See how The Wild Robot hits the Save the Cat! story beats.
Written by: Chris Sanders (screenplay) and Peter Brown (book)
Directed by: Chris Sanders
Genre: Fool Triumphant (fool, establishment, transmutation)
The 3 elements of a FOOL TRIUMPHANT story are:
- A fool whose innocence is his strength and whose gentle manner makes him likely to be ignored—by all but a jealous “Insider” who knows him too well.
- An establishment, the people or group a fool comes up against, either within his midst, or after being sent to a new place in which he does not fit—at first.
- A transmutation in which the fool becomes someone or something new, often including a “name change” that’s taken on either by accident or as a disguise.
Opening Image: Amidst a chaotic typhoon, something crashes to the earth.
Set-Up: In the aftermath of the storm, forest animals inspect the contents of a container, activating the ROZZUM unit inside it. As the robot awakes, it introduces itself as ROZZUM 7134 (Lupita Nyong’o), ready to take on any task and complete it. This is how things are in her thesis world.
However, things immediately need fixing: Roz is seen as a monster by the forest animals. As she mimics their behavior, they flee in fear. She’s an outsider, rejected and alone. To combat the language barrier, Roz enters learning mode. Once she can communicate with the animals, they still attack her and run away.
Theme Stated: Alone in a field, Roz stands up, asking, “Did anyone order me?” This simple statement reveals a deep thematic premise: one of being needed, belonging, serving a purpose, and identity. Roz might be alone right now, but as her story continues, she will find a family and learn what it means to belong—even though she is different.
Set-Up (continued): It’s stasis = death for Roz, and as a storm rolls in, she decides that her delivery was unsuccessful and she must return to the factory. Standing atop a peak, she activates her return transmitter… until it is hit by lightning. Not long after, curious raccoons swarm her, stealing pieces of her robotic body. She pursues one into a cave, only to discover that it is occupied by a bear.
Catalyst: Chased by the bear, Roz falls down a hill and lands on top of a nest. Examining it, she discovers that the eggs are cracked, and the mother bird is dead. However, there is one egg left intact…
Debate: Roz scans the egg to discover a chick inside. She holds it in her palm, caring for it, and considers whether or not to activate her return transmitter. Just then, the egg is stolen, grabbed by a fox (Pedro Pascal). She chases the thief, ultimately getting the egg back when the fox runs into a porcupine. After she removes the quills from the fox’s muzzle in an act of mercy, the egg hatches, the chick imprinting on Roz.
Considering her task complete, she moves on, only to discover that the hatchling trails her. She’s unsure why, but when she meets Pinktail, a mother possum (Catherine O’Hara), Roz learns that she is now the chick’s mother. Pinktail tells Roz that she must help the chick learn to eat, swim, and fly before winter arrives or the chick will die. She tries, unsuccessfully, to quickly accomplish the task, only to be watched by the fox.
The fox introduces himself as Fink, and says he is a goose expert, willing to help Roz accomplish her task. Of course, Fink is only out for himself, and he uses Roz’s skills to help himself get food. Fink tries to explain that the forest island they live on is all about survival, and kindness is not a survival skill. He tells Roz that the chick—who accidentally breaks her return transmitter—is a runt and will probably not survive anyway.
Break into Two: However, Roz refuses to let that happen. A ROZZUM always completes its task. She begins to work with Fink to raise the chick, starting by building a home. Accomplishing her task is the A Story goal.
B Story: The chick, whom Roz will later name Brightbill (Kit Connor), will help Roz discover her purpose and place, and she will do the same for him.
Fun and Games: In this new, upside-down antithesis world, Roz begins to learn the ways of the island, and we see the promise of the premise as we witness what it is like for a robot to function in the wild and raise a chick. Fink shows her how to survive, as well as tries to teach her how to be creative and make up a story.
Months pass and Brightbill grows, trying to blend in and become part of the animals on the island. While practicing his swimming skills, he meets others of his kind, some who ridicule him and call him a freak, telling him he doesn’t belong. Roz comes to his rescue, and Brightbill tells the other geese that the robot is his mom. The geese reveal the truth to him: Roz is responsible for his family’s demise. Feeling betrayed by this new information, Brightbill leaves.
Later, at a cave, Roz discovers the remnants of the other ROZZUM robots from the crash. Activating one, she sees an introductory video from Universal Dynamics that gives her answers to where she belongs. After it scans her, it tells Roz, “You are defective. You are in the wrong place, and you have become the wrong thing.” It hands Roz its own intact return transmitter, stating, “They will fix you. That is where you belong.”
Roz sits atop a peak, contemplating this message, until Fink arrives, and she confronts him for lying. Just as she gets ready to activate her transmitter, she sees geese flying in formation. Roz and Fink know they are out of time; they challenge Brightbill and offer to help him, but he tells Roz that her task is complete. “No,” she tells him, “your life is not negotiable. If you are willing to do this, you can fly away, and we can both go to where we belong.”
Midpoint: With Roz’s help, Brightbill attempts to fly as A and B Stories cross. Roz even builds a runway made of rocks so she can give him a running start. There’s a false victory as Brightbill finally flies on his own. The stakes are raised and time clocks begin to tick, though, as Roz meets Longneck (Bill Nighy), an elder goose. He says that Brightbill can fly with his flock, but he has only one week to build his endurance or he will not be able to make the journey.
Bad Guys Close In: The external bad guys close in as from dawn until dusk, Brightbill stays in the air, building endurance. The task seems impossible, but he refuses to give up, and on the day of migration, Longneck speaks to him. “This flight is a gift Roz has given you,” he tells Brightbill. “The accident that killed your family saved you. Funny how life works.”
The accomplishment is bittersweet, and it’s not long until the internal bad guys begin to impact Brightbill and Roz. Roz tells Brightbill that she will not be on the island when he gets back, and as she helps him fly away into formation, she follows him like a parent saying goodbye to their child.
With the task complete, Roz has lost her purpose, and she activates her return transmitter as winter sets in and Fink goes into his den to hibernate. Meanwhile, Brightbill confides to Longneck that he didn’t get a chance to say something to Roz before he left, his guilt and sorrow plaguing him.
Although Brightbill endures the exhausting flight, a storm soon forces the flock to find shelter in a domed community. There, humans’ lives are attended to by ROZZUMs, and Brightbill approaches one of them in a field, mistaking it for Roz. The geese are soon pursued by other robots who believe the fields are now infested, with Longneck being killed as the others escape.
Back on the island, a terrible winter storm threatens the inhabitants. Fink finds Roz, who had turned off her transmitter, and the two seek out the other animals, gathering them and bringing them to the home Roz had built. The mixture of predators and prey causes chaos, and as Roz’s solar power dwindles, she implores Fink to help them. Fink, once a despised loner, takes charge and convinces the animals to call a truce.
When winter ends and the sun shines once more, Brightbill returns with the flock. Roz’s batteries are restored, and she races out to see him. However, upon witnessing his happiness with the flock, she hesitates, doubt setting in. He has found where he belongs… does he need her anymore?
All Is Lost: As Roz ponders what to do, she strolls along the rock runway she created. Just then, a ship from Universal Dynamics arrives. A robot named Vontra (Stephanie Hsu) has arrived to collect her target, setting her sights on Roz. There’s a whiff of death: Roz will be taken to where she is supposed to belong and fit in, but she will leave behind Brightbill and those she cares for.
Dark Night of the Soul: Vontra addresses Roz with fake cheerfulness. When Vontra says that 7134 should come with her, Roz states, “My name is Roz.” This assertion of her identity causes a shift in Vontra’s demeanor, and as Roz looks back at the island once more, she hesitates. “Is something keeping you… Roz?” Vontra asks.
With resigned remorse, Roz boards the ship’s levitating pad and ascends. Just then, Fink runs up to them, shouting, “It’s Brightbill! He needs to talk to you!” As A and B Stories meet, Roz is suddenly reminded of her purpose and reason for being: her found family, where she truly belongs.
Break into Three: Roz races away with Fink to see Brightbill, aware that she lied to Vontra and is going against her programming.
Finale: As Vontra deploys robots to capture Roz, forest animals come to her aid and fight for her just as she cared for them. In this synthesis world, Roz is an individual who is different from the others, yet has found where she belongs. The wildlife successfully fends off the pursuers, but in a high tower surprise, Vontra uses the robots’ self-destruct feature, igniting the forest and knocking Roz down.
Aboard the ship, Vontra reveals that Roz will be shut down and her memories extracted to discover why she has become different from other robots. Meanwhile, Brightbill and the geese swarm the ship, and Brightbill finds Roz, now unconscious. He speaks to her, finally telling her, “I love you… Mom.” This accesses a part of Roz that Universal Dynamics couldn’t reach, and Roz awakens, digging deep down. With a clear realization of who she is and what she is meant to be, Roz executes the new plan, destroying Vontra and escaping as the animals stop the forest fire.
Afterwards, Roz commends the animals for working together before telling them that she will need to leave to protect them all, promising to return. At night, Fink tells the younger animals a bedtime story about Roz and how she helped them all, making the island a better place by bringing them together.
Final Image: As Roz works in a domed community among other robots, Brightbill flies in, a hopeful look on his face. Roz tells him that her name is ROZZUM 7134 and picks him up, adding, “But you can call me Roz.”
