WALL-E

(2008)

Directed by

Andrew Stanton

Review by Terry Plucknett

You know when Disney and Pixar come together for their annual movie, it will most likely be another instant classic in the vein of Toy Story and The Incredibles.  However, this latest entry in the catalog of Disney/Pixar movies top them all.  It not only is a great animated movie, but a great film, animated or not.

The movie starts at some time in the future when we have abused the world to the point that it is abandoned by the human race, which has gone to live in a space station.  Left to clean up the mess on Earth are a number of trash compactors that build towers of trash the size of sky scrapers.  By the time we join the story, there is only one Waste Allocated Load Lifter, Earth-Class, or WALL-E, left.  The first twenty minutes or so of the movie are very much like I Am Legend, except instead of a man and a dog, it is a trash compactor and a cricket roaming the uninhabited planet.  After following WALL-E for some time, we meet EVE, which is short for Extra-Terrestrial Vegetation Evaluator.  EVE has come to Earth to search for any new plant life so that the human race may return.  During all this time, there is no dialogue.  You would think that there is a limit to how much you can watch animated robots fall in love with no words being said except for the squeaking out of their own names, but it never gets old at any point.  The movie gains a few more characters (but not many) when WALL-E and EVE are taken back to the space station to deliver a plant found.  It is at this point that our two robotic love-birds must save humanity, as they have become incapacitated and hypnotized by the technology that surrounds them and their own laziness.  Everyone is carted around on advanced scooters with interactive screens placed a foot from their face.  No one walks, no one speaks to anyone else, meals come in liquid form so they don’t have to chew, and due to these things everyone is severely overweight.  It is a future that does not seem as unreasonable as it may have ten years ago.

This movie works on so many levels.  First, it is a critique of our entire society.  Soon after I viewed this movie, I saw a picture of a similar futuristic chair-on-wheels that is showcased in WALL-E.  Also, seeing how America’s obesity continues to rise, this “futuristic” look may be more of a look at our present society than we may want to admit.  If our society continues in the current course, the view of society in this movie may very much be a reality soon.

Second, this movie works as a very pure love story.  As WALL-E and EVE interact, you see how pure and innocent the two of them are.  It is amazing how intriguing and captivating a love story between two robots can be.  All WALL-E wants to do is hold her hand.  One of the endearing moments of the movie occurs after EVE has discovered the plant on Earth.  Her programming forces her to shut down and send out a homing beacon.  WALL-E doesn’t understand what is happening so he uses this opportunity to take EVE’s motionless, lifeless shell on several dates, which includes a scene in the rain where WALL-E hold the umbrella over EVE and consequently gets struck by lightning.  You will be hard-pressed to find a better example of simple, pure love for someone else.

The third way this movie works is the way all other Disney/Pixar movies work: universal appeal.  This is a very deep plot for a animated film, however it is still simple enough for kids to enjoy.  It’s, dare I say, cute (I think it’s valid because WALL-E is smaller than usual … and probably was shiny at one time).  Kids love it because it’s fun.  Parents love it because it is cute.  Intelligent movie goers love it for the in-depth critique of our society.  It is one of the most universally appealing movies I have seen recently.

This is the best animated film I have seen, and one of the best movies of the year.

Rating:

#25 on Top 100