News & Views of Phillips Since 1976
Saturday December 20th 2025
Reload document 
Open in new tab The Wild Robot (2024)
from the series Movie Corner
5/5 Stars
Animation/Adventure
DreamWorks Animation
By HOWARD MCQUITTER II
Although The Wild Robot may be touted as just an animation-adventure film by some people, the film is truly a grand human-interest story. Beyond the impressive visuals, the storyline itself is a remarkable piece of work that can be both intriguing to children and adults alike. The Wild Robot is based on a kids’ book by Peter Brown.
Very early in the film a robot known as 7134 (Lupita Nyong’o) accidentally crashes on an unknown and uninhabited island. The robot’s programming is jammed up and destroyed because of the crash. We soon learn the robot’s name is Roz as she wanders into uncharted territory. She sees a goose’s nest with broken eggs all except for one. Soon that egg hatches and a cute little gosling emerges. Roz adopts Brightbill (Kit Connor) and protects him from natural enemies such as seagulls, wolverines, foxes, possums, and even from other geese.
Cast: Lupita Nyong’o (Roz), Pedro Pascal (Fink), Kit Connor (Brightbill), Bill Nighy (Longneck), Stephanie Hsu (Vontra), Matt Berry (Paddler), Ving Rhames (Thunderbolt), Mark Hamill (Thorn), Catherine O’ Hara (Pinktail)
Director: Chris Sanders.
Cinematography: Chris Stover.
Keep citizen journalism alive!
Tax Fairness Matters!
From the series Raise Your Voice!
By PETER MOLENAAR
From the most recent post from Americans for Tax Fairness coalition*: “The numbers don’t lie, but corporations sure do… that’s why we just released a damning new report that pulls back the curtain on 12 of America’s largest corporations, exposing a web of tax dodging, executive excess, and worker exploitation.”
How then is it possible that many of us regular folks live in MAGA land?
Our East African immigrant neighbors are a wiser lot, many having been recruited to work for Amazon. Indeed, over a five-year span, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos-–earning $3.5 M per hour—watched his personal fortune increase by $115 billion, while wages inched up to the “scrape-by level”.
Yet, one worker I contacted while phone banking from the Labor Centre stated: “I remain on the fence!” I expect, sooner or later, our overheated planet will blow him off!
Sadly, over the same five years, Boeing aircraft company received $2.6 billion in tax refunds, while raking in $148 billion from U.S. Defense Department contracts. In other words, workers’ wages are taxed to facilitate “never ending” wars, along with the associated expenditure of metal which is desperately needed for geothermal heating and cooling systems.… Read the rest “Tax Fairness Matters!”