New movie “The Wild Robot” hit the theaters on Sept. 27, 2024, moving people of all ages with its fascinating plot and emotional breakthroughs. The movie is rumored to become only the fourth-ever animated Best Picture Oscar nominee in history.

When my mom told me our family was going to see it, I protested heavily. However, with little luck, I ended up being forced to go anyway. Throughout the movie, I was wonderfully surprised and moved by the likeableness of the characters and the bittersweet scenes. Usually I hate animated movies, especially movies without humans. I have trouble connecting with the characters and staying entertained. That being said, this movie took me by surprise. I was so eager to see how everything would pan out and found myself rooting for all the characters, even though they were just animated robots and animals.

The protagonist, Roz, starts off as being a timid robot with little to no connection to the human world. After meeting Brightbill, Fink, and many other animals, he begins to develop a sympathetic and compassionate side.

One of the main themes from this movie is that kindness can be a survival skill. Two of the main characters argue about this throughout the movie, one saying that kindness is a survival skill and one saying it’s unnecessary. As more and more life-threatening events happen, it becomes clear how important kindness really is. At the end, all the characters come to terms with the fact that kindness is in fact a survival skill, and makes everyone’s life just a little bit easier.

This movie also assesses the importance of family, and fitting in. Even animals of a different species end up bonding and sharing a somewhat familial relationship. Many characters feel like they don’t belong, or aren’t liked, which many viewers of all ages can relate to. It was exciting to see this theme touched on by an animated movie, and the complexities it unearthed.

Although this movie may seem like a movie just for children, I think it’s a movie that everyone needs to see. The heartwarming scenes, engaging plot, and life lessons discussed all made this movie one that I would definitely go watch again. Though it was just filled with animated robots and animals, the emotion and kindness emitted brought them, and the movie, to life.