hen a brand new, unboxed, Universal Dynamics’ Rozzum 7134 personal service robot (Lupita Nyong’o) washes ashore on a seemingly uninhabited island, it’s inadvertently activated. But without any humans around to begin giving the helper unit instructions, it’s terribly unaware of how it can be of any use. There are no suitable clients to be found and no tasks to accomplish – though wildlife is abundant.

“Your dialect is not in my databanks.” After going into learning mode, where “Roz” is able to silently study her surroundings for an undisclosed period of time, she picks up on the communication abilities of the various animals that cross her path. But managing to speak with them doesn’t stop mischievous raccoons from rummaging through her mechanical components or prevent a rampaging bear from clawing and thrashing at her metallic exterior. It’s soon apparent that no customer ordered her and that she must signal for the factory to retrieve her; but her location is too remote to make a pickup easy. Instead, Roz decides (or is tasked) to aid the numerous creatures around her – including a newborn gosling (eventually named Brightbill) in desperate need of a mother.

In the opening moments, there’s plenty of excitement and slapstick. Unusual for a family-friendly animated feature, however, is the abundance of death; in the realm of a vast wilderness with predators and prey, day-to-day routines are all about hunting and killing and eating. Whether it’s a crab being cooked alive, a bird’s nest getting crushed, a possum’s baby being snatched up, or all sorts of anthropomorphized critters devouring one another, “The Wild Robot” doesn’t shy away from straightforward violence. It isn’t bloodthirsty, of course, but it’s rather candid when it comes to the subject. “Kindness is not a survival skill.”

Hilariously, as the robot raises the goose, they each take on traits of the other. But despite the comical creativity of an animalistic automaton and a robotic bird, it’s not long before the story examines fairly typical themes. Brightbill is ostracized from his species and bullied for his strange behaviors; symbiotic, opportunistic fox Fink (Pedro Pascal) reveals a lack of love and community in his own upbringing; and Roz struggles with parenting, remaining useful, and constant improvisation that goes against her programming. All three of them contend with fitting in, discovering a sense of belonging, fighting thoughts of giving up, battling loneliness, and confronting fears. And several of these ideas come to fruition during montages as pop music plays.

With a considerable cast of recognizable voice actors – including Bill Nighy, Ving Rhames, Catherine O’Hara, Mark Hamill, and more – who don’t really contribute anything significant, since the supporting parts are of minimal importance and have limited dialogue (Nyong’o is spectacular all by herself) – this 3D animation makes up for its many generic qualities with a number of genuinely moving moments. It has a lot of heart, even with all of the sequences that don’t establish much innovation for children’s pictures (in many ways, Roz resembles Schwarzenegger’s juggernaut in “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” – itself something of a misunderstood monster, like Frankenstein’s creation – slowly learning about love and friendship; there are hints of “WALL·E” and “The Iron Giant” in here as well). Most fascinating, perhaps, is the robot’s artificial intelligence; can it actually feel, or is it merely imitating true emotions? Like its adaptable programming, can the animal kingdom learn to suppress instincts (humanized as they may be) for the sake of mutual survival? In the end, the film returns to commotion and adventure as it momentarily resembles concepts from “Avatar,” concluding satisfactorily with teamwork and sacrifice (and a bit of nonsense that stretches the sensibility even within the boundaries and definitions set out – particularly with interspecies languages) – commonplace notions but charming ones nonetheless. “Funny … how life works.”

– Mike Massie