#i am very sad they got rid of his best friend chitchat the squirrel though :(

[they-thespian666]

That's actually why I like the book a LOT more than the movie because that sense of community and mutual aid is there from minute one in the book. When Roz first shows up to the island (and eventually camouflages herself and learns the animals' language) the animals already have an established "dawn truce" where they all agree that there will be an hour every morning where no one will hunt or kill anyone else and often talk and spend time together between species. And initially Roz is ostracized from this group/ truce as she's seen as a monster who everyone fears will eat them. Then after the incident with Brightbill's family Roz decides (on her own) that she won't let the gosling die as well and goes to look for help and guidance. After briefly meeting Pinktail who teaches her acting and how to seem less intimidating, she finds a goose named Loudwing (best character btw she deserves better I miss her) who helps teach Roz how to take care of her new son and when the topic of shelter comes up, Loudwing is the one who sends Roz over to the beavers to get them to help build her den after a bit of convincing. Then when Mr. Beaver is done with that he sends Roz over to a family of deer to help make a garden for the den to attract more neighbors and actually integrate Roz into the community. After that Roz starts coming to the dawn truces and many of the animals welcome her and give her parenting advice. Then skipping forward to winter and Roz letting animals stay in her den to escape the cold they extend the dawn truce to everyone who stays in the den and when it gets too crowded she builds more and teaches the animals how to safely make fire and keep each other warm. And even in how the book changes the factory robots tracking to instead of Roz sending out the tracking signal herself to her throwing a party with a huge bonfire to celebrate the anniversary of her arrival.

And yes the book does acknowledge that some animals will not come back and sometimes they will have to kill and eat one another, but very few of them are mean or nasty about it. It isn't just the animals all hating each other and then Roz arrives and teaches them the importance of working together, it's an already well established community that Roz is able to adapt and truly become a part of

Anyways sorry for the ramble, I am very insane about this book series

The Wild Robot and Mutual Aid

I just got out of the film, and whilst naturally I noticed and adored the themes of motherhood, neurodivergence, physical disability, and the "kind, smiling face of capitalism," there's one theme I really wanna narrow in on.

Really early on in the film, it's established that everyone on the island is part of the "Mutual Struggle" for life, or "survival of the fittest." Everyone has to eat, nature is harsh and unforgiving, and kindness is not a welcome survival instinct.

When Peter Kropotkin went out into the wilds himself to observe what the Darwinists were talking about in regards to Mutual Struggle, he noted that he saw far more examples of Mutual Aid. He continued to observe examples of animals and insects aiding each other.

And by the end of The Wild Robot, that's what we see. Not just a community, but a community whose aid is giving freely, who find a way to shelter the storm together. They call a truce during the winter because survival rests not just on the instinct of hunger, struggle, predator and prey, but sometimes on aid, warmth, generosity, peace, and community.

Will the animals go back to hunting each other during the springtime? It's possible, it's even likely. The bear says he won't hunt Fink, but he still needs to eat.

But when the winter comes once again, they will all be in the home Rozz made for them, and they will call that truce again. Because the world should not revolve around struggle, it should turn on giving without asking for anything in return.