While 2024 has had many hit animated movies, one of the biggest success stories of the year has beenThe Wild Robot, a film that tells the story of a robot named Roz who washes up on a deserted island, eventually finding herself taking care of a gosling called Brightbill.The Wild Robothas received rave reviewssince its release, hitting home with both audiences and critics, with much of the praise centered on the central relationships between the main characters.
While the announcement ofThe Wild Robot’s confirmed sequelcomes mostly with excitement to see a continuation of this incredible story, there is also always the worry that a sequel to a beloved movie comes out and disappoints when compared to what came before.The Wild Robot’s castand creative team are clearly good enough at what they do to make 2024’s best animated movie,but there is one pitfall that many sequels fall into that could prove to be a problemwhen it comes toThe Wild Robot2.
The Wild Robot Sequel Needs To Keep Its Focus On The Characters, Not Worldbuilding
The Characters Are The Most Important Part Of the Film
The best part ofThe Wild Robotis the characters and their relationships, most obviously the parental bond between Roz and Brightbill, but also the dynamics that evolve between all the other animals of the island. Roz and Brightbill’s complex and wonderful relationship carries the film, andthat is something the sequel can’t change if it hopes to maintain the qualityof the first film. Seeing Brightbill leave Roz is one of themost emotional scenes inThe Wild Robot, and it is only possible because of how their relationship was built up during the movie.
The Wild Robotsequel has to find a new way for these characters to grow and change, otherwise they risk stagnating and feeling too similar to the original.
The Wild Robotsequel is obviously going to continue the story from the first film, crafting a new journey for the established characters to embark on, butthe film has to be careful to keep building on the relationships started in the first film. While each character began and completed a character arc in the first film,The Wild Robotsequelhas to find a new way for these characters to grow and change, otherwise they risk stagnating and feeling too similar to the original.
The Wild Robot 2’s Worldbuilding Shouldn’t Come At Its Characters' Expense
Worldbuilding Is Good, But It Doesn’t Need To Be The Focus
The Wild Robot’s worldbuildingmost comes in the form of show, don’t tell, where the story of what happened is shown through the visuals and scenes in the film, not through any character saying what is going on and what state the world is in. This is shown to excellent effect in many scenes, such as when the geese are migrating and the Golden Gate Bridge can be seen sunken underwater, hinting at some sort of climate disaster.The film is able to convey that information without some heavy-handed explanation, adding to the wonder and mystery ofThe Wild Robot.
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The director Chris Sanders revealed the influence of Miyazaki in The Wild Robot and which Ghibli movie influenced the creation of Roz’s iconic design.
The Wild Robot2 is going to involve more worldbuilding simply due to its setting in a human city, but it should keep the same balance that the first had. The world is already interesting, andthe film has plenty of tools in its arsenal to expand upon itwithout needing to take away from the character building.The Wild Robot Escapes, the sequelto the book, was able to avoid this problem and maintain the same quality bar as the first, so the film’s sequel already has some sort of blueprint to work off of.
The Wild Robot Sequel’s Character Focus Will Keep What Made The First Film Special
The Sequel Can’t Lose The Heart Found In The Original
Despite its more complex themes and character relationships,The Wild Robotis, at its core, a very simple story told very effectively, with no crazy plot twists or worldbuilding elements. In its simplest form, it is a story about a robot who learns to become a mother, saves some animals, and finally, inThe Wild Robot’s ending, fights some other robots. Obviously, the film has more narrative depth than that, but it is really not that complicated a story, which is whatallows the movie to keep its focus on its characters.
With that in mind,The Wild Robot2 should absolutely follow suit. With a lot of sequel films, there can be a desire to one up what has come before, and while that is necessary to some extent to keep the continuation from feeling stale, trying too hard to make the sequel bigger simply for the sake of it can make it difficult for the true heart of the film to shine.The Wild Robotis an outstanding film, and its sequel has to ensure that it expands upon the first while staying true to what made it great.
The Wild Robot
Cast
The Wild Robot is an animated drama film based on a series of books by Peter Brown. The adaptation is written and directed by Chris Sanders and stars Lupita Nyong’o, Pedro Pascal, and Catherine O’Hara. The Wild Robot centers on a robot named Rozzum 7134, who becomes stranded on a deserted island and the guardian of a young orphan.
