WALL*E gets a Wall*A+


Leave it to Pixar to wrap up an apt social commentary on pollution, political propaganda, obesity, and the dangers of the internet inside a beautifully told story of a small garbage-compressor robot looking for love.

WALL*E takes place far into the future (about 700 years) to a time where humanity has abandoned the Earth leaving it to robots to clean up the mess they left behind. By the looks of things, WALL*E (the main character) may be the last of his kind on Earth going about his directive to make and stack garbage cubes until humanity returns or the end of time. During his lonely life, this resourceful little bundle gets intrigued by the knick-knacks of a world that existed before his time (a Rubix Cube, a VHS tape of HELLO DOLLY, a spork...) and his only friend is a smart caring cockroach who follows Wall*E everywhere. Wall*E's mundane existence is turned topsy-turvy with the arrival of a sleek female robot name Eve looking for any signs of recovery on this sad planet.

The movie follows these two robots as they discover the eccentricities of love and being human while humanity becomes more dependent upon their robots to make their life away from the Earth more comfortable. So much so that they have become as comatose and mechanical to the world around them as the computer your sitting in front of right now.

WALL*E is sparse of dialogue but proves that words aren't necessary to express emotion or get ideas across. The whole movie is littered with silly (often hilarious) and poignant hijinx that echoes Johnny-5 from SHORT CIRCUIT. There's enough here to keep a child and adult amused alike. And there's more than a fare share of old robot movie shout-outs at every turn (the evil Autopilot in the movie echoes 2001:A SPACE ODYSSEY and FLIGHT OF THE NAVIGATOR, the robots on the ship will make you think of STAR WARS).

WALL*E will give you a bit of everything: laughs, love, great animation, excellent and original story, and some mental fodder to take home about the world we live today.

8.9 tumbling fat humans out of 10

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