After a bit of an inconsistent run, Dreamworks is back with The Wild Robot, a movie based on the book series of the same title by Peter Brown. Directed by Chris Sanders, responsible for Lilo & Stitch and How to Train Your Dragon, The Wild Robot was released on September 27 to theaters in the US.

I first heard of this movie in March when I went to see Kung-Fu Panda 4 in theaters. Before showtime, a teaser for The Wild Robot played, and it immediately hooked me. Besides one line towards the end, the teaser had no dialogue whatsoever. It was purely visuals of this robot walking around discovering her surroundings. It was so beautiful, it actually brought me to tears. I remember walking away from the theater that day thinking, “Wow, that teaser was better than the movie I went to go see”.

A past article of mine will tell you I wasn’t exactly the biggest Kung-Fu Panda 4 fan. But regardless, I couldn’t stop thinking about it since that day and began to anticipate its release. I’m really happy to say that the film lived up to my expectations. The Wild Robot is a beautiful, funny, and heartbreaking experience.

After being shipwrecked, a robot named Roz (Lupita Nyong’o) finds herself trying to adapt to life on a deserted island and build relationships with the wild animals that inhabit it. At its core, this movie is about being a parent, as Roz ends up mothering an orphaned gosling named Brightbill (Kit Connor). She also befriends a fox named Fink (Pedro Pascal) who teaches Roz how to survive on the island and raise the baby gosling.

I can see this movie connecting a lot with mothers, as much of its core themes revolve around parenthood. The portrayal of wildlife in this movie is very realistic. It doesn’t pull any punches showing you that animals need to kill and eat each other to survive. This helps ground the movie a lot, while still having funny moments that keep parts of it light. The comedy is solid in this movie – the jokes are charming and natural. The movie also doesn’t have to force its emotional moments onto you, they all feel deserved given all the context. I will admit that I’m an easy crier, but this film did make me cry a fair amount.

The story is really strong in its first two acts and progresses in an interesting way that keeps you on your feet. The plot does lose its footing a little bit in the third act, feeling a bit rushed and messy at times. But with how impressive the movie had been up to that point, it hardly hinders the quality. The movie continues to subvert expectations in a really powerful way up until the end.

It’s impossible to discuss this movie without bringing up the absolutely incredible animation. This was visually the most beautiful animated movie I’ve seen in my entire life, and that’s not an exaggeration. It has a painted art style similar to Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, a previous DreamWorks film released to great acclaim. That movie set the bar for animation very high, and The Wild Robot is somehow able to top it. All of the colors are meaningful and the scenery is breathtaking. This movie sees Dreamworks stepping up their animation game yet again. This island the characters are on has so much life to it, with its vibrant colors and breathtaking scenery. I found myself in awe at so many of the shots. The movie is simply beautiful to look at.

The Wild Robot has only been out a couple of days at this point but is already receiving great praise for its stunning animation, captivating story, and heartfelt emotional core. This puts Dreamworks back on top of the animation food chain for now, considering Disney’s disappointing release of Wish just last year. I love this movie and highly recommend you go check it out.