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| “ | Well, I'll be gobsmacked. | „ |
| ~ Robinson Crusoe's most famous quote. |
Robinson Crusoe is the titular main protagonist of the 2016 3D animated Belgian adventure comedy movie of the same name (known in the United States as The Wild Life). He is a former cartographer, sailor, explorer, and Aynsley's owner who was marooned and shipwrecked on an uncharted island where he eventually befriended its animal inhabitants, starting with Tuesday.
He was voiced by Yuri Lowenthal in the English-dubbed version.
Personality[]
Despite his clumsiness, Robinson Crusoe is a kind, caring, gentle, selfless, charming, and generous man with an affinity for animals and exploring the world.
Biography[]
Having left England with his dog, Aynsley in order to explore the world and draw maps, Robinson Crusoe sets sail on the La Luna. However, during the voyage, Crusoe is shown to suffer from seasickness since he's not much of a sailor; much to the amusement of the Captain and the rest of his crew.
One day, both Crusoe and his dog catch the ship's vicious ratters: Mal and May on deck, trying to steal and eat the ship's chickens before chasing and throwing them back into the hold where they belong. After throwing up again at the mere mention of eggs, Crusoe and everyone else find themselves in the middle of a violent storm. Although Crusoe manages to save Aynsley from falling overboard, both fall and end up trapped inside the ship's hold when the ship's mast breaks and blocks the exit along with the ratters who eventually knock Crusoe out with a lamp as payback for their earlier mistreatment while the Captain and his crew abandon ship despite the former two's previous call for help.
The next morning, Crusoe and Aynsley survive, but end up shipwrecked and marooned on a small uncharted island with the ship broken in half, unaware that they are being watched by its animal inhabitants: Mac the scarlet macaw, Kiki the kingfisher, Pango the pangolin, Epi the echidna, Carmello the chameleon, Scrubby the old myopic goat, and Rosie the Malayan tapir mistaking them for "sea monsters". After safely making it to land using a barrel and board as a boat and oar, Crusoe calls out to his dog barking at a camouflaged Carmello in order to stay close together until they are suddenly spooked by some noise made by Mac's friends in order to scare them off. Thinking they're being attacked by cannibals (as warned by the sailors earlier), Crusoe and his dog try to escape in the barrel after grabbing some provisions for survival, but are then forced to return to the other half of the ship for cover when the current proves to be too strong for them to handle.
At night, Crusoe apologizes to Aynsley for their inept escape attempt earlier and vows to get off the island by any means necessary. When he hears another noise, Crusoe assumes the "cannibals" are back and tries to fend them off with Aynsley and an oar he passes off as a musket, only to discover Scrubby passing by while eating some fruits found on the ground and Mac checking them out from above, thus, making Crusoe finally realize that there aren't any cannibals on the island after all; much to his relief.
The next day, Crusoe begins salvaging and gathering things up on the beach before it is all lost to the sea forever while Aynsley sleeps all day as they are being constantly watched by Mac and his friends including Mal and May who actually managed to survive the storm as well, now plotting to do away with both Crusoe and everyone else as part of their revenge and means to survive at the same time. In the Captain's cabin, Crusoe finds and gather muskets that may prove very useful for their survival. Before venturing out into the open in order to hunt for some food, Crusoe decides to practice a bit first. The first shot spooks Mac and his friends until Crusoe finally succeeds in hitting the mark after countless trials. Then, Crusoe and Aynsley begin hunting in the forest. When they spot Rosie, Crusoe hesitates until finally, having grown some sort of conscience, he simply scares the latter off with his shot since he's never shot anything before in his life, not knowing that he narrowly hit May on the head hiding up a tree with Mal. So, Crusoe decides to try some fishing instead. However, Crusoe returns when he notices Aynsley fighting off the ratters whom he manages to drive away by shooting Mal on the left ear. It doesn't take Crusoe long to figure out that Aynsley was actually trying to save Mac from the ratters before taking the latter back to the ship in order to fix his dislocated right wing from the battle earlier while collecting a ring he found on the parrot as well.
Back on the ship, after Crusoe fixes Mac's wing, he decides to rename him "Tuesday" (after the day he and Aynsley have been marooned on the island) before leaving to resume unloading a few more things from the still intact ship while leaving Aynsley in charge of Tuesday since the latter won't be able to fly right away in a day or two.
Later, as Crusoe tries checking a few barrels outside, he suddenly finds himself under attack by Tuesday's friends due to having been manipulated and falsely led to believe that the former had killed and ate Tuesday earlier by Mal and May, thus, giving the ratters an opportunity to sneak onboard the ship and deal with both Tuesday and Aynsley personally. Crusoe's battle with the animals continues through nightfall until finally, they stop when they hear Tuesday's squawking and Aynsley's howling for help as the ship begins burning up in flames due to the ratters having deliberately set it on fire using candles from the chandelier in order to finish them off. Despite failed rescue attempts from both parties, Tuesday manages to escape, but Aynsley is killed when the fire reaches the gunpowder and causes the ship to explode whereas Mal and May are left stranded on Curse Island, a small rock located a bit far from the island inhabited by bugs only. A distraught Crusoe is left to mourn for his dog's death while the animals leave in sadness and sorrow after realizing the evil cats' manipulation and deception and thinking that Tuesday didn't survive this time as well.
The next morning, after burying Aynsley, Crusoe finds new comfort and happiness in Tuesday's company as he continues working. Later, Crusoe shares a biscuit meal with Tuesday until he notices the latter's friends approaching them. Thinking that they're going to attack again, Crusoe doesn't hesitate to bring out his musket and aim at them. However, Crusoe is stopped from firing at the other animals just in time by Tuesday before realizing that they have actually come to make amends for their mistakes yesterday by bringing anything that might prove useful to him and offering him some fruits at the same time due to Tuesday having previously informed Kiki about last night's situation, who in turn, informed the others as well. After eating a berry, Crusoe accepts his newfound friends' apologies and decides to return the favor by offering them biscuits, but then, they run away at the mere sight of his musket left on the ground just before he can even show them what he has brought for them whereas Kiki simply but kindly refuses his gesture before flying away due to still not trusting him completely.
The next day, Crusoe is led by Tuesday to a freshwater reserve on top of the island when the latter notices he has run completely out of water from his gourd. Then, Crusoe is led to where Tuesday and his friends usually spend most of their time during the day. Still wanting to return the favor, Crusoe runs straight back to the ship and returns with biscuits he offers to each of his new friends, which they unsurprisingly seem to enjoy. Crusoe's gesture, however, is still denied by a skeptical Kiki when she deliberately pokes his fingers with her beak while flying away from him, but the former takes no offense to this since he believes that "friendships aren't made in a day" as long he takes it one step at a time.
As days go by, back on the beach, Crusoe tries building a shelter for survival until he eventually notices Scrubby bumping into a few things due to his myopism. So, Crusoe resolves to bestowing a pair of glasses he finds in one of the chests upon the old goat, which sends the latter into a state of joy and contentment as he begins to gratefully appreciate and enjoy his newfound and improved vision. Then, when Crusoe's plan to build a shelter on the beach proves futile despite Tuesday's best attempt to help out while the others do nothing but to feast on the former's remaining biscuits accidentally dropped on the ground in the struggle, Crusoe finally concludes that he has to build a treehouse instead when he catches sight of a large tree somewhere on top of the island; much to the animals' confusion when he begins "destroying" the tree later on.
Months pass by as Crusoe continues working on his new home in the tree while growing a moustache and beard in the process, but to no avail due to his friends' constant but unintentional screw-ups and interference. Luckily, when Tuesday finally understands what Crusoe is up to and informs his friends on the current situation, Crusoe receives all the real help he can get from his friends minus Kiki just as he was on the verge of giving up at first and construction on the tree moves faster than possible despite a few ups-and-downs along the way. During that time, Crusoe builds a small door for Epi and Pango to get into even after a few modifications; thanks to Rosie, plants a few seeds using the ship's helm for making holes and bagpipes to water the planted seeds with Tuesday, Epi, Pango, and Rosie helping out as well, and enjoying a few meals with his friends despite their sloppiness until finally, after so many months of work despite his awkwardness and flaws, Crusoe puts the finishing touches on their new home and invites his friends at night to christen the place for good luck using a jug filled with fireflies even though it doesn't happen as planned, surprising even a still-skeptical Kiki. Then, in celebration of their new home, Crusoe takes out his bagpipes and begins playing a tune which only Scrubby seems to enjoy unlike the others as the former walks down the way.
With the house completed, Crusoe moves on to a new project and builds a waterway for the freshwater to pass through leading to indoor plumbing and the animals no longer having to forage for food; much to Kiki's chagrin. At one point, after returning from a successful fishing trip, Crusoe is disgusted when he catches a glimpse of Rosie's rear as she shakes it off and leaves.
However, as time passes and even though life becomes more and more comfortable for everyone, Crusoe appears very sad at times since he still misses his old world including seeing the sun set over the Thames, having also built a tall tower on the highest point of the island with candles burning every night in the hope that some other humans might pass by and rescue him once they have seen the signal even though such chances are becoming much slimmer as time goes by despite Kiki blowing off the candles due to her fear of more humans coming on their island and never-ending skepticism.
A few days later, during a storm, Crusoe and his friends minus Kiki enjoy a good meal after the former says grace in silence. After the storm, Crusoe and the others are alerted by Tuesday and Kiki about predators; especially, Mal and May and their countless number of now-grown children they had given birth to during their time on Curse Island, having made it back to the island using wooden debris from the ship. During the battle, Crusoe loads his musket while Tuesday closes all possible entries until they find themselves fighting against a few ratters having made it inside the house despite the former's awkwardness leading to him hanging for dear life on one of the windows' shutters. Luckily, Crusoe makes it back inside, only to be accidentally pushed out again when Rosie, Scrubby, and Kiki rush back in for safety and is forced to hang on to a branch where he once again faces off against a few more cats even with Tuesday's help using wooden boards tied to a rope. Then, Crusoe uses the rope to climb back up even though the pulley forced him to go down further earlier. Hearing Epi's desperate cries for help, Crusoe sends Tuesday to her rescue.
Unfortunately, Crusoe gets accidentally knocked out by Rosie when she forcefully closes the hatch on him, having mistook him for the cats trying to get in through there. Later, at night, with Crusoe still unconscious, he is left for dead by May having set the house on fire using a lamp before she joins up with Mal and their remaining children to take care of Tuesday and his friends once and for all. Luckily, after the cats have been defeated by the animals, Crusoe regains consciousness and is saved by Tuesday just in time using a hook, which forces him to go down with its pulley once again before he gets knocked out by a falling wooden board.
Crusoe's friends try pulling him out to safety until they are suddenly driven off by cannons shot from a pirate ship passing by and commandeered by Long John Silver and his band of cutthroat pirates, having mistaken them for "wild beasts" trying to "devour" him. The next morning, Crusoe is violently woken up by one of two pirates having come to "rescue" him before introducing himself to them. After one of the pirates reveals how they "rescued" Crusoe from the "beasts", another one tries to check for a possible gold tooth within his mouth before the latter can explain the situation, but to no avail. Then, Crusoe is taken back to their captain aboard ship.
In the Captain's cabin, a grateful Crusoe thanks Silver for all his help before Tuesday joins up with them. At first, Silver and his bosun try to do away with Tuesday until Crusoe reassures them that he's with him. Amused yet impressed by the bird's ability to speak and imitate people, Silver spares him then asks Crusoe to tell him if there is anything of great value found on the island, but to no avail. Then, Crusoe treats Silver and his men to a fictitious version of his story of how he ended up and survived during the past few months on the island including his last battle with the ratters while Tuesday recounts what really happened to a pair of mice, Rufus and Cecil after Crusoe puts him outside for privacy.
After Crusoe finishes his story, Silver is amused by his fantastical yarn before ordering his men to set sail and allows Crusoe and Tuesday to bunk down below. However, when Crusoe states how happy he will be to return and see England again after so long, Silver and his men laugh at the very idea of it under fear of the gallows as Silver reveals that he intends to recruit Crusoe as one of his own against the latter's own free will. Despite his pleas and protests, Crusoe is taken on deck by Silver's men to carry his weight under threat of death by walking the plank or worse.
Later, while the pirates are busy enjoying some rum while singing, dancing, and throwing weapons at a tied up chicken, Crusoe is caught by one of the pirates trying to steal one of their rowboats and jump ship. Despite the pirates trying in vain to attack and kill him with various weapons, Crusoe barely escapes from the pirate ship with his life even without Tuesday's help and starts paddling back to the island on a makeshift raft (formerly the tower's highest point later used as a raft by the last few remaining ratters including Mal and May after last night's battle before making it onboard the ship) despite the pirates now trying in vain to shoot at him. As Crusoe paddles back to the island, he is saved at the last minute by Tuesday mimicking the Captain in order to trick the pirates into ceasing fire on him just as they are about to deliver the final shot even after being reprimanded by Bosun for their incompetence to shoot straight by ordering Bosun to enter the Captain's cabin immediately, which he does without hesitation and threatening the others with 10 lashes from the Captain's whip unless they get back to work (the same trick he pulled on the ratters the other day in order to rescue Kiki from them by mimicking Crusoe and throwing stuff at them) before the latter also barely escapes the real Captain's wrath when the deception is discovered after the real Captain comes out on deck, leaving him in frustration with a single tail feather instead. Fortunately, Crusoe is allowed to leave alive and in one piece by the Captain despite one of his men wanting to blow the former to smithereens with a cannon shot since the latter thinks that Crusoe probably hasn't got a chance of surviving the remainder of his life on that long, forgotten island, whether the "wild beasts" devour him first or not.
Eventually, Crusoe makes it back to the island where he is happily reunited and greeted by his friends including a now-optimistic Kiki with Rufus and Cecil in tow after being rescued by Tuesday from the ratters earlier as they spend the rest of their days living and prospering in peace while rebuilding their treehouse and celebrating afterwards.
 Heroes
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Robinson Crusoe | Tuesday | Kiki | Epi | Pango | Carmello | Scrubby | Rosie | Rufus and Cecil | Aynsley | ||