Check Out the Trailer

Director Andrew Stanton previously made us believe in the love between a father fish and his son in FINDING NEMO. Now he makes us fall in love yet again with a love story between two utterly charming robots. This daring Pixar production breaks the company’s mold in many ways — it features live-action, the first third is English-dialogue free, and there is a big message.

It’s 2800 and humans have abandoned Earth, which has been consumed by garbage. Left behind to clean up the mess are tiny tractor-like WALL•E robots. They compress the trash into neat squares and stack them as high as skyscrapers. Since it has been centuries since humans left, it seems only one curious WALL•E remains at his task. As he compacts the garbage, he collects items he finds interesting. One of those items is a VHS tape of HELLO, DOLLY!, which he knows by heart. His only friend on Earth is a resilient cockroach. Then one day a giant spaceship arrives and drops off a new robot. The slick iPod-design-style Eve is on a mission, looking for proof of organic life on Earth. As she looks for life, WALL•E follows her every move, smitten with love. So when the spaceship returns to take Eve back to the floating ark in space, WALL•E hitches a ride.

When the two robots arrive on the ark, they find humanity has evolved into immovable blobs. Consumed with eating meals out of Big & Large cups and communicating only through video screens, a better word would be devolved. The Captain (Jeff Garlin, TV’s CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM) lives for his one duty — the morning announcement. The rest of the ship’s operations are run by the duty obsessed Auto (Sigourney Weaver, ALIEN), short for autopilot. Auto, which looks like the wheel of a sea ship, has knowledge from the former CEO of Earth, Shelby Forthright (Fred Willard, BEST IN SHOW), that changes the original mission considerably.

Through some amazingly timed acting, the animators have created a cast of endearing characters. WALL•E is irresistible. No wonder the tough Eve falls for the little guy. Though many have compared WALL•E’s design to Johnny-5 in SHORT CIRCUIT, WALL•E’s personality makes Johnny-5 seem dead on arrival. WALL•E is like a curious toddler — inquisitive, kind and caring. All he really wants to do is make friends. And boy is he determined. Eve is a straight shooter who is dedicated to her duty, but that doesn’t change her curious streak. Their communication is simple R2-D2-like electronic noises and pantomime. She’s more sophisticated than WALL•E, but he eventually teaches her how to lighten up and dance. I’m not afraid to say it — they’re one of the screen’s great romances.

As for the big message, it’s funny how much of it is similar to the ideas addressed in the very adult IDOCRACY. Humans are making a trash heap of the planet while we waste our minds away into garbage. The theme is not subtle, but it’s never preachy. WALL•E’s charm inspires the humans to look beyond their TV monitors to see the wonders that lie right in front of them. It’s a part of the film that has been hidden in the advertising campaign and I wonder what discussions it will provoke. Nonetheless, it never once takes away from the entertainment value of this heartwarming tale. Stanton perfectly balances between theme and character.

As the legend goes, four future Pixar films came out of a lunch around the finish of TOY STORY. They were A BUG’S LIFE, MONSTERS, INC., FINDING NEMO and WALL•E. Pixar saved the best for last.