[Monorail Man]

Wall●E: A Review

I had high hopes going into Wall●E, because it had everything I enjoy about a great SciFi movie (a world commentary, a post apocalyptic future, and it was a Pixar film. So, I arrived at a dimly lit theater, just shy of midnight. Bought my ticket, and a large popcorn – and stepped into the theater. To my surprise, there wasn’t a single child, instead, 80 anxious giddy adults who have been waiting for this film for a year we’re excited to see Wall●E on the screen.

As the trailers for generic, “cookie-cutter” 3d films passed us by, I was even more excited. I realized that Pixar has the drive that sets these movies apart, and that the Pixar crew knew how to tell a story, not just hire actors.
But first, the new Pixar short “Presto”, the story of a magician’s rabbit just trying to get a carrot. It was great, and while the entire short was just typical slapstick comedy, the overall expression on the rabbit’s face is great, and in typical Disney fashion, it all works out in the end. Highly Recommended

Next, the film starts. We see wonderful pictures of our universe, and then it zooms into the earth, a dry, barren, wasteland filled with trash and we are introduced to Wall●E. Cheers come from the crowd. And this is where my spoilers stop, because the story shouldn’t just be told, it should be experienced. Overall, the film is great, and I loved the opening part, introducing Wall●E, his friend (the cockroach), and his loneliness. The opening is a story that everyone can connect to, only instead of feeling like he’s all alone, he actually is. How this one Wall●E survived, we do not know, but it’s VERY sad seeing him pass others of his kind, all broken. Then, we kick into him meeting Eve and the ‘story’ aspect of the film, which is also well executed. A great story, and look at what happens if you let our population just cruise for 700 years (with no ports of call!).

Overall, I loved the film and the characters. There’s so much visual delight, and the overall tone of the film starts out dark, and that’s something Pixar rarely does. However, it’s the characters that really shine. Just as Pixar made me cry for a toy, I now have cried for a robot. It takes work to make someone believe that these characters are real, and everyone in the theater was moved, something I haven’t seen in a long time.

Once the film was over, there was thunderous applause from the theater. Everyone loved it. This movie is truly Pixar, and everything the company and storytelling is all about. Once I got back in the car, I was driving home, and at the same time, realized why that dim-dark earth that Wall●E must fix, is coming to us. As I set my GPS, my tires whipped up the trash in the parking lot, and I passed all the construction of shopping malls on the interstate - I realized that this film also shares an important lesson that life is more than consumerism; it is feelings, love, and compassion for others, and it takes Wall●E and Eve to show us that.