WALL*E
Review - Matt Mungle
"WALL-E's message is loud and clear."
Pixar follows up their 2007 Oscar winning film Ratatouille with an animated film containing a lot less dialogue but a much louder message. The title character is full of charm and heart and though the intention is denied by the creator a character reminiscent of another fleshlier extra-terrestrial, ET. WALL*E is another brilliant example of why Pixar is king of the animation genre. They are unmatched in writing, style and visual. The attention to detail and boldness to tackle themes that are not just there to appease the kids makes them a force in the box office showdown. But with this new one they take some chances that could short circuit their worth while intentions.
WALL*E (Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class) has been alone for hundreds of years fulfilling his directive of cleaning up the Earth we humans have left covered in waste. He spends his days collecting odds and ends of gadgets he finds among the trash and his nights are filled with watching old musicals. Along the way he has developed a personality which leads him to long for friendship and love. When another robot lands in his area, WALL*E is instantly smitten. EVE (Extra-terrestrial Vegetation Evaluator) is a search robot who is focused only on her job but soon discovers that WALL*E has found not only the key to survival but life itself.
The first big risk I noticed with this endeavor is the lack of dialogue in the first half of the film. Though heartwarming and funny we spend the early moments watching WALL*E go about his day to day duties with only a few bleeps and whirrs. Even when EVE arrives we still have no audible communication between the two. It is only much later in the film that any sort of verbal interaction begins. This may or may not work for many viewers. Those who are drawn to WALL*E, as I was, will be fine just watching him do his thing while those who find him repetitive and clichÈ may end up frustrated at the lack of excitement. The other bold chance the Pixar peeps take, and the one I applaud the loudest, is their blatant depiction of our society and where we are heading.
The reason WALL*E is all alone on Earth is that all the humans have taken a space cruise of luxury while the world they destroyed is being cleaned up. The problem is that several hundred of years have passed and no one has noticed. The humans all float around on hovering lounge chairs drinking shakes and staring at small screens in front of their faces. There is no personal interaction, or physical touch, only these screens of communication. They have all become overweight blobs of humanity who can no longer walk or think on their own. They are content just to float around and eat. When one man learns the great place Earth once was he tries to help EVE and WALL*E get things back the way they were. It is a bold slap in the face to most of today's movie goers. In a country where more people are over weight than in shape and we spend all of our waking hours texting and instant messaging, it is not far fetched to picture our world in this sort of mess. Though the film makes it humorous, it is none the less sobering.
WALL*E is rated G. Totally clean and fun for the entire family. Though missing much of the quick wit and dialogue of past Pixar projects WALL*E still has a loud message to proclaim and does so with one of the most endearing characters to hit the big screen in some while. I give it a solid 4 out of 5 sporks and hope that younger viewers will some how garner a few helpful lessons from it along with the silly robot antics.
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