Wall-E

Wall-E

My daughter and son-in-law really enjoyed this, so my wife and I went to see it this afternoon. It answers the question that philosophers have been pondering for many centuries: can a robotic trash collector find true happiness with a heavily armed and trigger happy robotic explorer?

This being a Pixar film, it is about as family friendly as any film can be. I can't recall a single moment that was even slightly worrisome. At the same time, it was funny, touching, and cute, with a bit of social commentary thrown in as well.

And this is probably my only grumbling objection to an otherwise very fun animated film: poor Wall-E (an acronym that describes what this robot is supposed to do--and it involves picking up trash) is one of the only working robots left on an Earth that has been abandoned after an environmental disaster. There are echoes of Silent Running (1972) here, with some not terribly subtle jabs at a very Wal-Mart like company that seems to have played a major part in making Earth uninhabitable. Now, Wal-Mart is indeed a powerful (and sometimes destructive) force in our economy, but they aren't that powerful.

The plot is perilously derivative of The Story of Stuff, one of those "rich people making everyone else feel guilty about wanting to live well while blaming the capitalists for it all" ideas that seems to be very popular among people with more education than sense. The harsh reality is that capitalism isn't to blame; human nature is to blame--and the production of material goods really isn't a problem. It usually takes a government somewhere pushing down on the scales with a heavy thumb to turn production of genuine needs and wants into an environmental problem. I suppose that I should be glad that Pixar didn't engage in a heavy-handed global warming subplot.

Another part of the story involves soft drinks, cell phones, and laziness, and while played for laughs, looks like a script writer somewhere may be suffering from the health consciousness equivalent of reformed smoker syndrome.

There are a lot of sequences that are clearly intended as humorous jabs at other movies, especially Star Wars--and some of these actually work quite well. The graphics are quite good--especially the outer space sequence involving the Pillars of Creation. And make sure you stick around for the closing credits--you'll see the re-creation of human civilization, expressed in a cartoon form of art history. (Of course, if you aren't familiar with Egyptian tomb art, Greek vase art, pointillism and impressionism, a lot of it may be lost on you.)