From the get go, I’ll be as honest as I can about this review. Never before in my life have I seen a movie more up my alley. A Pixar Sci-Fi movie about robots in outer space in love? Uncle, already, I love it, you win.
But lets get down to the details. The titular character, WALL E is a garbage compacting robot who has far outlived his life expectancy living on an Earth abandoned by humans. In the time he has he smashes garbage into cubes, but also picks at the more interesting items he finds as he sifts through what “we” left behind. He seems to dream of companionship beyond his cockroach sidekick which is eventually provided in his incredibly advanced robot love interest, EVE. While Earth is supposed to be dead and abandoned, seeing it through the eyes of the curious WALL E gives it an entirely new life.
The story itself is excellent, as is the animation, but the real star in my opinion is the commentary. Good science fiction always attempts to shed light on the present human condition by examining it through alternate sources. For example; external perspective (aliens), or taken to the extreme (in the future). In this case we have both, although our alien comes from Earth. It examines consumerism, the move towards the disposability of everything, the effects of the digital revolution on peoples relationship with each other, how we raise our children, and how our consumption may one day destroy us. I have not seen a film that comments on this many subjects so effectively ever I believe (I am not a super film buff, so I would love some suggestions on any films that do comment on that many subjects).
For several years now we have watched Pixar create unique, iconic stories, but I wonder how long it can last. Each time I see a Pixar film I ask “will the next one be as good as this?” Thankfully this one soundly beat my expectations, and I hope to have my expectations beaten for many years to come.
La Bibliofille 