The Wild Robot

One hot day, Roz watches Brightbill swim. Some other goslings tease him and Brightbill storms out of the pond, refusing to tell Roz what is wrong. Roz follows him home and Brightbill says that the goslings called Roz a monster and laughed at Brightbill for having a monster mother.

Brightbill says that he knows that Roz is a robot, but he does not understand what a robot is. Roz explains that she is a machine and was built, not born, though she does not remember anything before she woke up on the island.

Brightbill realizes that Roz is not his “real” mother. Roz explains that there are many kinds of mothers and that though she tries to act like his mother, she is not his birth mother. She tells Brightbill about the accident that killed his birth family. He decides to continue calling her “Mama” and that he likes that they are a strange kind of family. 

Brightbill continues to struggle with the mystery of having a robot mother. Roz tries to help him by talking about families, robots, and geese. Brightbill asks if there are other robots on the island. Roz replies that there are, but that they are inoperative, which is like being dead. Brightbill wants to see them, but Roz thinks he is too young.

Brightbill protests that this is not fair. He runs out to the pond and flies away.

Loudwing assures Roz that Brightbill will be fine and that adolescents can be difficult. She tells Roz not to worry.

Roz is as worried as it is possible for a robot to worry. She thinks about all the bad things that could happen to Brightbill. Roz guesses that he flew to the robot gravesite, so she runs there. She finds her son on the cliff above the robots. He says that he needs to understand what she is, so it might help to see the other robots. Roz agrees to go with him.

The gravesite has changed since Roz was last there. Her crate and some of the robot parts are gone. Roz and Brightbill examine a smashed torso that still has legs and a head attached.

Looking at the “dead” robot makes Brightbill ask questions about life and death, which Roz answers to the best of her ability. Brightbill notices the round shape on the back of the robot’s head, which Roz thinks is like the buttons that are pressed to operate machinery.

Brightbill wonders if Roz has a button as well, so Roz turns her head around. Brightbill sees Roz’s button, which Roz did not know she had. Roz reaches for the button, but her hand stops automatically. She says that she cannot press the button, so she asks Brightbill if he could like to try. She supposes that she will shut down, though she can be restarted again. Brightbill does not want to risk shutting her down forever.

Brightbill notices some otters in the ocean and calls to them. The otters remember Roz and that they had thought she was a monster, but they have since learned from other animals that she is friendly. An otter named Shelly apologizes for running away from Roz when they first met. She tells Brightbill about how his mother was in a crate, then came out looking like a sparkling monster.

Roz notices that Brightbill looks upset, so she bids goodbye to the otters. Brightbill wants to fly home, so Roz begins climbing the cliffs. At the top, she encounters the two young bears.

Roz introduces herself, though the sister bear, Nettle, says that they know who she is. The brother bear, Thorn, repeats his older sister’s words, which annoys Nettle. Roz says that she must be going, but the bears threaten her.

Brightbill swoops down between them, telling the bears to stay away from his mama. Nettle laughs that the rumors are true about the runt gosling who thinks a robot is his mother. She sends Brightbill tumbling with a flick of her paw. The bears snarl at Roz that this is their island and she needs to leave.

Roz tries to intimidate the bears with loud noises, but they roar back and attack. They push her close to the cliff edge. Suddenly Mother Bear bursts out of the trees, demanding that her cubs come to her.

The young bears keep slashing at Roz. Thorn grasps her foot in his paws and twists. The foot pops off and Thorn tumbles backwards over the cliff.

Mother Bear roars in agony. Roz looks over the side of the cliff and sees Thorn clinging to a tree on the rock wall by his teeth. Roz tells the other bears to grab her legs so that she can lower herself over the side of the cliff. She grabs ahold of Thorn and the bears pull them both back up.

Roz assures Brightbill that her missing foot does not hurt. Mother Bear apologizes to Roz for her cubs and thanks her for saving Thorn. She makes them promise to leave Roz alone.

Roz tries to walk, but her stump slips on the forest floor. Thorn apologizes for breaking off her foot. Roz says she forgives him. She thinks she will have to crawl home, but Mother Bear insists on letting Roz ride on her back.

As they make their way through the forest, other animals join in their procession. It turns into a grand parade.

Roz and Brightbill enjoy the parade back to the Nest. The bears say goodbye and head home. Brightbill asks if Roz will walk again. Roz is not sure, but she knows who to ask for help.

Mr. Beaver examines Roz’s stump. He has never built a foot before, but he loves a challenge. He fetches a hard tree trunk and carves a foot.

Mr. Beaver brings three raccoons, whom he calls the Fuzzy Bandits. They use their nimble hands to tie vines around Roz’s leg and new foot. Mr. Beaver calls for Trunktap, a woodpecker, who finds the stickiest tree sap. Mr. Beaver smears it on the wooden foot, and it dries and hardens. Roz says that she is as good as new.

After a few days, the vines come undone and the foot loosens, so the animals experiment with harder wood and tougher vines. They try boiling the resin to make it indestructible glue. Roz now has a durable new foot.

Brightbill becomes an exceptional flier with coaching from Roz, who helps him study the flying techniques of other birds. Brightbill practices daily and shares his discoveries with the other goslings. Together they improve. The other goslings find that Brightbill is a great leader when they fly in formation.

Brightbill and Roz continue to think about the button on the back of her head. They decide to find out what happens when it is pushed.

Brightbill pushes the button and Roz’s body relaxes. Her eyes fade to black. Brightbill calls her, but there is no response. Brightbill worries that she will not wake up, or that she will be different when she wakes up again.

Brightbill pushes the button and Roz activates. She says “Hello, I am ROZZUM unit 7134, but you may call me Roz” in a language Brightbill does not understand. In a moment, Roz’s familiar voice returns, and she asks Brightbill how long she was out. He replies that it was only a few minutes, but it felt like forever.