All I could think was—this is how Jesus loves me.

DreamWorks’ latest family film, The Wild Robot, premiered on September 27th, featuring talented voices like Pedro Pascal and Catherine O’Hara. Based on Peter Brown’s 2016 children’s book, the story follows Roz, a robot. Here’s the movie‘s one-sentence summary:

Shipwrecked on a deserted island, a robot named Roz must learn to adapt to its new surroundings. Building relationships with the native animals, Roz soon develops a parental bond with an orphaned gosling.

If you missed the trailer here’s a quick peek at the film, prepare to be amazed by the beautiful animation:

⚠️If you’ve reached this point, here is your fair warning that there will be spoilers. ⚠️ So if you want to see the film for yourself, come and revisit this blog with fresh eyes.

Now, what you came here for. You might be thinking—how in the world can a children’s movie about a robot in the woods reflect anything from the Bible? Whether you’re skeptical or excited- here’s my argument that it retells the story of Jesus.

The Miracle and Mystery of Jesus

When God sent His Son to Earth, it was a miracle. Many couldn’t understand that the Messiah would come from such humble origins, and though some followed Jesus eventually, many others shunned Him and couldn’t understand Him.

In The Wild Robot, Roz, the robot, unexpectedly awakens in a forest, completely cut off from where she came from. Though she knows her origins, she has no way to return. The animals, at first afraid of her, see her as different and more powerful. Roz, however, chooses to study the animals around her, learning their languages, behaviors, and ways of life.

This reminded me of Jesus: even though He is fully divine, He took time to experience our lives and feelings- understanding our temptations, grief, anger, etc.

The Mission

One thing is for certain- Jesus was sent to Earth on a mission. (To save all of us.)

Roz is a robot that was created to serve others. While in the forest, she meets a baby Goose who is all alone. It is made very clear that this goose, later named Brightbill, is the runt. No one believes in him or thinks he will even survive long enough to migrate south.

Roz makes it her mission to “adopt” this orphan gosling, and help it learn to fly in time to migrate south for the winter. To me, this reminded me of how Jesus sees us. We are all adopted into His kingdom, and when no one else believes in us- He does. He would leave the 99 for the 1:

“If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders away, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others on the hills and go out to search for the one that is lost? And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he will rejoice over it more than over the ninety-nine that didn’t wander away! In the same way, it is not my heavenly Father’s will that even one of these little ones should perish.” | Matthew 18:12-14

The Golden Rule

As winter sets in, Roz sacrifices her energy to shelter the animals, keeping them warm while her own systems drain. When her creators come to retrieve her, Roz realizes staying would endanger them all, so she selflessly leaves.

Before going, Roz imparts one last lesson: she urges the animals to stop fighting and to care for each other. This scene, with predators resting peacefully alongside prey, mirrors Jesus’s words to love one another—selflessly and unconditionally.

“So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.” | John 13:34

He’s Coming Back…

You might think I’m crazy, (I’m pretty certain one of the characters that died was John the Baptist) but this tiny detail at the end let me know that I was on the right track.

After Roz, goes back home to protect all the other animals, you see one of the animals reading the story of Roz to the younger animals. Just like we now read Jesus’ story in the Bible.

And one of the younger animals asks if Roz will ever come back. Fink (Pedro Pascal’s character) responds by saying this:

“If I know anything about that robot, I’m sure she has a plan to come back again.”

Doesn’t that sound familiar?

In summary, here are the key few points that this film made that reminded me of my faith:

You’re never too broken for Jesus—He’ll always believe in you.
God became human through Jesus so He could truly walk with us.
Love your neighbor.
You were created with a purpose.

This definitely isn’t the first time I’ve cried at a kid’s movie, and it won’t be the last. If you’re a parent, this movie has so many lessons and analogies to scripture that could create great conversations with your kids about faith, love, and purpose.

And if you’re skeptical, go see it yourself! It might be true that neither the author of the book nor the filmmakers intended to tell a gospel story. But sometimes, Jesus shows up in the most unexpected places—even in a silly little children’s film.

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