Roz for President
Wild Robot was everything I needed on Election Day
On Election Day, my kid and I found our way to the depths of the local mall movie theater. At 1pm, seated of the edge of Row B (!), I found myself mesmerized by the new animated release, Wild Robot. There, next to other families trying to ignore the election for the next hour and 42 minutes, I held back tears watching an animated goose sleep on a robot and it was wonderful.
My biggest takeaway was that it treated kids (it’s an animated movie after all), their main audience like real people. Yes, it had the cutesy characters and the silly antics, but I didn’t feel like I had just been thrown in a sugar factory. The soundtrack was emotional and moving, and I was especially impressed with the beautiful sound effects of nature - water rippling, branches crashing, a wind gust. It all really grounded the movie.
The plot. OK, now I’m not a crier. I hold my shit in. But the roller coaster of emotions I felt during this movie. Whew. There was also a thread line through it that could be read as a (transracial) adoption theme that nearly had me in tears. I chose to ignore the “Roz / adoptive parent as savior” part, and it was still good. The action sequences were excellent — again, they felt thought through, not haphazardly thrown together.
Finally, as a visually creative person, I was thrilled by the animation. Not too slick. It had a slight hand drawn effect with a little bit of natural grit and grime. I can only imagine how the animators managed to come up with the perfect texture.
Now, Election Day has come and gone. Many of us are left wringing our hands or sulking or making plans to leave the country. I don’t know what’s next, none of us do. But if you need to escape for even just a little bit, go see Wild Robot.
I have a creative nonfiction piece in Yellow Arrow Journal’s kitalo issue that I have been racking my brain trying to make into… something…. for years now. It’s about persimmons and the reunion with my birth family and grief. In other words, it’s incredibly personal to me. Additionally, I am so honored to be part of the Yellow Arrow community. [I also got really excited and ordered extra copies with the bulk discount, so please let me know if you are interested grabbing a copy from me :)]
I have an itty bitty 100 word piece in Vagabond Journal. Read Outside the Box inspired by the transmogifier in Calvin and Hobbes.
Free Palestine. Save Gaza.
I would love a copy! Save me one if you can!
This is beautiful