Monday, September 1st, 2008
Yesterday afternoon I went to a preview screening of Wall-E, the latest Pixar film. I really enjoyed it and think it’ll be a big hit here in Australia. Much has been made about it’s environmental message, but it’s also funny and sweet, a simple tale simply told.
The story is about the last robot left on Earth, Wall-E. He was part of a crew of similar robots intended to clean up all the rubbish created by humans. There’s so much rubbish that the humans have all left for space, waiting for the clean-up to be finished. But the other robots have all broken down or stopped working. Only Wall-E is left, continuing his job and taking a simple joy in the objects he finds: Rubik’s cubes, sporks, and lightbulbs.
One day a rocket ship delivers another robot, Eve. Her task is to find out if life has returned to the planet, and she searches for plants to take back as evidence. Wall-E gets a bit of a crush on her, and when she returns to the rocket to report her findings, he tries to come along. They both make it back to the giant starship cruiser which houses the descendants of the humans who left so long ago. Eve tries to present her plant as directed, but will the humans (or the other robots) understand how important it is to return to Earth?
The first section of the movie is nearly wordless: it’s slapstick comedy and romance done with nothing more than beeps, bleeps and 3 or 4 words spoken by the robots. It’s adorable and funny, and you’d be hard pressed not to like it. Once we get to the starship cruiser, the action really starts but the humour remains. The movie pokes fun at the roly-poly humans, but even though the jokes might prick the consciences of the adults in the audience, there’s nothing mean-spirited about the portrait of what we could become. And when push comes to shove roll, the humans make the right choices and come through to save the day.
In short, it’s an optimistic movie about rejecting empty consumerism and encouraging compassion. It asks us to become active participants in our world, discovering it anew everyday with a sense of wonder, the way Wall-E does. By actually interacting with our world and respecting our possessions instead of treating it all like so much rubbish, we can not only heal the planet but also have more fun and engaging lives ourselves.
Wall-E is rated G, and is a true family film rather than something for kids with a few adult jokes sneaked in at the side. I don’t think there’s anything in it to scare very little children, apart from a few noisy explosions. Once the dialogue starts it might be too much for them to understand, but the silly robots and blobby humans will still be entertaining (judging by the little crowd at our screening). Older children will love the adorable Wall-E, and the hopeful ending should leave them reassured if the beginning has them worried. As for adults and teens: if you’re in the mood to watch something cheerful and fun, without having to leave your brain at the door, you couldn’t make a better choice. Wall-E opens on 18th September: you can see the official site, or check out other reviews at Metacritic.