WALL-E - Review

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Length: 97 min

Rated: G

Distributor: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Release Date: 2008-06-27

Starring: Ben Burtt, Elissa Knight, Jeff Garlin, Fred Willard, John Ratzenberger, Kathy Najimy, Sigourney Weaver

Directed by Andrew Stanton

Produced by Jim Morrison

Written by Andrew Stanton, Jim Capobianco

Visit the movie's Official Site!

Reviewed by Mariana McConnell : 2008-06-26 15:02:13

A love letter to science-fiction films of old with a modern environmentalist message, WALL-E is another winning confection from Pixar, the folks who have made an art out of wrapping adult themes in childish whimsy and coming out with movies that please both elements. Starring a box shaped little robot with more than a passing resemblance to E.T., WALL-E is quite possibly the cutest Pixar hero ever, despite the fact that he's a trash compactor with eyes. A story centering on a wordless robot could be cold and uninviting, but not in Pixar's capable hands. Never has a robot been this compassionate: WALL-E's got heart.

The story of the film is deceptively simple. WALL-E (Waste Allocator Load Lifter - Earth Class) is the last of his kind, a robot created by the Buy-N-Large Corporation to clean up the piles of trash left on Earth by the conspicuous consumption of human beings. The humans themselves have evacuated the now-toxically trashed Earth for a Eden-like spaceship habitat called the Axiom (also created by BNL corp.), where they spend their days sipping meals out a cup and reclining on floating easy chairs. Though all his robotic compatriots have long since compacted their last, WALL-E continues plugging away at his job in an endearingly human way. He wakes up each day to the chime of a Macintosh starting up (score for the iFolks! Thanks Steve!) and heads out for another day among the trash heaps. He brings a battered coolie along with him to save the things he likes: a ping-pong paddle, a plastic dinosaur toy, a light bulb, a small seedling saved in an old boot. He ends each day in his home, watching an old video tape of Hello Dolly! - an important motif throughout the film.

Things change drastically for WALL-E the day EVE shows up. She is slick and futuristic and quite obviously a girl; WALL-E falls in love almost immediately. It turns out EVE has been sent from the Axiom to scan the earth for signs of habitable life. Their convincing courtship is done completely without dialogue, quite a feat for sound designer Ben Burtt who found a way to make ambient noise into recognizable words for WALL-E. Trying to impress the coolly modern EVE, WALL-E shows her the seedling he found, at which point EVE goes into a hibernation state and awaits the return of her spaceship. WALL-E, of course, cannot abide by his beloved EVE's status and hitches a ride into space to save her.

A bit disturbingly, all the humans on the Axiom have regressed to babyhood (enormously fat, with chubby extremities and little bone density) after 700 years of living up in space and drinking their meals through a straw. It seems that this may have been the aim of the BNL Corporation, who have instructed the ship's Computer Auto (Sigourney Weaver) to never let the humans return to Earth, even if it is found to be habitable once again. Though WALL-E's only aim on the Axiom is to find his beloved EVE, he finds himself wrapped up in a race to save the seedling he collected on earth from the treacherous tentacles of Auto. Along the way he meets a variety of robots, each with their own supposed job, all of which are related to cleaning up. It becomes clear that human consumption is what has trashed the earth and is now trashing Outer Space as well.

Though he is tiny and relegated to the dirtiest of the dirty jobs, WALL-E truly understands how to find value in sullied things and how to create magic out of useless objects. He is more human than the humans in that way and slowly, without preaching (he can't even talk), WALL-E begins to show them how to regain what they have lost through sloth and over reliance on technology. It's an environmentalist film, but also a poignant homage to simple joys in this era of iPods and digital everything.

Half of what is so enchanting about watching WALL-E, as in all Pixar films, is seeing how the filmmakers have created a working universe in which to play. There is no skimping here, no visible shortcuts. WALL-E himself has a million ways to express his emotions, from compacting into a box when he feels shy to wiggling his binocular-like eyes in awe when he first beholds EVE, all of which are related to physical, realistic components. That allegiance to authenticity allows the film to send its narrative to fantastic heights without seeming over the top or phony.

Like all previous Pixar films, the meaning of WALL-E is deeper and more profound than the merchandising opportunities found therein. It's a love story, yes, but it's also a story about staying true to your own heart in the blandly evil face of authority. It's a tale about saving the small things and cherishing the world you live in, no matter how imperfect its surface might seem. Andrew Stanton, who won an Oscar in 2004 for Finding Nemo, has certainly earned his place in the pantheon of animation pioneers, but with WALL-E, he has taken not only the art of animation, but the art of storytelling to new, unimaginable heights.

As a bonus, Pixar have affixed a Looney Tune-y short about an arrogant magician and his hungry rabbit to beginning of the WALL-E. Presto! is pure Looney Tunes and a fitting appetizer to the lovely film to follow.

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Matt Says:
June 23rd, 2008 at 02:39
Great review! I can't wait to see the movie!

Phil Miller Says:
June 23rd, 2008 at 02:39
Looks like another Oscar for Pixar this year. These guys know how to tell a story.

man1985 Says:
June 25th, 2008 at 04:30
Both my 2 year old son and I are eagerly awaiting the release of this movie. There may be other Summer BlockBusters that get all the hype and the publicity but I have a feeling that none of them will touch our hearts like Wall-E will. Pixar is certified genius. Walt Disney would be proud.

kristen and selina Says:
June 26th, 2008 at 23:08
WALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!

I AM WALL-E!

HERE ME ROAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!

O.O

Richard C. Says:
June 27th, 2008 at 15:27
hey Mariana I don't know if you were at the Sunday screening at Disney or an earlier one, but I would wait until the movie comes out before you spoil parts of it

leni Says:
June 28th, 2008 at 21:37
I just saw the movie today and is was freaking sweet!!! i love it! it is amazing. lol

Jake Says:
July 1st, 2008 at 23:58
Of course I had high expectations for this movie. I have loved every other Pixar movie.

In this movie, mountains of garbage cover the toxic earth. Humanity has abandoned the planet, which is a decaying mound of waste, by large companies who cater to every human greed. But humanity didn't just abandon the earth; they fled on huge pleasure cruise arks, modeled after giant cruise ships. Each human is a repulsively fat Jabba-the-Hutt baby-brained zombie, putting along on repulsor sleds because they can no longer support their massive fat baby-like girth. Shakes containing food are brought to the faces of people by dutiful slave robots, who apparently have human emotions but don't mind being slaves. Some of these robots pump out millions of tons of waste garbage from the pleasure arks every hour - clearly the humans have learned no lessons, and have an endless supply of material and energy. However, suddenly the slug-like, bloated humans, inspired by Wall-E, decide to lug their ill-adapted bodies back to earth where they will start a communist farming utopia. These are people who literally didn't have the motor skill to open a book a day before, and had to have a robot open if for them.

Also, somehow the combination of garbage and toxicity causes freak hurricanes from which Wall-E has to hide, paying the price for his evil and ignorant American creators.

Wall-E directed by Al Gore and George Soros.

Rich Says:
July 2nd, 2008 at 00:19
I saw it last night and fell asleep about 30 minutes in. Granted, I was tired as all hell and it was an 11:40 show, but it starts out slow. Veeeeerrryyyy sloooooowwww. I couldn't take it. I was out by the time Eve brought the sapling back to space.

Rob Says:
July 2nd, 2008 at 12:58
Just a small note, but I think Sigourney Weaver played the ship's computer (the one the captain was talking to about dancing and farms and such), NOT Auto.

stacy Says:
July 2nd, 2008 at 12:58
What a disappointment... The first 45 minutes and no talking!!! Then we finally have speaking an hour in and it's humans who are overweight and apparently useless... then there is a 5 minute waltz with Eva and Wall.E in space (just music is playing)... The only good thing about this movie is that I went to a matinee and only paid $6.00 -(which was not worth it)!!!

Cliff Says:
July 2nd, 2008 at 12:58
Don't worry Rich, you didn't miss much. The movie was really slow until the robots leave earth, and completely stupid after that. Did you know that if you put a bunch of humans on a cruise ship and give them the option to not walk or do anything, they'll take you up on that and never move their bodies their entire life? Also, the junking up the planet and having to leave bit is getting tired as well. It's pretty amazing that human's can create a ship capable of housing a huge population with unlimited food and yet lack the technology to clean up after themselves.

This is exactly what I would have expected if moveon.org had decided to make a movie.

Cathy Says:
July 2nd, 2008 at 12:58
We went to see this movie Sat. with our children and grandchildren.

Not only did my Husband and Son in law fall asleep, but the kidsdid too.
I was bored to tears.

After 1/2 hour people were leaving, and you could here discontented children all over.

I have to believe, that some of the RAVE reviews are from Disney PR people. They already have 300 products in the line up for this picture.

Grace Says:
July 2nd, 2008 at 20:23
I guess half of you need to have a message handed to you on a platter in order to understand it. Wall-E was heartfelt and genuine, in true Pixar form. I thought the lack of "talking" made it that much more poignant. When done well, non-verbal cues can tell a story just as well as (if not better than) non-stop dialogue. If you have imagination and an open mind, you will LOVE this movie! In my opinion, Mariana hit the nail on the head in her review! Well done, Pixar. Keep the good stuff comin'.

And, no, I am NOT a Disney PR person. ;-)

Chris Says:
July 3rd, 2008 at 00:47
One of the most touching, artistically important, and frankly best films I have seen in the last decade.
A Fantastic achievement, that will unfortunately go over the heads of many people looking to be spoon fed the same movie over and over - think cartoon animal voiced by famous people singing and dancing to some plot you have heard 1000 times.
If you are willing to pay any kind of attention, this is one of the most rewarding films you will ever see.

allen Says:
July 3rd, 2008 at 12:17
This movie is beautiful. It portrays the purest kind of love, what I think everyone searches for in life.

johnny Says:
July 3rd, 2008 at 12:18
best movie I've seen this year. This movie requires one to actually engage in thought (use your brain) to appreciate it. I'm glad a studio dares to defy the formula of feeding the masses dumbed down animation with nonstop pop-culture or fart jokes from beginning to end. I guess even using one's brain is too much to ask many people nowadays.

Dave carrera Says:
July 4th, 2008 at 13:47
BORING My 3 year old fell asleep. So did my 6 and 8 year old nephew's. Politicaly correct Garbage.

reggie Says:
July 4th, 2008 at 18:36
I just saw the film with my 4yr old daughter, the theater was packed with people and kids of all ages. The movie had them enthralled the whole time, even kids were laughing, gasping, "awww-ing", at the appropriate moments. This movie is not for those kids with really really short attention spans, wherein they can't stay focused on something for 10mins. This movie is refreshing for you have to actually think/reflect to enjoy and get it. The kung fu pandas, shreks, and the rest are fun but shallow wherein they don't require audiences to engage in thought/reflection. all you have to do is open wide and they'll spoon feed you everything. Wall-E is one of the best films-not just animated-released this year.

Matt Says:
July 5th, 2008 at 13:01
Visually engaging, heartfelt, deep.

Some criticize the exaggerated elements of the movie (fat, useless humans with enough tech to survive autonomously in space but unable to clean up Earth) Some points of the story are exaggerated--this is an ANIMATED movie lest we forget. That's called poetic license, and I don't believe PIXAR makes documentaries or real-world predictions. So let's put the whole 'unbelievable' aspect aside please. They were just trying to make a broad and obvious point.

Also, for the 'bored' moviegoers; Maybe you were looking for Beverly Hills Chiuahua, or maybe Shrek for you and your kids. There are elements to this movie that obviously point to a more subtle form of storytelling, through movements and characterization. Personified robots. Robots out of control; defective to a point of hillarity. Lots of physical comedy and a good play on the obvious OCD nature of any robot due to programming. I wouldn't have expected one-liners the whole time. Didn't seem like that sort of movie. What's not enjoyable about a massage robot gone haywire? Robots showing humans how to be human, or really-- how to live and how you sometimes have to look a little deeper than the surface to see value. Maybe that can be said for the entire movie really. All of the robots had personality, but also adhered underlyingly to their particular role as just a robot fulfilling some menial need.

WALL-E placed value on things that had been discarded long ago, partially because he had no reservations about 'junk' (he is a trash compactor robot afterall) but also because he had a heartfelt sentimentality for these things that defined who he was. He was the character that could see past rust and dirt and grime to see the beauty in simple things. Partially I think because of his programming, but also because of his soulful nature. A trait he had to reteach to the humans living on the Axium. I think it was the largest theme due to the fact that the human race had discarded the entire Earth and had to come to the realization that it's value wasn't measured by it's present state but by what it was (a beautiful planet), what it still is (the human race's home), and what it can be again with a load of effort.

Note to the parents of kids who fell asleep: Maybe your kids were tired from you running them around the grocery store or making them tool around while you got your nails done before you finally took them out to see the movie they had probably begged you all week to see. Also, I think it's worth mentioning that kids aren't really movie critics--if it is colorful, cute, and lively (and especially imaginative) kids are gonna attach to it, whether or not they have the attention or energy to sit and watch the movie or absorb any of the deeper elements. I can't wait for all the parent's that are gonna slap their foreheads when their kid wants the DVD to this movie and the parent just shoots down their child with "Well you fell asleep when we went to go see it so I thought you didn't like WALL-E."

"If you didn't get it, it wasn't for you."

CK Says:
July 6th, 2008 at 04:25
I must admit I wasn't overly excited about the story of WALL-E. I am not a science fiction fan but my boys and my husband wanted to see it. I saw Mariana's review which changed my mind about going to see it...and I'm glad I did! WALL-E is an amazing film! Everyone in the theater thoroughly enjoyed themselves including me. Bottom line--take your family to see it!
Side note - Matt's comments (July 5) are dead on.
(PIXAR did an an awesome job, congratulations and thanks from our family, we'll pay $8 a ticket anytime to something as poignant and touching as WALL-E!)

PJ Says:
July 6th, 2008 at 16:54
Andrew Stanton, director and screenwriter and Pixar Studios have produced a cinematic milestone with Wall-E. Probably the most original and innovative screenplay in 30 years - students and film-lovers will be studying this script for decades. There are Biblical themes, homages to various sci-fi movies ("2001", "Alien", and half a dozen post-apocalyptic films)and a simple love story, fully-realized without getting sappy. Setting aside the obvious and by now cliched message of the consequences of unchecked consumerism, one finds deeper themes and innovations. For example, the use of music. It took Rogers & Hammerstein to advance the craft of story-telling in the musical theater, by incorporating lyrics that advanced the plot. In Wall-E, two songs from a musical (in this case, video excerpts from a film made of the Broadway musical, "Hello Dolly") become an artifact and object lesson to advance the plot. Pixar is known for using pop culture references to keep adults engaged with the unfolding story, but this time the pop culture reference becomes a plot point advancing the story - ! Also, this script certainly puts the lie to Hollywood's self-image (their own conceit) that all good "art" has R-rated language and images. The whole family can see Wall-E. Visually stunning, touching, engaging and thought-provoking. Not since 1989 when Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" was nominated for a Best Picture Academy Award (and "Silence of the Lambs" won), Wall-E should be nominated for a Best Picture Oscar - and should take it home. Regardless, take this picture to heart. You'll be rewarded.

Zac W. Says:
July 8th, 2008 at 16:46
I am tired of these bull post okay. This was another pixar hit as every other one. My anticipation was even low for it until I saw it. Yes the movie starts out slow but do you know of any other studio that can take a inanimate object and make it into one of the most animate characters? No ! The only part I had a problem with is the whole fact that humans hadnt had any interaction with each other any other small things to do with side plots but you know what i realized that didnt matter because it was fictional. Just because you and your children have sleeping issues doesnt mean anything. Once again pixar is on top! so shove it

patrick Says:
July 10th, 2008 at 14:25
Wall-E totally looks like the robot from "Short Circuit"... minus the cheesy 80's style

justme Says:
August 5th, 2008 at 03:24
Beautiful piece of art... Some people think it`s boring...maybe they need to watch it again after a few years. :o) 10/10 .

caesya Says:
August 15th, 2008 at 02:27
amazing n really out of mind animation..actually i'm from malaysia, so dis movies just came out yesterday..i watched it with my boyfriend..it's really fantastic movies..until my boyfriend wanted to see it again..big applause to the director n PIxar..

Rajorshi Says:
September 5th, 2008 at 06:38
Cant believe so many people are cribbing. This is one hell of an amazing movie. Go and watch it!

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