Chris Sanders is no stranger to the Best Animated Feature Oscar nomination. Every animated feature he has directed — “Lilo & Stitch,” “How to Train Your Dragon” and “The Croods” —has been nominated. But none, so far, have won. Some of this is understandable (“Lilo & Stitch” lost to Hayao Miyazaki’s undisputed masterpiece “Spirited Away”) but it still seems odd that one of the kings of modern animation is still empty-handed.
That could change with his latest marvel, “The Wild Robot.” Based on the beloved book by Peter Brown, “The Wild Robot” follows ROZZUM unit 7134 (voiced with delicacy and humor by Lupita Nyong’o), a high-tech service robot who washes ashore on a deserted island populated only by animals.