Confession time—I’m not a big fan of animated movies. The last one I watched was Pixar’s The Incredibles (2004) and that was pretty good. Now comes WALL-E, and if The Dark Knight was my #1 choice for 2008, this movie comes a very, very close second. Here’s a brief synopsis, courtesy of NYC.com (look at their 5-star ratings for this movie!):
After hundreds of lonely years of doing what he was built for, WALL-E (short for Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class) discovers a new purpose in life (besides collecting knick-knacks) when he meets a sleek search robot named EVE (Extra-terrestrial Vegetation Evaluator). EVE comes to realize that WALL-E has inadvertently stumbled upon the key to the planet’s future, and races back to space to report her findings to the humans (who have been eagerly awaiting word that it is safe to return home). Meanwhile, WALL-E chases EVE across the galaxy and sets into motion one of the most exciting and imaginative comedy adventures ever brought to the big screen. Joining WALL-E on his fantastic journey across a universe of never-before-imagined visions of the future, is a hilarious cast of characters including a pet cockroach, and a heroic team of malfunctioning misfit robots.
What I enjoy about WALL-E is its overall simplicity. He’s all alone in this big city overflowing with garbage, and here he is, chugging along, collecting rubbish, compacting it, and then stacking the compacted cubes neatly together. WALL-E’s smart too—he collects any knick-knacks he likes, and stashes them in his own hangout (apparently, he’s the last robot left on Earth after the humans leave). However, after 700 years, he’s developed one little glitch—a personality. He’s extremely curious, highly inquisitive, and a little lonely. Which is where EVE comes into the picture and sets off a love reaction in our hero. This alone makes the movie extremely watchable.
With Rotten Tomatoes giving this movie a whopping 96% approval, I knew I couldn’t go wrong in buying the DVD. And boy, this is a joyous movie to watch! Everything about this movie gels together: the storyline, the characters (there’s hardly any speaking in the first 30 minutes), the music, the visuals, etc. Director Andrew Stanton keeps everything moving at a well-controlled pace, which builds up as the movie nears its end. At 97 minutes, WALL-E isn’t overlong, and by the time it ends, I’m having tempting thoughts about watching it all over again—it’s that good. I heartily recommend this movie, it’s brilliant!
