I know a lot has been written and said already about the new Disney/Pixar film “WALL-E,” which, as is the case with any well-done product of our pop culture, ends up as a prism for our own belief systems, with conservatives considering it to be a “90-minute lecture on the dangers of over consumption, big corporations, and the destruction of the environment” (actually, as noted here, the film runs for 98 minutes to be exact), and those left of center seeing the movie (more accurately, I think) as a tale of how truly entwined human beings are with every aspect of life on earth.
I took the young one to see it at a monster multiplex near us over the weekend, and I have to tell you that it is truly a well-done, enjoyable film, despite the admittedly bleak aspects of its opening. Each Pixar movie contains original and well-realized stories, and I cannot emphasize the importance of that enough; if you can’t buy into the world they’re presenting for you, then these movies simply won’t work, and as far as I’m concerned, Pixar has never experienced that problem.
The film, at its core, is a “love story” of sorts between WALL-E (Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class) and EVA (Extraterrestrial Vegetation Evaluator), with the latter robot sent to earth to scan for signs of life during a period in which earth is uninhabited by human life, though not so by plant life, as it turns out.
After some, shall we say, tentative moments, EVA is more or less “summoned by the mother ship” upon discovering a specimen and travels back to the Axiom, the floating space mass containing those remaining from earth who are pretty much just hanging out, all fat, dumb and happy.
(Incidentally, much has been made of the fact that the humans are portrayed as grossly overweight because of their sedentary lifestyle. That’s true, however the movie does also note that this is partly due to the effect of extended space travel.)
The conflict in the movie arises when the Axiom’s captain realizes that EVA’s plant discovery means that earth can be colonized again, but the ship’s computer (nice touch for Sigourney Weaver to “voice” that role) intends to keep everyone out in space and not disrupt the status quo, even if it means getting the captain out of the way; I won’t give away any more plot than that.
There is really nothing that is frightening about WALL-E or provocative; this was the most well-attended G-rated film I’ve seen in awhile (a testimony in part to Pixar’s success also). The animation is typically stunning, especially the opening shots of the Axiom, and there is so much going on that you could probably watch the film again and pick out what you missed the first time around.
And like all well-made films, the “message” comes across pretty much through the telling of the story, with the robots helping those onboard the ship to actually rediscover their own humanity (with an assist from, “Hello, Dolly”). And by the way, Peter Gabriel’s “Down To Earth,” played at the end credits, is a great song.
I have to admit that it was somewhat disconcerting to watch the first half hour or so of the movie, not because it was weak in any way, but because it contained very little dialogue, though it moved the story along just fine. But the young one and others of his age (and younger) in attendance were not restless while watching the movie in spite of that (as well as the adults), and I would argue that that was the case also because, when it comes to exploring the urgency of the issues touched upon in this wonderful film, words should no longer be necessary.
And speaking of Peter Gabriel's song, here it is (no video of the film...sorry).
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