Review of “The Wild Robot”: You will be amazed from the first scene to the last

Family audiences rejoice! It's time to celebrate with The Wild Robot, now in theaters nationwide, radiating with the special magic that only a new animated classic has that is spectacular in every sense of the word. You will be captivated from the first scene to the last.

What is this wild thing? “The Wild Robot,” adapted from the first book in the open series by Peter Brown, is about a robot and a gosling? Not Ryan, but a baby goose in the care of a bot that a typhoon blew onto an island with no people. Animals rule the neighborhood.

This is frustrating for ROZZUM Unit 7134, also known as “Roz,” a hulking metal biped programmed to please people. Greatly portrayed by Oscar winner Lupita Nyong'o, who as Roz is desperate to serve someone.

Roz ends up playing the mother of Brightbill (Heartstopper's Kit Connor), a newly hatched gosling whose nest Roz and his family accidentally destroyed when it crashed onto the island. What is it about animated movies that kill parents? I'm still not over losing Bambi's mother.

The story told here by veteran director Chris Sanders (“How to Train Your Dragon”) is about the human instincts that grow within Roz and Brightbill, beautifully showcased by the actors, and great animation that this gives fable something picturesque and profound.

For laughs, we have a hilarious Pedro Pascal as Fink, the proverbial clever fox, who rejects Roz's offer of help while intuitively recognizing her power against predators and prey alike. The film introduces a parade of iconic animal characters, including the opossum Pinktail (Catherine O'Hara), the grizzly bear Thorn (Mark Hamill) and the beaver Paddler (Matt Berry).

“The Wild Robot” never shows that nature can be both scary and beautiful. Very young children may need comfort as death is a fact of life on this island. But the film's warm humor and tender feelings alleviate even the worst circumstances.

Roz's software allows her to decipher the sounds of the animals around her and interact with the animals like a droid, Dr. Dolittle, to speak. And when Roz's metal leg is destroyed, a beaver gnaws a new one out of a tree stump and the wild robot is born.

AI opponents may be surprised at how “The Wild Robot” argues for a truce between the natural world and artificial intelligence. But this gem of a film makes a compelling case.

As Brightbill imprints on his metallic mother, their bond seems unbreakable until Roz learns from an older goose (Bill Nighy) that she must loosen the bonds that bind them so that her adopted son can take part in a mass migration escape that is for his Survival is essential to species.

Listen to Maren Morris' original tune “Kiss the Sky,” a song for the ages.

You get the point, right? Roz realizes that her ultimate goal is not to adhere to her factory settings, but to fulfill her responsibilities as a mother. You won't find a film this year that more movingly captures the emotional connection between parent and child. Bring tissues. The Oscar for Best Animated Film belongs right here.