In time that is - the location is still Earth - 700 years hence and we humans have been quite the litterbugs. Dumping Earth in the too hard basket and kicking off on a cruise ship into outer space, humans have left our now not so fair planet to the "Waste Allocation Load Lifter - Earth" class robots. But somehow I don't think they were counting on Wall-E.
Without giving away too much, Pixar's latest creation is absolutely endearing. Sure, the Short-Circuit similarities are there, but (for better or worse) there's no Steve Guttenberg in sight, so check Number 5 at the door and meet Wall-E on his own terms.
And my he's impressive! Writer/Director Andrew Stanton (of Finding Nemo fame) has outdone himself with the wily Wall-E. It continues to astound me how Stanton and the Pixar crew personify objects and convey their character so quickly and clearly. Wall-E, we soon learn, is a hard and disciplined worker, as well as an inquisitive (and organised!) collector of man-made objects. The precision and attention to detail is astounding. A lot of the film is essentially silent, so the animators have harked back to the days of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton with the film's slapstick and situation comedy.
This physicality is also the vehicle for the emotional heart of the story. Wall-E craves companionship, and watches scenes from Hello, Dolly! over and over again in the hope of grasping - literally - the simple gesture of love: holding hands.
Loneliness and love is really what the film is about, so the simplicity of the storyline may disappoint those hoping for a more swashbuckling, sci-fi epic. The film does provide a bit of a chase and a smattering of suspense, but it always comes back to the wide-eyed Wall-E on his journey to secure the love of Eve.
This theme of solitude is also taken up in the human subplot. It isn't revealing too much to say that the future doesn't look too bright for humankind. Not only have we turned Earth into a tip, but we've turned ourselves into beached whales: wedged into La-Z-Boys and behind computer screens. It did concern me that many in the audience found this hilarious, whereas I found it quite disturbing! I don't think Stanton pulls any punches in his depiction of consumerism run amok, though I appreciated that all of this is just shown, and not preached about. It's a cautionary tale if you want it to be, and evidently very funny if you don't!
Seeing the world through Wall-E's eyes is wonderfully refreshing. His curiosity, tenacity and old-world romanticism is both captivating and infectious. And his boundless love for Eve reminds us:
It only takes a moment
To be loved a whole life long.
Wall-E finally comes to Australia on September 18....Looking forward to hearing what you think!
*It Only Takes A Moment - from Hello, Dolly!
2 comments:
I just saw it last night after waiting an agggge to - and I couldn't have loved it more. At the risk of being melodramatic, it is most definitely my favourite Pixar. I found it so incredibly endearigng and clever.
I second your thoughts on love, loneliness and solitude, but also thought it had some really interesting meditations on what it means to be human and to have subjectivity. Not to give anything away, but the humans aboard the spaceship literally have to find their feet again, and work out their priorities and work again. And the heartbreaking part for me was towards the end when Wall-E is momentarily fixed and broken at the same time. I cried a bit, there!
Ahh. Can't wait for the DVD.
I'm so pleased you loved it, Kate! The folks finally saw it last night and were raving about it too, so I see multiple DVD copies in our future.
Great point about humans finding their feet again. I thought it was an interesting juxtaposition that Wall-E was more human than the humans. He'd remained on Earth and stayed on his feet so to speak.
I did also wonder how long it would take for the fat humans to become mutinous and want to head back to the leto deck, but perhaps that's just being unkind.
Totally with you about the heartbreak of a broken Wall-E, I was wishing for the Apple boot-up sound!!
Post a Comment