These 5 movies you must watch if you enjoyed watching The Wild Robot

Chris Sanders is a man of many talents, and his 2024 film The Wild Robot might just be his finest work yet. He wrote and directed this animated film based on Peter Brown's novel and earned an Oscar nod. However, that's not the only project he is known for. Sanders is also the voice behind utterly chaotic Stitch, even in the latest live-action reimagining of his 2002 film, Lilo & Stitch. It shows a young girl getting warmed up to the presence of an alien creature, and his later films follow a similar theme of finding connections beyond the traditional barriers.

That includes 2010's How to Train Your Dragon and 2024's The Wild Robot. The latter showed an intelligent robot, dubbed Roz, stranded on an uninhabited island, trying to find a purpose for her life. Until then, she had been trained to help out others. However, that's of no use on an island with no humans that depend on her. While trying to find her way out of this place, she accidentally destroys a goose nest but hangs on to the one egg that survives the attack. That's how she meets Brightbill, a young gosling who sees her as his mother.

The Wild Robot develops this emotional hook about a strong animal-and-robot bond that is beyond charming. It also shows a family learning to grow past their differences and understand the strength of their relationship. So, if you're looking for something like The Wild Robot, you can look for The Iron Giant (1999), WALL-E (2008), Robot Dreams (2023), Robot & Frank (2012), and The Mitchells vs. the Machines (2021).

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Must watch these 5 movies if you enjoyed watching The Wild Robot

1. The Iron Giant (1999)

Directed by Ghost Protocol director Brad Bird, The Iron Giant revolves around an unlikely bond between a 9-year-old boy and a robot. It is based on Ted Hughes' 1986 novel, The Iron Man, which is said to be connected to the anxieties of the Cold War. Brad Bird's adaptation offers a fascinating account of a human-robot relationship that follows similar emotional beats as The Wild Robot.

It also shows a young child growing fond of a robot he discovers, while a government agent is determined to destroy it. So, we get a similarly soaring portrait of their interpersonal dynamics that resonate as deeply as they did nearly two decades ago.

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2. WALL-E (2008)

Andrew Stanton's WALL-E is a quintessential Pixar film that offers a tender portrait of a robot finding an unlikely connection in a dystopian reality. Per IMDb, its official plot synopsis reads:

"A robot who is responsible for cleaning a waste-covered Earth meets another robot and falls in love with her. Together, they set out on a journey that will alter the fate of mankind."

This animated film made Oscar history, earning six nominations and winning an award for Best Animated Feature. It is just as much of a sentimental account about an unfeeling robot learning the role of humanity in a world that has grown past human survival.

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3. Robot Dreams (2023)

Set in 1980s Manhattan, Robot Dreams is a bittersweet affair of a Labrador dog finding a lifelong connection with a robot. However, unlike Chris Sanders' film, the robot isn't stranded but is purchased by the dog. In this reality, animals lead their lives like humans do. So, this dog spends his days in his cramped, dull apartment until a robot shows up and brightens up his life.

Yet, it's not all sunshine and rainbows for these two friends who find themselves separated by circumstances beyond their control. So, it's a perfect follow-up movie to The Wild Robot.

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4. Robot & Frank (2012)

Before finding a footing in the MCU with Thunderbolts*, director Jake Schreier had worked on a sweet indie film, Robot & Frank. Much like The Wild Robot, this is another tale where a robot forms an unlikely bond with someone who doesn't want him around. In this case, that's an old man with dementia who has grown distant from his children.

Still, the film finds a fine balance between its tragic and comical moments as it shows him trying to use this butler robot to commit burglaries.

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5. The Mitchells vs. the Machines (2021)

A dysfunctional family tries to patch up as they find themselves in the middle of a robot apocalypse while on a road trip. With this logline, The Mitchells vs. the Machines is not really a story of a robot-human bond, but it is just as compelling a family-bonding tale as we see in Chris Sanders' film.

Besides, it is vibrant, colorful, and an absolutely hilarious ride that offers thrills without losing focus from its core themes of companionship, humanity, and survival. So, it's a more than perfect choice of movie to watch if you like The Wild Robot.

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Also read: Flow: What happens to the bird at the end of the Academy Award-nominated animated film?