SANDY TECHFANATIC

You know what I loved most about WALL-E? The fact that they were able to take situations quotidian in regular movies, TV shows, and real life, and effortlessly work them into a story about a robot with limited verbal ability. The movie isn’t completely devoid of humans, but the focus is squarely on WALL-E and the issues that are raised in the story.

If you haven’t seen the movie and/or don’t want to know what it’s about, I’d advise you to skip the following paragraph.

WALL-E is a waste accumulation robot that’s left behind on Earth after humans evacuated it due to garbage and environmental problems - NYC’s garbage dumps are as tall as the skyscrapers. Sadly for WALL-E, the last humans forgot to turn it off before they left. To make things worse, the humans have been gone for 700+ years and basically, no life forms survive anymore. They abandoned the planet to live aboard a humongous spacecraft called the AXIOM. There’s something about the name that is meant to be funny (I think), but I can’t seem to put my finger on it. The humans periodically send out search bots to look for signs of life on Earth. On one such mission, a search bot called EVE catches WALL-E’s attention…and a small plant that becomes essential to the events that follow. The story does take a bit of a predictable turn once WALL-E flies off to the AXIOM after his gal EVE, but it manages to stay charming and funny nonetheless. The movie offers a gloomy, post-apocalyptic Earth that is quite scary to say the least. Even with the huge spoiler-fest that has been this last paragraph, I won’t reveal what happens at the end. However, I thought that the end-credits were quite well-done.

Pixar has always been the leader when it comes to animation technology and it’s no surprise that WALL-E features some of the best animation you’ll see. Everything moves very smoothly and WALL-E looks stunningly realistic. The attention to detail is astounding, even when the screen is full of several objects and people. I have to say that EVE is bit too glossy for my liking, but hey, I won’t hold that against Pixar. The kids will love the movie for all the goofiness and funny moments. The adults should love it for how deep the story goes and the issues it brings up - the consequences of uncontrolled capitalism or what would happen if we keep glossing over the problems that plague us today. Since dialogue is limited, the makers use actions and sound to convey emotions and to move the story along. It’s quite amazing how well they accomplish this and it lends the movie tremendous emotional appeal.

To summarize, I would highly recommend this movie, regardless of how old you are. At the risk of sounding trite, let me say that there is something to satisfy everyone here. It’s funny, charming, and endearing at the same time. In the end, the movie is about the basic need for companionship and requitement. I will definitely be watching this movie again, whether on IMAX or when it comes out on DVD.

P.S.: As always, the funny short before the actual movie was hilarious. They took a very simple gag and went super-crazy with it. Make sure you don’t miss it!