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| Wall-E--Pixar animated movie review
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It is the old story of small garbage-compacting robot with the will to live beyond his predecesors finding love, losing love and finding love again in Pixar's "Wall-E", the company's latest feature(and success) which takes us to yet another world of thought. A world full of wonders only such a creative team could compose. It is a blast from the past and an eye on the future(if we let it get out of hand). A lesson about waste and convenience we should all take into consideration.
Before the movie, we get another great short from the creative team about a magician and the old trick of pulling a rabbit from his hat. We learn the secret and see how even a rabbit has to be given proper care to cooperate. When the magician neglects the simple request of his "partner", we are treated to a stream of visual gags reminiscent of an old Bugs Bunny cartoon. It gets a little hectic toward the end, making me wonder how in the world they composed such action. All in all, a piece of work that is about as enjoyable as the movie in a fraction of the time. [Onto the story.]
We begin on earth a few hundred years into the future. The landscape is dusty and brown. Garbage is stacked as high as skyscrapers in the cities. There is no sign of life anywhere. Except for Wall-E and his sidekick, a little invincible cockroach. They go about their days gathering little piles of trash and compacting it into bricks to be added to the pile-buildings. Display screens give us back-story on how the world became this way and where the people all went. Everything was and has been overrun by a corporation known as BuyNLarge(a play on the Sam's Club system of buying in bulk which reflects the gross consumerism which is carried on into the future lives of humanity as we later see) which has provided humanity a means of escaping their wasteful ways until Earth is once again made liveable(by the Wall-E robots). After a trip down memory lane--as Wall-E collects a few new souvenirs for his retro collection--Earth is payed a visit by a spaceship toting a small, sleek white robot which quickly begins scanning the planet surface for life signs. Wall-E is quickly smitten at first contact(which seems sensible considering he is the only "living" thing on the planet at the moment) and makes a very hesitant effort to introduce himself. After the awkward beginning, he shows her(Eve) something which sets off her sensors and puts her into "auto pilot" which denies him from being able to talk to her any further. Having lost his new friend so quickly, he decides to make the best of it and takes her--without consent--on a few dates before a ship arrives to collect her. The story races into space where we learn the present condition of humanity(in all its convenient "splendor"). We are introduced to a wide array of interesting characters(robots) and a handful of humans who have enjoyed the vast luxury of the ship's facilities. Two, along with the captain of the ship, have an eye-openning experience as Wall-E pursues his now captive love interest. Soon, it is man versus machine as the captain attempts to return humanity to Earth. Chaos ensues. Meanwhile, Eve begins to understand and have feelings for Wall-E. She goes out of her way to rescue him repeatedly. After a blast from the past courtesy of a sci-fi classic, we finally find the way back to Earth. However, it may have cost the life of Wall-E, to everyone's(who have come to know the little robot) dismay. Eve makes a hasty effort to save him once more. [I won't spoil the somewhat tear-jerking ending. But, I personally found myself more affected by emotion watching this late at night.]
The only weak points this film might have had are the heightenned intelligence of these robots(which seem to have limited functions when it comes to...functioning) and the complexity of the ships to perform the seemingly simple tasks of sending out and collecting drones which was almost annoying to watch. [As well as the chaos that ensues from those gone mad aboard the space station(which was a little hectic for me at parts).] It may be a Pixar trait to exaggerate the brains of(pardon the obvious) robotic characters, but it is more "noticeable" here when the characters are less "animated"(than they are in "Toy Story"). It clicks when you see them upholding "directives" yet rebelling and acting almost human.
Aside from that, both the time on wasted Earth and in space are very delightful experiences which I wanted to sit back and enjoy for another hour(or more). [They could have had some flash forward to the "future" to see what becomes of the characters we meet as they "get back to civilization".] I also had a strange desire to have some amazing beverage in a large plastic cup with a fun straw. It seems a bit mean to laugh at obesity(especially when there are people who look just like the characters sitting behind you). But, that is partly the butt of the jokes in the movie. It also is used as a motivation to turn people from a life of leisure and ignorance. [One that worked rather well on my sister who said she wanted to hike ten miles as we left the theater after seeing the woman behind us.] I hope this movie teaches people a valuable lesson to cut back on impulse shopping and over-spending/wasting.
I tip my hubcap hat to Pixar and give "Wall-E"(Rated G and approximately one and a half hours long) four and a quarter stars out of five(about three and a half out of four). Fun for all ages which I(again) wanted to run for another hour(or more). [Minus some of the mad robot hijinks, perhaps.]
--brainstormer, free-lance movie critic and participant in the Thoughts.com blogging experience.
[Johnny five is alive.]
disney.go.com/disneypictures/wall-e/
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WALL-E |
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Posted by brainstormer on 2008-07-03 01:52:53 | Rating: | Views: 64
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| Blog Comments
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Nice review, good information. But it's a little long. Also truth be told I could have just watched the Critics corner on tv to get the storyline. Otherwise it was a very good review!! Keep them coming, I love to here opinions on movies!
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Posted by Hobbitlover
on 2008-07-03 14:21:12
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