WALL.E

Welcome to the wonderful world of WALL.E – the next Disney / Pixar collaboration that is set to follow in the footsteps of Toy Story, Finding Nemo and Ratatouille. This film has everything that we have come to expect from these genius animators, who incidentally, have netted staggering worldwide box office takings in excess of $4.3 billion* from their films.

Disney tales have often dealt with the dark side of human life – parental death, evil stepfamilies, the dangers of the sea. But WALL.E brings these issues bang up to date by looking at those facing the 21st century. The obesity situation; the growing isolation of individuals in society; the increasing power of brands over governments; the problems of consumerism and the effects on the planet of our throw-away mentality. All of these issues are rolled into a heart-melting love story of two robots.

WALL.E is the last robot left on earth. He’s been alone for 700 years bar his little cockroach friend Hal, and whilst tidying up all of the rubbish left behind when mankind flew off into space, he has developed human qualities. Watching and re-watching the musical ‘Hello Dolly’ and collecting nicknacks, WALL.E longs for company. When EVE is sent to earth from the spaceship (Axiom), where humans now live, to find out if Earth is habitable, WALL.E falls head over heels in love. After spending time with EVE, he can’t let her return without him, so manages to clamber onto her shuttle and steal himself into the Axiom.

Inspired by 1970s sci-fi movies, WALL.E is a grim vision of what the world might look like if the piles of waste we dispose of everyday eventually overspill from our landfills to our cities. Director Andrew Stanton achieves an incredibly stark look to his film that gives us food for thought. Rubbish heaps tower so high that they literally mimic skyscrapers, and the world is dull, murky and exposed to regular dust storms.

The fact that WALL.E doesn’t talk adds to the sense of emptiness and loneliness on earth, but also makes the film more effective. Rather than using a celebrity voiceover, Oscar®-winning sound designer Ben Burtt creates a series of sounds which, coupled with WALL.E’s actions, make him easy to understand, touchingly human-like and really endearing. As he goes about his business, dutifully clearing away rubbish, passing all of the other robots that have long since ceased to work, WALL.E is clearly pining for company, making us empathise with his solitude.

One of the striking ironies of WALL.E is that Disney / Pixar have portrayed humans as mollycoddled, overweight creatures that never get any exercise and are kept entertained 24/7 in floating chairs. They spend all day eating, communicate by chatting into screens and float past each other blindly. It is a scathing but highly amusing comment on modern life and the marketers capable of creating the futuristic couch potato.

Despite venturing out into the unchartered territory of space, WALL.E, who by the way looks quite similar to ET, still has a great joy for life. Scenes showing him re-enacting romantic gestures and dances from his favourite musical, and getting entranced when EVE talks to him, all add humorous touches that give the film its extra sparkle and make WALL.E an animation well worth watching.

WALL.E is out now at UK cinemas.

[Reviewed and posted by KC]

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[yopert]

Wall-E - http://rapid4me.com/?q=wall+e - the latest Pixar's creation has already won popularity of fans of different age. And why actually not? It is romantic, topical, funny, and simply interesting...