The decision to watch the animated film “The Wild Robot” in the midst of finalizing and submitting my college applications unexpectedly opened my eyes to how this upcoming change in my life will feel. 

Walking in blindly, with only a few comments from friends saying I would likely be in tears by the end did not prepare me for just how much I was going to relate to the film. 

Senior year looks different for everyone, going off to college is not the only route that this movie reflects. For almost everyone, being a senior means that in some way life is going to look different, whether that be college away from home, working, gap years in other countries, etcetera. 

This movie focuses on the life of a robot, Roz, forced to become a mother figure to an orphaned goose, Brightbill, through the course a relationship that is strained by mental and physical differences causes the two to argue and drift apart. 

Once the goose hit the age where he had to decide to grow and leave, the terrifying life-altering choice, he was filled with sorrow over the state of their relationship.

Arguments and a lack of communication led to this poorly timed anger, that had the possibility of harboring into something permanent.

Once it was time for Brightbill to leave he got the rushing sense of regret for the way he had acted towards his mother, while Roz felt the overwhelming pain from the way things were ending with the additional sadness from the change alone. 

Seniors are pressured to make that terrifying decision during this same time of life where we are experiencing the challenging task of adjusting to hormones that blind us, and often make the relationships with our parents miserable for both parties. 

Sitting next to my own mother, I felt the rush of emotion from this part of the film because the timing of it felt like it was speaking to us personally. It was clear that the two of us felt the same way, as we both wiped our tears simultaneously. 

This reaction was not unique to us though, after conversing with my friends who had also seen the movie it was clear that we all felt the same way. Challenging relationships with parents is not a new or profound experience, it’s actually more rare to find teenagers who don’t share this experience.

It made all of us reflect on how in a few short months we would be taking the same jump an animated bird had to do, which made me realize who this movie was actually made for. 

Looking around the theater at the end of the film I did not see a lot of sniffling faces that mirrored mine, instead the room was filled with mostly younger children with their parents. Neither of those groups really understood this connection, because the movie wasn’t for them. 

It was easy to grasp that the movie depicted the journey of adapting and acceptance and the colorful comedic nature called to children, but the depth of this subplot went over a lot of heads. This situation wouldn’t be in their lives for another ten years, but I was living it.

This specific adolescent era is the pivotal marking for the path of adulthood, while it is not the end all be all that it can feel like most of the time it has significance in our futures. 

Rocky relationships with parents now doesn’t mean it will always be like that, but “flying” away without the right goodbye can act as the final setting stone all because of petty arguments. 

“The Wild Robot” subliminally spoke to high school seniors on the intimidating cusp of freedom, making us all a little more emotionally aware of what is to come.