Wall-E (A- or 3.5/4 stars)
The year: 2800. The place: Earth. The population: Zero. And 'WALL-E' is the only robot left to 'clean up'. Mankind left Earth 700 yrs. ago (complications from pollution) & are lingering in outer space on a planet-like ship named Axiom. After hundreds of yrs. of a lonely existence (as a Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class ... a glorified trash collector), he encounters EVE, a search robot/probe sent from the Axiom ship to see if there are any signs of life on Earth. They have a rough introduction, but after EVE realizes that WALL-E has found the key to Earth's future (a living plant), she goes back to report her findings. This animated film is part science-fiction, part adventure, & part romance. It thrives in all its parts. And 'WALL-E' is one of Pixar's greatest achievements to date.
The opening 40-45 minutes are virtually dialogue-free, absolutely gorgeous, and is the film's strongest segment. Earth is an uninhabited wasteland. Piles & piles of trash reach the sky, extending far above the deserted skyscrapers of old. And poor WALL-E is left to collect/compact it all (along the way, keeping neat knick-knacks for himself). Lonely, his only friend comes in the form of a tiny, but determined cockroach. One day, however, a spaceship ejects a sleek robot named EVE onto WALL-E's land. She's far more advanced than he, and they have a hard time 'reading' each other. After some initial miscommunications, they become fast friends. And WALL-E takes great joy in showing EVE his favorite knick-knack, an old VHS tape of Hello Dolly. Odd, yes, but completely adorable.
The mood changes though when EVE finds WALL-E's living plant & becomes disengaged (literally). WALL-E tries to revive her; that is until her spaceship arrives to retrieve her back to Axiom. This segues into the adventure part of the plot. After several try & try again attempts, WALL-E runs, jumps, clings, races, & shoots himself across the galaxy to get to her. How could he just give up on the first romance/friend he's had in 700 years!? Once he gets on the Axiom, he is shocked to discover that robots rule the roost, a fat human is the marionette pilot, & millions of gluttonous humans lounge the ship as if it were a Royal Caribbean cruise line. With help from some rogue misfit robots, WALL-E attempts to save EVE, & properly deliver the plant to the human pilot. Will the robots relinquish their monopoly on the humans? Can the humans rebuild the necessary physical & mental capacity to get back to Earth? And ... will WALL-E & EVE be reunited?
With a darker tone than most animated movies, a 'yes' to these questions is not an automatic given. That's part of the strength of the film. It's beautiful, it's sweet, but it's also scary; scary on a philosophical level; a level we don't quite get to in most animated films. All in all, 'WALL-E' is a fantastic motion picture. Right from the get-go, you are hooked. And when it is over, you wouldn't mind sitting through it all over again. The best part of 'WALL-E' is the romance btwn. W&E. It's simply amazing that the genius animators can humanize these robots. Not since last year's Once have I felt a truer romance. Even the way they electronically sound out their names (in both terms of endearment & distress) warms the cockles of your heart. And for all the talk (well deserved) about WALL-E, EVE is just as much a hero as he. 'WALL-E' offers moments of wit, humor, and even some cautionary lessons to people both young & old. That said ...
I could have done without some of the preachiness (don't pollute or you'll lose your planet; don't rest on your laurels or robots may take over). And portions of the 'adventure' segment (middle 3rd) become both customary & hectic. But I understand the hectic-ness; it's there to razzle & dazzle a portion of children on the verge of boredom. I love its lack of dialogue, lack of jovial tunes, & overload of techie stuff, but it could get the kiddies restless. These are all the most miniscule of issues, but they 'are' there. Overall, Andrew Stanton's 'WALL-E' is a majestic, transcendent, unique wonder to behold. The haunting music, heartbreaking characters, imaginative visuals, charming humor, & well balanced story makes this my current favorite movie of the year. I wish I could see it again, right now.
The opening 40-45 minutes are virtually dialogue-free, absolutely gorgeous, and is the film's strongest segment. Earth is an uninhabited wasteland. Piles & piles of trash reach the sky, extending far above the deserted skyscrapers of old. And poor WALL-E is left to collect/compact it all (along the way, keeping neat knick-knacks for himself). Lonely, his only friend comes in the form of a tiny, but determined cockroach. One day, however, a spaceship ejects a sleek robot named EVE onto WALL-E's land. She's far more advanced than he, and they have a hard time 'reading' each other. After some initial miscommunications, they become fast friends. And WALL-E takes great joy in showing EVE his favorite knick-knack, an old VHS tape of Hello Dolly. Odd, yes, but completely adorable.
The mood changes though when EVE finds WALL-E's living plant & becomes disengaged (literally). WALL-E tries to revive her; that is until her spaceship arrives to retrieve her back to Axiom. This segues into the adventure part of the plot. After several try & try again attempts, WALL-E runs, jumps, clings, races, & shoots himself across the galaxy to get to her. How could he just give up on the first romance/friend he's had in 700 years!? Once he gets on the Axiom, he is shocked to discover that robots rule the roost, a fat human is the marionette pilot, & millions of gluttonous humans lounge the ship as if it were a Royal Caribbean cruise line. With help from some rogue misfit robots, WALL-E attempts to save EVE, & properly deliver the plant to the human pilot. Will the robots relinquish their monopoly on the humans? Can the humans rebuild the necessary physical & mental capacity to get back to Earth? And ... will WALL-E & EVE be reunited?
With a darker tone than most animated movies, a 'yes' to these questions is not an automatic given. That's part of the strength of the film. It's beautiful, it's sweet, but it's also scary; scary on a philosophical level; a level we don't quite get to in most animated films. All in all, 'WALL-E' is a fantastic motion picture. Right from the get-go, you are hooked. And when it is over, you wouldn't mind sitting through it all over again. The best part of 'WALL-E' is the romance btwn. W&E. It's simply amazing that the genius animators can humanize these robots. Not since last year's Once have I felt a truer romance. Even the way they electronically sound out their names (in both terms of endearment & distress) warms the cockles of your heart. And for all the talk (well deserved) about WALL-E, EVE is just as much a hero as he. 'WALL-E' offers moments of wit, humor, and even some cautionary lessons to people both young & old. That said ...
I could have done without some of the preachiness (don't pollute or you'll lose your planet; don't rest on your laurels or robots may take over). And portions of the 'adventure' segment (middle 3rd) become both customary & hectic. But I understand the hectic-ness; it's there to razzle & dazzle a portion of children on the verge of boredom. I love its lack of dialogue, lack of jovial tunes, & overload of techie stuff, but it could get the kiddies restless. These are all the most miniscule of issues, but they 'are' there. Overall, Andrew Stanton's 'WALL-E' is a majestic, transcendent, unique wonder to behold. The haunting music, heartbreaking characters, imaginative visuals, charming humor, & well balanced story makes this my current favorite movie of the year. I wish I could see it again, right now.