Finding Belonging and Purpose: How The Wild Robot Talks About Mental Health For Both Kids and Adults – A Baltimore Counseling Intern’s Reflections
NOTE: The blog below contains spoilers for The Wild Robot. Please proceed with this knowledge.
“I could use a boost!”
One of my favorite films of the last few years is the 2024 animated movie The Wild Robot. The film follows a robot, Roz, who crashes on an island and begins to raise a young gosling, Brightbill, who recently lost his family. With the help of Fink, a clever fox, and the rest of the animals on the island, Roz embarks on a journey that touches on a lot of mental health themes. The wonderful thing about this movie is that both children and caregivers can learn a lot about belonging, resilience, and believing in oneself through the story. Below are some reflections on how the film tackles these themes and the interesting way that we can learn from a robot what it is like to be human.
Struggling with self-identity
When Roz crashes onto the island, she has a set purpose: help whichever human turns her on to complete their tasks. There’s just one problem… There are no humans on this island! Immediately, Roz’s sense of identity is skewed as she must figure out what to do next. Unexpectedly, a little baby goose begins following her, thinking Roz is his mother. From there, Roz must shift how she views her mission in order to help Brightbill survive in the wilderness of the island.
This sudden shift is something that a lot of parents go through themselves when first having a child. The news of pregnancy can be jarring and throw a lot into question for expecting parents, and internal crises can also worsen after the baby arrives. However, watching Roz, a robot with no programmed emotions or maternal instincts, learn how to become a mother gives hope to parents with those doubts. Parenting is not an easy task, it is valid to feel stressed or detached from yourself when focusing on raising a child. However, just as Roz has the other animals on the island to guide her, there are so many resources and people who can help, it’s important to remember that you are never alone. Even if you must seek help from someone unexpected, like Roz did with a fox and opossum, there are so many people who are willing to help parents (like therapists!).
Other mental health themes in the 2024 movie The Wild Robot
Not only does the movie cover the anxiety around having a child, but it also looks at the depression and sadness that can come when they leave the nest. In one of the most impactful scenes of the film, Brightbull successfully flies away to join the goose migration, leaving Roz behind on the island. Roz completes her task of raising Brightbill, but now is left alone. Roz begins to feel abandoned, as if her life’s purpose is gone. However, a winter storm brings Roz the chance to once again show the love and compassion she’s developed and save many of the freezing animals. In this powerful scene, not only do we see Roz develop a new sense of purpose, but we see how much her love and compassion has trickled down to the other animals. While watching a child grow up and leave the house is difficult, finding other ways to channel that love can be just as powerful and meaningful. There are always ways to rediscover yourself, it just sometimes might take a little hunting to find what that might be.
Turning to Brightbill, his search for belonging is also a main pillar of the movie, especially for children. Brightbill feels out of place in the world he grows up in. There are no other geese around, and when he does find geese, they make fun of him and pick on his difficulties swimming. Brightbill just wants a place to fit in, but he can’t seem to find it wherever he searches. This is similar to how hard it is for some kids to find friends or form a consistent group. For kids, it can be isolating, like something is wrong about them that they cannot fix.
It isn’t until Brightbill finds a group that accepts him and he leaves his home that he realizes something so hard for people to understand: sometimes the community you’re looking for was around you all along. Brightbill might not have been a robot like Roz or a fox like Fink, but they loved him and accepted him just as much. It often can just take a simple step back to realize all that we have. The search for belonging is a hard and treacherous one that so many people struggle with everyday, but sometimes a little separation can allow us to recognize those who accept us for who we are.
Both Roz and Brightbill go through their own experiences of learning who they are and where they belong. Whether it being shifting roles in your life, trying to fit in, or navigating a sudden change, life always throws us curveballs that can feel like the end of the world. But when we lean on the supports around us, take a moment to look at what we have, and are willing to take on a new task, these curveballs can feel a little less daunting. After all, if a robot and a goose can find meaning in their lives, we should be able to as well!
Reflection questions for The Wild Robot
Below are a few reflection questions for the movie. You can either talk about these with your kids or use them as a way to reflect for yourself.
Where do you feel like you belong? Have you ever felt like you belong somewhere?
What role do you play in your family or friend group?
How do you deal with change? Is change scary or exciting to you?
What emotions do you struggle to have?
Is there anybody in your life you could lean on for support right now? Or is there anyone that you could support yourself?
Beautiful Boy was directed by Felix van Groeningen and produced by Plan B Entertainment.
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Written by: Jackson Borchers, Counseling Intern at LifeSpring Counseling Services
Jackson Borchers is a Masters-Level Counseling Intern who is studying at Towson University. Jackson works with adults grappling with sadness, loneliness, isolation, and grief. As someone who is new to the Baltimore area, Jackson understands the intricacies involved in finding connection and finding your community.
