WALL•E

WALL•E (2008)
Directed by Andrew Stanton
****

Refreshing
If you haven't yet seen WALL•E, I would kindly advise you to see it before reading this review.

If you have seen it, read on with glee.

Charming
WALL•E is so lovable that you don't care that he's not human. That, dear readers, is the point of the film in miniature. With a mix of live action and computer-generated images (CGI), a mythic story (set in the future!) and surprisingly little explanation as to the story's setting, Pixar has created another winner.

In fact, this might be their biggest winner yet. Voters on imdb.com loved it enough that within a week of the film's opening, it had skyrocketed to the #9 greatest film ever made. Ever. As in, just below The Empire Strikes Back and just above Casablanca. A wonderful place for a film that marries sci-fi with romance.

For Humans of All Ages
A sci-fi romance may not sound like a children's movie to you. Well, I assure you, children love it. But this is a film made for all image-bearers. Anyone who feels that they were made for more than this life; anyone who wants to love and be loved in return; anyone who has ever felt alone; anyone who is curious or adventurous; anyone who likes to laugh; anyone who gives a rip about anybody or anything else will probably like WALL•E.

It doesn't hurt that the animation is so brilliant that most viewers quickly forget they're watching animation. It doesn't hurt that WALL•E himself is one of the most lovable characters ever to grace the silver screen. And it certainly doesn't hurt that Pixar has again given us a story good enough to take its place in the Great Literature of the Western Tradition.

Satire Par Excellence
After watching it, I struggled for quite some time to determine what sort of film WALL•E is. It's an adventure film, to be sure — rising from piles of trash, the track-wheeled robot hitches a ride on a galactic shuttle and discovers just what's missing from Earth.

It's also a romance, and maybe a coming-of-age story too — WALL•E, after all, is a sucker for music from Hello, Dolly! and falls eyepiece over tracks for a sleek, Apple-esque visitor named Eve.

Sure, it's myth, too: Eve's name is no accident. Nor is the lush simplicity (and cunning inverse-ness) of the story, moving an innocent being from his home in a tangible waste land to disorientation in a strange, synthetic paradise. If you're wondering if there's any commentary here related to Genesis, you're right. (I'd suggest especially 1:26?)

But when Alison felt disappointed about how message-oriented the film seemed to be, it got me wondering. To be honest, I had certainly noticed but hadn't been bothered by the convicting / confrontational aspect of the film. In fact, I rejoiced in it. It was part of WALL•E's point for us to delight and then realize we were being taught. That's when I realized that ultimately, this is a satire. I didn't recognize it because, other than comic strips and TV, satire doesn't exactly loom large in today's arts world.

You may wonder why I haven't mentioned much about the film. Well, maybe that's because I know many of you skipped right over the warning at the beginning and read this anyway. Maybe it's because I feel like there's just so much I want to say about WALL•E that I can't fit it into one post, or even several. Maybe it's because I want you to share your thoughts and continue the discussion.

So, I won't mention:
• The first 30 minutes, one of the most successful attempts ever at sound film without dialogue (other than Cast Away)
• The numerous other Apple references
• Conservation, sustainability or environmentalism
• That I normally don't care for sci-fi movies
• How incredible the music was, nor the fact that I'm planning to write a review of it, too

Comments

[Will]

Anna, I would love to, but haven't seen it yet.

We left the US within days of its opening, and we've been in Europe since, where it doesn't come out until mid-August.

If you'd like to say something, go right ahead!

[anna]

could you please say something about the dark knight?

[SpEdLaw2]

Hi,

I just voted for your excellent blog for Bloggers Choice awards.

Could you please return the favor at :

http://www.bloggerschoiceawards.com/blogs/show/21620

Thanks,

SpEdLaw2

[Jordan M. Poss]

I absolutely loved this movie too. Everything about it--the animation, the story, the satirically obese people (as good as anything Swift created), and Wall-E's hilarious "voice." As it turns out, Andrew Stanton, the director, is a Christian. I read a really great interview with him in World magazine a few weeks ago where he talks a bit more about the satire: http://www.worldmag.com/articles/14127

[Jonathan]

As someone who intentionally skipped your warning so that I could read the spoilers, I am very disappointed.