[7] Booklist's Julia Smith discussed how "Brown doesn’t gloss over the harsher aspects of life in the wild [...] but a logic-driven robot provides the perfect way to objectively observe nature’s order".
[6] Publishers Weekly similarly added, "The allegory of otherness is clear but never heavy-handed, and Roz has just enough human attributes to make her sympathetic while retaining her robot characteristics".
Reviewer Amanda Blau highlighted how "music and sound effects underscore the early action", though it disappears once Roz is booted up, as well as how "Atwater gives each animal a voice representing its nature".
[19] According to Kirkus Reviews, the film is "faithful to Brown’s story in its broad strokes, is impressive in some ways but not without its malfunctions".
As she speaks with the animals, word of her situation and location get to Brightbill, who comes to save her, with the help of the farmer's children.
The Wild Robot Escapes explores themes related to "the division between humans and machines", what it means to be considered 'different',[23] and "the nature of love and selfhood".
[23] Smith also discussed how "the narrator acts as an honest and reassuring friend who periodically breaks from storytelling to explain difficult truths to young readers".
[23] While Kirkus Reviews noted that the novel is "not as effervescent as Roz’s first outing", they found "it is still a provocatively contemplative one".
[27] In 2018, Booklist included The Wild Robot Escapes on their "Top 10 Incredible Journeys in Middle-Grade Novels" list.
[35][36] Julia Smith, writing for Booklist, highlighted how "Brown smoothly incorporates real-world themes of climate change and human-caused pollution without turning the book into a 'problem novel'".
[35] Kirkus Reviews discussed similar points, ultimately calling the novel "hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant".