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NBC Insider The Wild Robot

Where Is the Island from The Wild Robot? Creators Explain Where Roz's Adventure Takes Place

The new epic from DreamWorks Animation is taking flight to a theater near you. But could you fly to Roz’s island?

By Stephanie Gomulka

The island at the center of DreamWorks' latest animated feature film is set in our world, but not necessarily our time.

This weekend's The Wild Robot explores the beauty and hard lessons of mother nature after ROZZUM unit 7134, or Roz (Lupita Nyong’o), gets shipwrecked on an undisclosed island.

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Roz tries to find a way to assist animals on the island, including trying to parent an adorable gosling (Kit Conner) who needs to learn how to eat, fly, and swim before winter. All knowledge a real gosling on a real island would need. 

Still from the upcoming movie The Wild Robot

Where in the world is The Wild Robot island located?

Off the Northwest Coast of North America, most likely, though it's never fully confirmed. 

Creative visionary Chris Sanders (Lilo & Stitch, The Croods, How to Train Your Dragon) directed the movie, and tells NBC Insider that the island where Roz’s adventure begins is “absolutely” based on a realistic environment.

“If you look at the places and the animals, it seems like it’s the Northwest Coast of North America, which Peter Brown—the author—confirmed,” Sanders said.

RELATED: Everything to Know About The Wild Robot

However, the film isn’t set in a particular place or even a particular time.

“We asked [Brown] about that, but it is in the future," Sanders said. “All those things that we did were to let the audience know that yes, it’s in the future. We don’t know when, but it’s sometimes beyond when we are.”

Lupita Nyong’o leads the “symphony” of stars in The Wild Robot cast

Fink, Roz and Pinktail in Wild Robot

A sly fox named Fink (Pedro Pascal), a mother possum named Pinktail (Catherine O’Hara), and a bear named Thorn (Mark Hamill) make up part of the community living in the rugged woods. 

Nyong’o, whose kind robot leads the film, commends Sanders for the chemistry between the various cast of characters in the film.

“The success of that really should be credited to Chris,” Nyong’o told NBC Insider. “In terms of casting and then conducting us through the recording process. He has the symphony in his head and he’s putting the things together, and so, when you watch it, it feels so seamless. It feels like we were all together and yet we were not, so I am really impressed by his ear, his eye, and his heart.”

The Wild Robot is out in theaters now. Get tickets now!