WALL-E

Released:  June 27^th, 2008

Rated:  G

Studio:  Disney/Pixar

Starring:  animated robots, Ben Burtt, Elissa Knight, Fred Willard, Jeff Garlin

Directed by:  Andrew Stanton           

Written by:  Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter, Jim Reardon

Personal Bias Alert:  haven’t seen many silent films, always optimistic about Pixar movies

8.3 of 10

            The G rating for WALL-E may be the most apt thing the MPAA has ever done.  This innocuously sweet story of robot puppy love is something everyone can get behind, and by combining it with gorgeous animation and some sly societal critiques, it becomes a film that will enchant nearly every filmgoer imaginable.

            WALL-E (Waste Allocation Load Lifter – Earth class) is the last trash collecting machine still in operation, whiling away his days sorting through the remnants of humanity and saving the oddities that pique his interest.  Humans have long since left, having decimated Earth due to the poor environmental practices encouraged by the mega-corporation Buy ‘n’ Large.  It’s a lonely life, and Wall-e finds himself enamored with the idea of finding a companion, a lover insomuch as he understands the term.  The opportunity presents itself when a robot probe named EVE (Extraterrestrial Vegetation Evaluator) arrives to scour Earth for signs of life.  At first, she ignores Wall-e’s advances, but softens after seeing the collection of human interest trinkets that Wall-e has stashed in his home.  Unfortunately, Wall-e’s stash also includes a living plant, the site of which sends Eve into a hibernating state until she can report back home.

            This takes us to the thirty minute mark in the movie, in which the only dialogue has been a video billboard and a brief, beeping exchange between Wall-e and Eve.  I suppose this shouldn’t be surprising, the movie does star robots, after all, but we’ve come to expect kids movies to be frantic, loud things nowadays.  There’s still a clear plotline thanks to some extraordinarily detailed animation from Pixar.  I know it’s not news to point out that Pixar is the leader of the pack when it comes to animation, but they’ve really outdone themselves here.  It’s a double feat they’ve pulled off, first in figuring out how to animate precise body language to tell a visual story (they reportedly watched Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton movies to prep themselves) and second to translate that body language onto robots.  The fact that Wall-e and Eve are thoroughly robotic while having so many recognizably human qualities is the most remarkable thing about this movie.

            Then you have the rest of the animation, which appears almost film-like during Wall-e’s time on Earth.  There’s an extraordinary depth to the backgrounds, seemingly endless expanses of a crumbling civilization, with dust and debris blowing gently about.  The most striking part, though, is the way the animators simulated the lighting.  It’s grand in an unnaturalistic, staged sort of way.  It doesn’t surprise me to read that cinematographer extraordinaire Roger Deakins consulted on this film.  It has his elegant, stylish lighting down pat.  My wow moment was when Eve bombs a wrecked boat, the scene pulling back into a wide shot to show the billowing explosion illuminating the night.  Notice the light flickering on the surrounding debris.  Extraordinary.

            As good as it all looks, WALL-E would be nothing more than a meaningless exercise without a good story behind it, and the romance between Wall-e and Eve gives it a solid core.  It’s a sweet, innocent thing that Wall-e learned from watching a scene in 1969’s Hello, Dolly!, the culmination of which is a gentle interlocking of hands.  Throughout the movie, Wall-e attempts to recreate the moment with little success.  There’s a longing there in that outstretched hand that anyone old enough to follow a story can understand, no matter what the hand is made of.

            The problem comes when the humans appear.  It’s not bad per say, just not as charming as the robot’s story.  It does feels a bit tacked on, like somewhere along the line it was determined that humans had to make an appearance.  But really, if they thought audiences couldn’t handle a film without a human story, what made them think we would sit through the first half hour of this film?

            What the middle section lacks in charm is partially made up for by some biting commentary.  Humans have become essentially immobile, relying entirely on robots to do everything for them.  The robots are, of course, made by the megacorporation Buy ‘n’ Large, the same corporation that made the spaceship they’re cruising on and essentially controls their lives.  It’s an oddly dim view of humanity’s future; we’ve become like docile cattle, happily doing whatever Buy ‘n’ Large wants.  In a way, it reminded me of a cartoon I used to watch as a kid called Invader Zim.  Zim is more overtly dark than WALL-E, but a similar contempt for humanity’s current path runs through both.

            I wish WALL-E had stuck to its guns and found a way to tell Eve and Wall-e’s story alone.  The movie’s vibrant when it focuses on their relationship, leaving the rest feeling dull and tepid in comparison.  Still, that tender portrait of puppy love is hard to resist.

            Other Notes: 

Ø  The spork joke made me laugh out loud.

Ø  Great work yet again by composer Thomas Newman.

Ø  How are the babies getting made?  I don’t think the humans have the energy to do the deed.

Ø  Let’s not get into the inherent creepiness of Wall-e taking Eve on dates while she’s essentially unconscious.

Ø  Who has a better stash, Wall-e or Ariel from The Little Mermaid?