Ink movie review: WALL-E
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by travis fox
5 out of 5 stars
WALL-E is a testament to the power of incredible storytelling, awe-inspiring visuals and allowing the audience to fall in love with the characters on their own terms.
Unlike other animated films, there are no big-time-celebrity voices. The producers don’t force our hand and hurry us along with pop-culture gags and fart jokes. They take their time. An entire forty minutes to go by without a hint of dialogue. In the end, they create a masterpiece.
WALL-E (Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class) is the last of his robotic kind left on Earth. He was programmed to basically be a moveable trash compactor and clean up all the waste we humans left around after we boarded a rocket cruise ship and went floating off into space. Poor little guy has been at it for more than 700 years, and throughout that time, has started to collect bits and pieces of trash that he finds interesting: Bubble wrap, sporks and, of course, extra parts from the various other WALL-Es that are scattered around the surface of the planet.
Everyday is essentially the same day. He boots up in the morning by charging up his solar panels (which make a nice Apple start-up sound when he reaches full power), collects trash into his mid-section, stacks squares of pressed trash on top of each other so that they form giant skyscrapers of waste, and then he heads back home with whatever “goodies” he finds that day.
He also befriends a little cockroach, occasionally has to rush home to avoid being caught in sandstorms and has a small obsession with an old VHS copy of “Hello, Dolly” that he found. Turns out WALL-E longs to hold someone else’s hand, much like the romantic musical climax from the film. Could it be that he’s programmed himself to feel love?!
Just when he’s getting pretty used to his daily life, a massive spaceship shows up and a cute egg-shaped robot named EVE appears. She is so smooth, so beautiful, and oh, so deadly, scanning and blasting everything in her path. Her directive is to find sustainable life on Earth so that the humans aboard the AXIOM may one day return to Earth.
She doesn’t blast WALL-E because she thinks he might be able to assist her in her mission. Before long, he shows EVE a small plant he came across on one of his daily routines, and she needs to board her spaceship and return the sign of life to the AXIOM’s captain so humans can finally return to Earth.
Most of the trailers and previews showed us this first third of the film, which most reviewers say is the movie’s strong suit. Some feel like the rest of the film gets too unfocused, too preachy, or simply loses its sense of wonder. Not so. While I don’t want to ruin anything for you, I will tell you this: This movie delivers all the way up to the end.
There are moments that make you laugh out loud, like the area of the AXIOM that houses robots that have gone haywire and is basically a “psych ward” where the robots hit themselves and bounce off padded walls. There are scenes with a nice, subtle message of why we need to take care of our planet and not allow ourselves to get lazy.
But more than anything, this film is for hopeless romantics.
It’s about finding a true love, and going to the ends of the galaxy, (and back) just to be with them.
Even when WALL-E and EVE leave Earth and board the AXIOM, they’re still the point of the story. Sure, they have a new directive, but WALL-E simply wants to be able to hold EVE's hand. (OK, and maybe create some lil' sparks between them as well.)
Forget that this is a “kid’s movie.” Forget that it’s animated and that you're going to be rooting for a couple of robots to fall in love. WALL-E is filmmaking at its finest and will easily go down as one of the best films of 2008. If the Oscars didn't create that dumbass category for Best Animated Feature then WALL-E would be a sure thing for Best Motion Picture of the Year.
It’s that good. Actually, it's better than that. It’s a classic.
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I stumbled onto a review about this movie, and it some guy was incredibly offended by it, because he was saying it was taking stabs at fat people..it sounds like a great movie, and I'm sure you'd have to search for ways to be offended in any way shape or form..
I know I'm planning on seeing it.. Freaky fetish confession: I think I'm in love with a robot. Travis, I loved your review and the movie. I'm going back for more tomorrow night. Don't worry about the FAT factor, funkyfellow. See this movie because it is purely PHAT. Who can't sympathize with those who struggle with weight and body issues in a society full of so many ways to veg out? This movie reflects that with humor, but takes it to a new level of consciousness. Smoking is regulated due to public health concerns and even more so, the impact it has on our health-care system. Am I alluding to the fact that smokers are at a higher risk for illness than non-smokers? You bet your Lucky Strikes. It may be a heavy topic, but it is only responsible – and I dare say compassionate - to point out the negative results of a non-active lifestyle and an unhealthy diet.