Wall-E

• Rajeev
• July 21, 2008
• movies
• reviews
• no comments
• ★★★★

A comedy survives on its characters. It should come as no surprise then to say that Wall-E excels as a comedy and thus its characters are nothing short of excellent. In fact, memorable characters are Pixar's forté. Memorable characters sell those small toys that come with your food and they also make good movies, as Pixar's best movies can attest to. The simile above is apt when one considers the main theme of Pixar's latest creation. Yet, it is not the underlying story or its adult environmental themes that are the highlight of Wall-E. Rather it is Pixar's feat in conveying emotions and intelligence in two small robots that travel across earth and the galaxy, speaking only in computer generated tones.

There are indeed a myriad of themes in Wall-E and underneath the shiny gleam of the Pixar brand they get progressively darker. Human's and their waste ran roughshod over Earth. She finally could no longer keep up with the pollution and was unable to support life. In true human fashion, human's choose to abandon their problem and take to the skies in what can only be called large cruise spaceships. Still attached to their home, they leave behind worker robots to clean up their mess, while they enjoy life in space. On this Earth one finds our protagonist, cleaning up the mess one block of garbage at a time. Wall-E is an acronym (Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class) and he and his pet cockroach (a commentary on all that can survive) are intent to get the job done no matter how many centuries have passed. In short order comes Eve, a significantly advanced research robot that is checking on Earth's viability to sustain life. The two meet and a courtship ensues which rivals the best romantic comedy the mind can conjure.

Easily apparent are the many themes that Andrew Stanton and company weave through the story, under the children's thoughts but aimed squarely for the adults. The environmental theme is the most obvious and at this stage is a little over-played in the cacophony of films that have followed in Al Gore's footsteps (as a member of Apple's board, one wonders how much influence he exerted here). At its base, Pixar states that human presence on earth is unsustainable, whether it is through our actions or state of mind. A The large conglomerates persist and Wal-Mart's subsidiary, Sam's Club, seems to have been co-opted into the BnL (Buy N Large) of the future. More telling is that the president of BnL, played by Fred Willard, is actually the president of Earth, as politics and consumerism finally merge as one. If the consumerism of politics was not a pessimistic enough theme, there is the unnerving fact that only one ship, the pinnacle of the BnL fleet, survived the many years out in space. This pinnacle housed only the richest patrons and the class dichotomy immediately becomes apparent. There is contention over whether other ships survived, but only this one ship still seems to be sending probes to Earth. Of course through the use of many sci-fi geek allusions one gets the recurring themes from 2001 to Brazil embedded in the film as well. However, this is still a kids film and a Disney film to boot and thus it is sweet and simple, a love story throughout.

The courtship between Wall-E and Eve is an archetype. Wall-E is a representation of old technology, not always clever and cool, but like that old vinyl, with the warm crackle and pops that make it utterly lovable. Eve on the other hand is cooler than the iPhone, hovering over the ground in one svelte form that opens and retracts with no seams. Eve is a career minded with girl with her objective first and foremost. Wall-E is a sentimental chap, easily mistaken for the late and great Chaplin, who takes the time out of work to admire his various findings as he tries to understand human culture. To aid in his understanding is a copy of Hello, Dolly! for the iPod, with a Gilliam-esque magnifier to garner the small details. Though the two characters may only speak in chirps, squeals and exclamations of each other's names, they still manage to convey a bevy of emotions that many human actors are unable to muster. Moreover, there is an eloquence to their timed "dialogue" that rivals an Aaron Sorkin screenplay in fast jabs. Much of the credit for this must of course go to Ben Burtt who helped pioneer this field with his noises for our robots' predecessor, R2-D2.

While the sound and emotive quality of Pixar's production has grown, it is not the only place in which Pixar technological leaps have been made in the mechanics of crafting a film. The Pixar camera now uses depth of field to easily separate objects and blur and bring into focus the subjects. This is particularly useful when Wall-E takes off into space, but small touches of this are visible even in his time on earth. Moreover, the camera has left its confines to now dolly and pan much like a real instrument. Lighting has substantially improved as well, whether it is the harsh earth light or the stars magically bouncing off of Wall-E's metal hull. In either case the improved lighting makes for a substantially better film that has grown leaps and bounds. The technical improvements are so vast that a difference like this has not been visible to the naked eye since the arrival of Monster's Inc. These changes may not be of note to the younger audience, but for film buffs the highly textured palette and small influences from Joss Whedon's Firefly are readily apparent.

As of yet a Pixar movie has not disappointed and Wall-E far surpasses that qualification, taking its place as the best Pixar film yet. The Pixar crew throws down a gauntlet regarding our environmental habits, but at the same time cognizant of its mouthpiece. The tub of popcorn and the "happy meal" toy are all part of the package with this message. Yet, Pixar is always mindful of its core, both of its movie and in its audience. The film at heart is tender and caring and if every romantic comedy were like this most males would have a poor reason to excuse themselves. When one walks out of the theater it is hard not to miss the repetitions of the phrases "Wall-E" and "Eve" by both the young and the old, replete with the intonation that our lovable protagonists have attached to those words.