WALL-E (2008)

Release Date: 27 June, 2008


What's It About: Humankind has left Earth after it has been filled with garbage. They leave behind automated trash compactors called WALL-Es to clean it up, but all have stopped working except for one. The remaining WALL-E unit, who has gained sentience over time, continues his directives ad nauseum until a mysterious small craft lands on the Earth's surface.


The Good: The film has superb animation and lighting, which made use of the developments Pixar had made on all their prior films. The film's greatest strengths lie in its story, which explore themes of consumerism and its effect on humans, as well as the human impact on the world. The film depicts people as sedentary, obese and fetus-like, where all luxuries are available at the press of a button on a recliner chair. They have since lost the ability to perform various motor functions and other 'dated' skills such as reading text print. WALL-E depicts this dystopia in a frighteningly contemporary way, and offers a glimpse into one possibility for humanity should technology and consumerism reach a certain point.


The Bad: The first half of the film has no dialogue, which could be boring. The film is somewhat unconventional, whereby its primary characters do not communicate in words, but rather in synthesized sounds or the repetition of their names. Despite being created by a studio that primarily does children's films or depicts children in coming-of-age stories, the themes are unexpectedly adult, and whilst I believe this is one of the film's greatest strengths, it also throws the childlike characters of WALL-E and EVE into this narrative and isolates the innocence of their personal story from it.


Best Performance: The titular WALL-E robot. Although designed without a speaking voice and only vague humanoid shape, WALL-E is able to depict a wide array of relatable human emotions, particular through the design of his eyes and the tones of his voice. Lonely and living in an existential vacuum, he fills his time performing his job - building entire skyscrapers of cubed garbage, and in the process manages to build onto his personal net worth by picking up trinkets and objects that interest him along the way. He gradually builds up an individual personality of his own through these scenes that we can come to relate to.


Should I Watch It: WALL-E is my favorite of the Pixar filmography because of its minimalistic approach in the first act of the film. Very large ideas are expressed with minimal exposition and speaking, and WALL-E's Earth is built through image. The romance between WALL-E and EVE is also a strong point, because in contrast to the superficial relationships people are depicted as developing on board the Axiom, the robots are capable of building and nurturing a natural, organic relationship which slowly prospers over the course of the film. It shows that the humans have become more robotic, whilst the robots became more human. This is also shown in the other robotic characters, such as AUTO, who mutinies against the Axiom in pursuit of its directives.


Post-Credits Scene: First half of the credits show some epilogue stills


Similar Films: Oblivion (2013), A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001), I Am Legend (2007)


Trailer: