The Wild Robothas broken a DreamWorks record with its Rotten Tomatoes debut. The new movie, which was written and directed byHow to Train Your Dragonco-director Chris Sanders, is based on the Peter Brown book of the same name and follows a malfunctioning robot who lands on a desert island and begins to bond with a young gosling, accidentally reprogramming herself along the way.TheWild Robotmovieis only the fourth non-franchise title released by DreamWorks in the 2020s afterThe Bad Guys,Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken, andOrion and the Dark.
Rotten Tomatoeshas now compiled 25 different critics' reviews ofThe Wild Robot, including some early reviews out of the movie’s Toronto International Film Festival premiere on September 8. At the time of writing,the movie’s Tomatometer score is a perfect 100%. While the score will likely fluctuate as more reviews are added, for the moment it is the highest-rated DreamWorks release of all time, beating their previous high of 2010’sHow to Train Your Dragon, which has a Certified Fresh score of 99%.
What This Rotten Tomatoes Record Means For The Wild Robot
The Movie Could Become An Instant Classic
Ultimately, it seems improbable thatThe Wild Robotwill maintain a perfect 100% score by the time every review is compiled. Wide release DreamWorks movies typically get an average of 200 reviews, so with roughly 175 more to go, itseems likely that at least one of them will be negative enough to be considered Rotten. However, even if the movie’s score dips belowHow to Train Your Dragoninto the 90% to 98% range, it will still be considered one of the bestDreamWorks moviesof all time. Below, see every DreamWorks title with a score over 90%:
99%
97%
95%
92%
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World(2019)
90%
Of the 46 DreamWorks Animation movies and co-productions listed on Rotten Tomatoes,only eight includingThe Wild Robothave scores over 90%, which still puts the 2024 title in rarefied air. The top chart does not even include some of the studio’s most notable works such as theKung Fu Pandamoviesor the flagshipShrekfranchise. The stretch below 90% is also incredibly broad, ranging fromShrek 2’s 89% score toShark Tale’s thoroughly Rotten 35%.
Our Take On The Wild Robot’s Rotten Tomatoes Score
The Wild Robot Could Mark New Territory For DreamWorks
Even ifThe Wild Robotdoes not maintain its current standing, it could still achieve a major record. If it maintains a score above 90%, it will still be the highest-rated non-franchise movie sinceHow to Train Your Dragonin 2010. While it could potentially launch a similarly robust franchise if it is a commercial hit in addition to being a critical hit, this score also shows that DreamWorks isfinding their stride once again with titles that are not part of established film franchises.
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.
