Waste Allocation Load Lifter - Earth-Class, aka “WALL-E,” the little bot who, on the cute-ometer, clocks in just above “floppy-eared puppy,” is programmed to clean up the wasteland left by the Wal-Mart-ish company Buy-n-Large, run by a George Bush-ish CEO, while humanity marches on, albeit lazily, through its 700th year in outer space. Instead of simply cubing the mess, however, WALL-E sifts through it in search of remnants of humanity to add to his magnificent collection.
The home of WALL-E and his pet roach (who, along with his Twinkie-is food, survived this apocalypse) is reminiscent of Little Mermaid. I could almost hear “… Lookin’ around here you’d think, ‘She’s got everything!’” But WALL-E doesn’t have everything. While he endearingly dances to a salvaged Hello, Dolly!, we realize WALL-E’s lacking love.
After meeting a sleek girl-bot, WALL-E becomes enamored. During an adventure into space that further solidifies Pixar’s reputation as adroit animators and storytellers, we see humorous visual and musical references to Titanic, 2001 and Beauty and the Beast.
Even the credits deliver: cave paintings, Grecian urns, Roman mosaics, pointillism, impressionism, expressionism, and finally 80s graphics.
WALL-E is smart without being precocious, provocative yet uncontroversial, and political without Michael Moore-ing itself out of its cuteness. It’s devoid of words for almost 15 minutes, but speaks volumes. Speaking to children and adults, playing on memorable scenes from several films, and relaying the need to “go green,” WALL-E is an instant classic and should be a summer hit.
Opens June 27
The home of WALL-E and his pet roach (who, along with his Twinkie-is food, survived this apocalypse) is reminiscent of Little Mermaid. I could almost hear “… Lookin’ around here you’d think, ‘She’s got everything!’” But WALL-E doesn’t have everything. While he endearingly dances to a salvaged Hello, Dolly!, we realize WALL-E’s lacking love.
After meeting a sleek girl-bot, WALL-E becomes enamored. During an adventure into space that further solidifies Pixar’s reputation as adroit animators and storytellers, we see humorous visual and musical references to Titanic, 2001 and Beauty and the Beast.
Even the credits deliver: cave paintings, Grecian urns, Roman mosaics, pointillism, impressionism, expressionism, and finally 80s graphics.
WALL-E is smart without being precocious, provocative yet uncontroversial, and political without Michael Moore-ing itself out of its cuteness. It’s devoid of words for almost 15 minutes, but speaks volumes. Speaking to children and adults, playing on memorable scenes from several films, and relaying the need to “go green,” WALL-E is an instant classic and should be a summer hit.
Opens June 27
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