WALL-E
Rated G
reviewed by Christopher Lyon
Is it weird that a G-rated animated film about a cute robot who will look right at home on the side of a Happy Meal box is also one of the most deeply insightful and beautiful films of the year? Is it possible Pixar has created a "kids movie" with the artistic integrity of a great foreign language art house film? Will we all be buried in the avalanche of praise for "WALL-E"?
Maybe.
The Story
Eight hundred years in the future, a small trash-compacting robot seemingly left behind alone on a post-apocolyptic Earth continues to obey his directive to gather, crush, and stack garbage. And there are endless piles of garbage, left behind by humanity after driving the planet to toxicity and fleeing to space aboard great robot-powered luxury cruise ships.
But WALL-E, the product name stamped on his case, is more than just mindless metal. He collects bits and pieces of garbage that interest him and takes them back as treasures to his home, a broken down transport vehicle. There he watches an ancient VHS video of the musical "Hello Dolly" over and over and longs for someone to hold hands with.
Enter EVE. Deposited without warning by a huge space ship that lands near WALL-E's home, EVE is an egg-shaped wonder of more modern robot design. She flies gracefully, scans objects endlessly, and fires her blaster ferociously at the first sign of trouble. WALL-E falls for her instantly, though she initially ignores him. Just as they begin to bond, EVE completes her mission to find plant life and shuts off. Broken hearted, WALL-E takes care of her until the mother ship returns to pick her up. WALL-E hitches a desperate ride that takes him deep into space and into contact with humans for the first time in his "life."
With only one motive - to be with EVE - WALL-E aids her in helping the humans begin to wake up from centuries of robot-enabled lethargy and indulgence. For 700 years, people on the giant space cruise ship Axiom have been free from the burdens of walking, preparing their own food, or doing anything more taxing than talking to each other on video screens. But with the discovery of plant life on Earth, the ship's captain (voiced by Jeff Garlin) begins to warm to the idea of taking his people home and living on Earth once more. Some of the robots aren't so sure that's a good idea.
The Verdict
Inspired by his love of 70s sci-fi movies, writer/director Andrew Stanton does more than just borrow elements from "Star Wars," "2001," "Blade Runner," and "Alien," he often captures the emotional essence of those stories - the sense of wonder at technology and the universe, the loneliness and isolation of a desolate future, the fear of losing control to intelligent machines, and the post-apocolyptic sense of loss and regret for not appreciating what we once had.
That makes it all sound so dark. And for the first 20 minutes or so, while we follow lonely WALL-E around on his empty Earth, it is a richly dark story about a funny-but-heartbroken character. But the genius of this G-rated kids film is that it anchors WALL-E's innocent, romantic, unswerving belief in true love right in the middle of all that despair - and then rewards it in a big way.
Of course, it's a Pixar movie, and it looks and sounds fantastic. Everyone should see it on the biggest, clearest screen possible with a great sound system. The detail of the animation in the early scenes on Earth is astounding and contrasts beautifully with the gleaming, high-tech, digital beauty of the ship.
The chubby human characters we meet half-way into the story are the first thing in the film to feel a little "cartoony" and out of place. And the plot eventually slides from the pure wonder of "what's going to happen?" storytelling into a more traditional romantic adventure tale. But those small weakness don't steal the joy from the film or from watching the amazing WALL-E whirl and whine and emote throughout it.
Worldview
Some conservatives may oversimplify "WALL-E's" worldview messages and cringe at a story that teaches kids we're going to bring the apocalypse by massively consuming corporately branded products and generating too much plastic trash. Without a doubt, that is part of WALL-E's message, but it's not the largest part.
This film's loudest question is, "What does it mean to be human?" If we could build machines to do anything for us -- literally anything -- what would it be worthwhile to have them do? More specifically, what would be worthwhile for us to do with our lives given the opportunity to have machines do everything else?
The humans with that opportunity in "WALL-E's" world do nothing but endlessly entertain themselves, eat, and participate in virtual social networks. I know several students who are spending their summer in exactly the same way. (The rest of us often wish we were.) The result in the film and in real life, though, is that humans who live that way become fat, clueless, and emotionally immature. For those who live to serve themselves, that's exactly what it means to be human.
The little robot's answer to the question about what it means to be human is to love someone with everything you've got. WALL-E has one motive: care for and be with EVE. He doesn't set out to have a great adventure or to rescue humanity or to do something meaningful with his life. He sets out to love EVE. Everything else follows from that.
Jesus' answer to the question is this: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." (Matthew 22:37) That's what God intended it to mean to be human, along with "Love your neighbor as yourself." (v. 39) For us, God says, only one being in the universe is worthy of such single-minded devotion: Him.
You don't have to set out to live a meaningful life or to find your great adventure. Loving God with everything we've got (and loving others because we love Him) will lead to the most meaningful, risky, adventurous, daring, challenging, satisfying life anyone could hope for. At least, that's what the robot told me.
Questions:
- What's the best Pixar movie of the nine so far? What are your top three?
- What was your favorite scene in "WALL-E"? Did you like the movie better before or after WALL-E left Earth?
- Have you seen many 70s sci-fi films? Like any of them? Why or why not?
- Do you believe that massively consuming corporately branded products and generating too much plastic trash will eventually lead to an environmental apocalypse? Why or why not? Is there truly anything we can do about it? Do you think that was the movie's central message?
- If you didn't need money and you could have robots do anything for you, what would you still want to do for yourself? What would you do with all your free time? Why?
- How would you answer the question, "What does it mean to be human?"
- Do you think a life spent loving God with your whole being will lead to an exciting and meaningful life (even if it turns out to be hard) -- or a boring, colorless existence (even if it turns out to be comfortable)?