robot-review/) ## Variety — Peter Debruge Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 8 September 2024. Festival review. The critic calls it a lovely chosen-family fable with a radical new visual approach, praising the human heart beneath the CG surface and the way it makes emotional instincts endearing. He notes it's not quite "The Iron Giant" but still a keeper with breathtaking environments. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2024/film/reviews/the-wild-robot-review-1236137118/) ## Sight and Sound Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 14 October 2024. The critic praises the heart in the unlikely bond between the robot Roz and the orphaned gosling but finds the film lacks the focus and flair of Sanders’ earlier work like How to Train Your Dragon, with the story straining under its broader eco-fable ambitions. [Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/wild-robot-compassionate-eco-fable) ## Financial Times Rating ★★★★☆. 17 October 2024. The critic calls it a sophisticated and satisfying entertainment with a shameless emotional swell. They highlight the visual textures contrasting metal with nature and strong voice performances. [Read the review](https://www.ft.com/content/fb6e19f9-7dff-4ca1-a688-b67ca24f5cf4) ## IndieWire — Kate Erbland 8 September 2024. Festival review. Chris Sanders adapts the novel into a cinematic winner that is a gorgeous animated fairy tale about the possibility of true connection. The film succeeds through its warm and wise storytelling and striking visual style. [Read the review](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/the-wild-robot-movie-review-1235044960/) ## RogerEbert.com — Brian Tallerico 8 September 2024. Festival review. The critic praises the film's stunning painterly visuals and heartfelt storytelling about a robot learning motherhood. He highlights its blend of humor about nature's harshness and emotional depth, calling it one of the best animated films of the decade. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-wild-robot) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Lovia Gyarkye 8 September 2024. Festival review. The film is a delightful story of survival and community centered on a robot learning motherhood. It stands out for its committed voice performances and painterly animation blending photorealistic characters with immersive landscapes. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/the-wild-robot-review-lupita-nyongo-pedro-pascal-dreamworks-1235993919/) ## The New York Times — Natalia Winkelman Rating Critic’s Pick. 26 September 2024. The critic lauds the dazzling animation and attention to emotional details in animal expressions. She singles out the film's focus on big feelings and great beauty over gags, noting its frank ideas about the circle of life. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/26/movies/the-wild-robot-review.html) ## The Times — Kevin Maher Rating ★★★★☆. 18 October 2024. The critic finds the story derivative but praises how it taps parental angst through a robot learning to be a mother. They single out the hand-painted animation style that adds human warmth. [Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/film/article/the-wild-robot-review-lupita-nyongo-0zrxsmv0c) ## Vulture 26 September 2024. Festival review. The movie turns a familiar setup into an unforgettable heartwarming tale through hypnotic painterly animation and Lupita Nyong’o’s standout voice work that shifts from mechanical to warmly expressive. It stands out for visually embodying its themes of love, inadequacy, and connection in a way that feels fresh and emotionally resonant. [Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/article/review-the-wild-robot-will-ruin-you.html) ## /Film — Ryan Scott Rating 10/10. 21 September 2024. Festival review. The critic calls the film one of the rare movies that exceeds high expectations, praising Chris Sanders' masterful direction, the breathtaking animation that tackles deep themes like death and humanity, and standout voice performances especially from Lupita Nyong'o. [Read the review](https://www.slashfilm.com/1670383/the-wild-robot-movie-review/) ## The Wrap — William Bibbiani Fi1m's normalised score 95/100 (inferred from the text). 26 September 2024. The critic calls the film a miracle of a motion picture that is distinct, personal, beautifully animated, lovingly told, thrilling and unexpected, evolving from comedy into heartwarming drama and transcendent exploration of deep ideas and feelings. It singles out the rich world-building and the way the story of a robot learning to love through caregiving blossoms into something profound and special. [Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/the-wild-robot-review/) ## Collider — Shaina Weatherhead Rating 9/10. 9 September 2024. The critic praises the film as one of Chris Sanders' best, highlighting its jaw-dropping animation, emotional storytelling about family and identity, and strong voice performances from Lupita Nyong'o, Pedro Pascal, and Kit Connor, along with an evocative score. [Read the review](https://collider.com/the-wild-robot-review/) ## Deadline — Pete Hammond Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 8 September 2024. Festival review. The critic hails the film as a stunning adaptation and a gem likely to become a classic, with beautiful animation, a smart script full of humor, action, heart and lessons for all ages. It singles out the immense heart as the key ingredient that makes it one of the best animated movies, or even movies, in years. [Read the review](https://deadline.com/2024/09/the-wild-robot-review-stunning-animation-and-a-story-with-wit-excitement-and-soul-make-this-gorgeous-film-one-from-the-heart-toronto-film-festival-1236081892/) ## Polygon — Petrana Radulovic Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 27 September 2024. The critic hails the film as a masterpiece and the future of animation, singling out its painterly stylized visuals, tender emotional story about unlikely bonds and parenthood, and fresh approach without relying on sequels or IP. [Read the review](https://www.polygon.com/movies/456807/the-wild-robot-review-dreamworks) ## The Playlist — Gregory Ellwood Rating B. 8 September 2024. Festival review. The review notes the film begins with overly action-packed juvenile sequences reminiscent of Looney Tunes but transitions to a strong emotional core focused on relationships and empathy, culminating in a tearjerker ending aided by beautiful animation, a painterly style, and a breathtaking score. [Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/the-wild-robot-review-a-bumpy-take-off-lands-with-a-tearjerker-tiff-20240908/) ## Paste — Jesse Hassenger Rating 7.1/10. 25 September 2024. The critic calls it a sweet and entertaining family film with strong vocal work and fluid animation but notes it feels imitative of earlier movies like Wall-E and Finding Nemo rather than fully inventive. [Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/dreamworks/the-wild-robot-review) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/the-wild-robot.md