TORONTO, Canada—The early scenes of the new animated film The Wild Robot, which just premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, offer the kind of heart-swelling, gasp-worthy wonder that is all too rare these days.

Based on a popular children’s book series by Peter Brown, the film directed by Lilo & Stitch’s Chris Sanders, opens on the title machine, voiced elegantly by Lupita Nyong’o, washing ashore in a strange land, the waves lapping against her shipping container. There are no humans around, only animals who are curious but fearful. She just wants to help. That’s, after all, what she’s been programmed to do.

The film that unfolds is a stunningly crafted tale of nature versus nurture and how even the most inorganic creations can adapt to their surroundings. It evokes its forebears like Wall-E and The Iron Giant, while etching out its own path through richly textured animation and a brilliant lead performance. And the wonder is only slightly curtailed when all the animals start to speak with the voices of Pedro Pascal, Kit Connor, and Bill Nighy.

Yes, this is a DreamWorks production, and it eventually evolves into something a little less abstract than it initially........

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