The Wild Robot

Brightbill asks Roz if it is true what the other goslings say, that the geese will leave the island and not return for many months. Roz replies that it is true and tells him that she cannot come along. Brightbill asks if he can stay on the island with Roz, but she thinks it is best for him to migrate with the flock.

Roz cannot answer Brightbill’s questions about the migration, so they go to ask the geese. Loudwing and the others reply that they will fly for a few weeks to reach their destination at a lake in the south.

Back in the Nest, Brightbill tells Roz that lately he has had a strong urge to fly. Roz explains that those are his instincts. Brightbill says that he will worry about Roz while he is gone, but she assures him that she will be fine.

The night before the migration, Brightbill crawls into Roz’s arms to sleep. In the morning, Brightbill sees the geese gathering at the pond. Chitchat comes to see him off, saying that Brightbill will see many new things. She whispers that she will look after Roz.

Roz accompanies Brightbill to the flock. The leader, Longneck, instructs the geese to fly with their families in the formation. Roz loudly asks where Brightbill should fly. Longneck replies that Brighbill can fly with him at the point.

Roz tells Brightbill that she is proud of him. They nuzzle and say goodbye. Brightbill flies off and joins the formation.

The island is quiet, with migratory birds gone and hibernating animals sleeping. Roz does not know what to do with herself. She sits in the Nest, unmoving for weeks, and runs low on power.

A shaft of sunlight falls across her face, reactivating Roz. She sees that she is surrounded by broken branches and snow, because the roof caved in. Roz’s joints feel stiff, so she clears a spot and builds a fire. As her sensors thaw, she feels stronger. She climbs through the hole in the roof and sees a foreign landscape.

Everything is covered with snow. As Roz gathers wood, she finds many frozen animals buried in the snow. She learns how a devastating cold front caught the animals by surprise.

Roz repairs the Nest and keeps a fire going to prevent snow from building up on the roof again. She thinks of the frozen animals she saw and steps outside the Nest. She calls out that all the animals of the island are welcome to join her in her warm lodge.

As Roz sits in the Nest, Chitchat asks to join her by the fire. The squirrel is shivering and has ice clumps in her fur. Once warm, she falls asleep.

Throughout the night, other animals make their way into the lodge. Animals who should be hibernating underground have been awoken by the terrible cold. More weary animals appear, and the lodge fills up. The animals are afraid of the fire, but also appreciate its warmth. Roz shows them how to build a fire so they will understand it better.

Roz sees predators and prey curled up next to one another. She proposes a truce; while in the lodge, no animal can harm another.

In the morning, Roz tells the animals that they are welcome to stay as long as they like. Fink the fox thanks Roz, saying that he might not have survived another night in the cold. He says it is too bad they cannot fit more animals in the lodge. Roz resolves that no animals will be left in the cold.

Roz plans a new lodge, one big enough to hold Broadfoot the bull moose, who lives on the other side of the pond with many other desperate animals. Roz walks across the frozen pond and builds a fire in a clearing.

With help from the animals, Roz builds a new lodge. She encourages them to keep the fire going inside, though she warns them to be careful. The animals agree to a truce while inside the lodge.

Roz builds a third lodge in the Great Meadow, then a fourth and fifth elsewhere on the island. The island becomes dotted with lodges, each filled with warm, happy animals.

Roz hears voices on the other side of the pond, then sees smoke. She runs across the pond and finds a lodge on fire. The animals all run in terror.

Roz calls to Broadfoot, who says that they put too many logs in the fire pit. A mother hare cries that her baby is still inside. Roz dashes inside the lodge and finds the baby in a corner. The doorway collapses in flames, so Roz shields the baby hare and crashes straight through the log wall. The mother hare gathers her baby and thanks Roz.

Roz launches herself up into a tree and shakes snow down onto the flaming lodge, which puts out the fire. As the animals return, Roz asks them if they want another lodge. They fear another fire, but they fear the cold more. Together they all build a bigger lodge with a deeper fire pit and water kept inside. The lodgers now have a greater understanding and respect for fire.

The truce keeps animals inside the lodges peaceful, though when they go out of the lodge, sometimes one lodger eats another. To deal with these awkward moments, the animals try to keep up pleasant conversation around the lodge fires.

Chitchat wonders what Brightbill is doing, imagining that the geese are having a wonderful time. Roz hopes so, but she worries that the flock was caught in the harsh weather.

Digdown the groundhog philosophizes about her long life, saying that she wishes she had helped others more. She admires how the beavers built a dam that helped them all by creating the pond. Fink comments that the beavers made their lives better by teaching Roz how to build. Digdown agrees, saying that Roz must have saved half the island. Roz maintains that their friendship is all the thanks she needs, because friends help each other.

Crag the ancient turtle says that the weather has gotten more extreme during his lifetime. In his grandfather’s time, the island was a mountain. The ocean rose and lands flooded. Chitchat worries that the ocean will rise further and swallow the island.

Swooper lectures the lodgers that everything has a purpose. Roz does not believe she has a purpose, but the animals think she has many purposes. Roz thinks that she is meant to help others.

Spring comes and the ice and snow melt. Flowers begin to bloom and trees bud. The lodgers return to their homes. Hibernators emerge.

Roz wanders the island checking in on all her friends. She works in her garden. After the worst winter in memory, life slowly returns to normal. There are fewer insects, birds, and rodents than usual. The corpses of frozen animals nourish the soil and help the island bloom.

Roz hears Paddler crying out for help. Roz pulls the young beaver out of the pond, with Rockmouth the pike attached to his tail. Roz grips the fish in her hands.

Mrs. Beaver appears, scolding Rockmouth that he has gone too far. She asks Roz to throw him to the vultures. Roz says she cannot do that, so she places the fish in a shallow pool where he cannot escape. She waits for him to explain himself.

Roz returns to the beavers and explains that when they dammed the stream, they kept Rockmouth trapped, unable to swim back to the river he came from. Mr. and Mrs. Beaver retort that that is no excuse to attack their son. Paddler says that he would be upset to be kept from his home.

Roz decides to return Rockmouth to the river. She asks the beavers to make a container to hold water. They make a barrel and Roz carries Rockmouth to his home. She releases him and he grins and swims away.