wall-e

disney pixar is the probably in the top 5 best things to ever happen in the history of civilization. it all started with toy story (1995), then came toy story 2 (1999), monsters inc. (2001), finding nemo (2003), ratatouille (2007), a few others that are great but not on the same level, and now in 2008 they bring us Wall-E.

wall-e is essentially a story about a lonely robot who is one of many wall-e robots left on earth to clean up the mess humans have made of the world, this one particular robot is apparently the only one still functional and its much more than just a robot. the humans, during more than 700 years waiting and relaxing in space, have become fat boobs that no longer require the use of their own limbs to move around or do anything but eat, sleep, and talk on the videophone. ironically, humans have lost what makes them human and the robot wall-e is more human that anyone or anything because he yearns for more than complacency. wall-e is very much like will smith's i am legend character in that he has no real companions other than his pet (cockroach in this movie) and is the only person around to clean up the mess set forth by the movie. eventually, wall-e meets eve who is a super high-tech robot who has come from the human mothership to look for any signs of vegetation, so that the human race can return to an earth thats a little less messy.

the first 30 minutes of the movie actually dont involve any dialogue, its really cool that this direction was taken because it shows that conversations are very inconsequential to our understanding of what is going on and where the movie may be going. as usual, disney/pixar has created a movie where grownups and children can enjoy the same visual jokes but on different levels. most kids probably dont know what a rubik's cube is, or why an ipod in the movie is funny, but everyone definitely has a good laugh at the very well done utensil joke. the plot is good, its pretty simple sci-fi stuff and its well executed. wall-e is a great protagonist because he feels. he can be lonely, sad, happy, brave, timid... more than those in the movie, he is everything humans are and more, while only capable of beeping out three words.

the visuals and score for the movie are good for what it is. its not the best anyone has ever seen, mostly because so much of the movie is spent on a dust-storm covered earth and inside a neon infused spacecraft, both of which do not have the same visual appeal that nature itself has. the best visual portion of the movie is when wall-e and eve are moving around in space, but thats only a small percentage of the movie. additionally, its also not a leap above the animation in previous movies such as finding nemo or ratatouille. aurally, the music can be described as ... whimsical. its about a robot that acts human, its good, not breathtaking, but its expected.

overall, this is a movie that should be seen in theaters, its worth the 10bux to see it with other people on the big screen. its really great to experience scenes where everyone in the theater, children included, are laughing at the same joke. this movie doesnt quite crack my top3 or even top5 animated movies of all time, but its still really good.


good: nice plot, all the robots, fat babies
bad: not everyone would let themselves get so fat, forcing message on me to take care of the earth...