Wednesday, September 10, 2008
After 700 years of doing what he was built for, he'll finally discover what he was meant for.
In a distant, but not so unrealistic future, where mankind has abandoned earth because it has become covered with trash from products sold by the powerful multi-national Buy N Large corporation, WALL-E, a garbage collecting robot has been left to clean up the mess. Mesmerized with trinkets of earth's history and show tunes, WALL-E is alone on Earth except for a sprightly pet cockroach. One day, Eve, a sleek (and dangerous) reconnaissance robot, is sent to earth to find proof that life is once again sustainable. WALL-E falls in love with Eve. WALL-E rescues Eve from a dust storm and shows her a living plant he found amongst the rubble. Consistent with her "directive" Eve takes the plant and automatically enters a deactivated state except for a blinking green beacon. WALL-E, doesn't understand what has happened to his new friend, but true to his love, he protects her from wind, rain, and lightning, even as she is unresponsive. One day a massive ship comes to reclaim Eve, but WALL-E, out of love or loneliness hitches a ride on the outside of the ship to rescue Eve.
Pixar makes great animated films. From their first feature film, Toy Story (1995), all the way to WALL-E, I've watched all of their works, and I've never left the cinema unsatisfied. These guys are good at what they do, and their films, while animated (and are commonly mistaken as glorified cartoons for kiddies by cynics the world over), are for everyone, not just the young 'uns, but adults too. Which grown-up won't confess to feeling a sense of nostalgia as WALL-E tries to impress Eve after they just met with his cute little antics? Moments like those remind us of the glory days when we were courting our first love, and how we tried everything humanly possible to get their attention. And what about the underlying message of the pain and suffering we're inflicting upon the earth with our pollution? If we're not careful, the future depicted in WALL-E will be more than just a fantasy - it'll be a possibility.
One of the other neat things about WALL-E is the lack of dialogue between the two robots. Though they don't talk much, they're pretty expressive with their body language. WALL-E's adorable eyes will make many of you go "Awwww...." whenever he moves them around to make a variety of facial expressions. And what's notto like about Eve? She's a sleek probe with blue eyes...and a laser blaster that she doesn't hesitate to use. Terminator, anyone?
WALL-E is definitely a must-watch for everyone. Heck, we could all learn a few tips on how to get the ladies to notice us, courtesy of that durn cyuuuuute robot. The little guy probably has a better love-life than we do!
Rating: 5/5 stars(And thanks to the Powers-That-Be for not making this a movie about talking animals. I've enough of that crap; Ratatouille was FTW, period.)
