Lupita Nyong’o in poignant DreamWorks cartoon

in the opening scene wild robota robot washes up on the shores of a remote island, bearing the marks and labels of its human manufacturer. Voiced by Lupita Nyong’o and giving an inspired performance, the Rozzum 7134 machine is a machine built to serve. Her first words after being activated by a group of beavers express this devotion: she always completes her mission, just ask for it. Naturally, the animals in this secluded spot are afraid of the towering metal building. They scrambled to see her eager gesture of help.

Premiered at the Toronto Film Festival, wild robot The story of how Rozzum 7134 became Roz and found his place and purpose in the vibrant ecosystem of a humble island. Chris Sanders (Lilo & Stitch, How to train your dragon) adapted from Peter Brown’s touching trilogy of the same name, this poignant story from DreamWorks. When it is released on September 27, wild robot Not only will you please your existing fans, but you’ll also attract new ones.

Part of the appeal of this tender animation comes from its focused and engaging voice acting. Nyong’o, whose previous voice acting credits include Disney’s jungle book and an episode big mouthher transformation into a robot, overcoming the rigidity of her programming to fit into the looser, more unexpected realm of motherhood. Rhodes initially encounters the island’s creatures with a mechanical curiosity, evidenced by static sounds. As a representative of artificial intelligence, the robot begins her journey by scanning the island to obtain data.

In a brisk and brilliant early shot, Rhodes folds up, assuming a pseudo-hibernating pose as he absorbs the sounds and textures of the landscape. Beyond that, having learned the languages ​​of all the animals, the island is filled with an exciting energy of understanding: creatures bustle around the dormant robot, their chirps, screams and roars a reflection of the machine’s strangeness and A clear commentary on its existence.

When Roz wakes up, the animals are still afraid of her. Even more so now that, like her colonial human predecessors, she had learned their ways. She moved around morosely offering help to disinterested voters. The target appears to her in the form of a gosling. Under the watchful eye of this little creature, Roz was the mother. In portraying the robot’s anxiety and initial refusal to take on this responsibility, Nyong’o conveys her emotions with just the right amount of surprise and disbelief. Roz’s programming prevented her from rejecting the gosling outright—remember, she always got the job done, if asked—even though she knew very little about the demands of raising a goose. So she reluctantly agreed to raise the gosling and named it Brightbill (Kit Connor) Heartache).

Creatures more confused than frightened include the shrewd fox Fink, humorously voiced by Pedro Pascal, and the overwrought Fink, whose dulcet voice is provided by Catherine O’Hara Pinktail, the mother possum, helps Rhodes on his journey. Their advice ranges from helpful to downright questionable. Still, there are benefits to community efforts wild robot Some of the most poignant moments.

Rhodes’s initial approach to raising Brightbill involved scientific precision and technical rigidity—she canned the gosling and scoured databases for information on how to teach it to hunt, swim, and fly. These methods don’t always work, and many wild robot She’s concerned with, in her words, grappling with the sometimes “heavy obligations” of parenthood with her heart, not just her mind. As Rhodes moves into a more motherly role, Nyongo’s machine-like voice becomes more supple and delicate, as if making room for answers to questions she doesn’t even know to ask.

Rhodes wasn’t the only one growing on the island. Brightbill grew older, and as he grew up, he felt the dissatisfaction of his teenage years. Fink starts off as a supporting character, but his later backstory helps us better understand Fox’s conniving and conspiratorial impulses.

Sanders, who wrote the script in addition to directing, created a screen version of these characters that still felt like a family. If the characters connect us to the story, it’s the animation that draws us in initially. . Island life is rendered with vibrancy and an appreciation for detail—from the shards of giant trees that the industrial beaver (Matt Berry) gnaws daily to the grumpy grizzly bear Thorne (Mark Hamill)’s fine hairs. Remote areas represent unspoiled beauty, an environment undisturbed by human machinations.

The lack of people doesn’t mean there aren’t human threats. Like Pixar’s own robot adventure Wall-E, wild robot It also touches on the subtle consequences of uncontrolled consumerism. As humanity sends more machines, including a menacing drone voiced by Stephanie Hsu, to save Rhodes, their impact on the verdant land is unimaginable. Beyond Roz’s journey to motherhood, there’s a compelling emotional undercurrent to this environmental message. even as wild robot Accelerating the ending in a more rushed third act, these clues offer helpful reminders of interdependence and hopeful lessons in community.