WALL-E

My boy wanted to check out WALL-E, so we went to see it. I knew very little about it going in, other than it was #1 at the box office this weekend and that it was a Pixar flick. Incidentally, paying almost four dollars for a box of Reese's Pieces is craziness! Anyhoo...

The film was written and directed by Andrew Stanton, the brains behind such Pixar hits as Finding Nemo and A Bug's Life. The film is about WALL-E, a small robot on Earth, who's purpose is to compact and stack the garbage left on the planet. He is the only thing living on earth, besides his pet cockroach. He lives a lonely life spending his day stacking the garbage into building-like structures and collects trinkets he finds from the piles of wreckage. He is also fixated with an old tape of Hello, Dolly!, particularly the love connection of two of the characters.


WALL-E has been alone on Earth for many years until one day, a giant space craft leaves an egg shaped robot before taking off. The robot is Eve, who was left on the planet to determine toxicity levels and whether Earth is livable again. WALL-E falls for Eve immediately (hey, robots need love, too) and begins teaching her about life on earth. The day they find a lonely, little plant Eve becomes inactive until the space ship comes back for her. WALL-E follows them until they reach a mega huge space ship and luxury liner carrying the survivors from earth. I won't give away much more of the plot so as not to ruin it, suffice it to say, the lives of the survivors of earth are extremely sedentary. They are all morbidly obese sitting in chairs that carry them wherever they want to go while a screen of television and communication tools sits about a foot in front of their face and having every meal delivered in a cup keeps them from having to get up.


I really liked it a lot. The film was a very cute love story between two little robots. It was also a startling commentary on the direction of the planet and our lifestyles if things don't change. I was most impressed that they were able to do that with very little dialogue. WALL-E spends his days stacking garbage into skyscrapers and it's never ending. When Eve's space ship leaves, it must break through a big wall of satellites orbiting earth. Also, the screens that the humans are attached to 24/7 have them living life vicariously through it with the screen doing activities for them without them having to get up at all, a la video games. I like it when films can make commentary like that and not be heavy handed like serious apocalyptic films that are downers. This was more or less a gentle nudge on how things will be if we don't change things now. The film is aimed at a younger, family oriented audience, but I'd recommend it for anybody, really. Closing with a quote from the human captain of the ship.....

Captain: I don't want to survive. I want to live.

More ramblings to come........