THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
We always knew how small things can make a big difference, and Pixar taught us that in 2008 in such creative fashion.
PLOT
WALL•E is short for the term "Waste Allocation Load Lifter: Earth Class", and is the name of robotic trash compactors. In this movie, these machines were made in a dystopia where humans have left Earth in giant star liners made by the corporation 'BnL' (Buy-N-Large). They left because of how they turned their planet into a wasteland due to environmental neglect and rampart consumerism. Centuries later, only one WALL•E remains operational. One day when it has a routine of compressing trash and collecting interesting objects, an 'EVE' (Extraterrestrial Vegetation Evaluator) arrives to investigate the planet for plant life. WALL•E bonds with it when both of them meet, but it goes into a standby when discovering a plant WALL•E found. EVE is then returned to its mothership the 'Axiom' when its probe returns. WALL•E boards with it, leaving Earth for the first time. When boarding the mothership, it is discovered that the humans have degenerated into lazy, overweight passengers and every whim is catered to by machines. When the ship's captain McCrea (Jeff Garlin) and robotic lieutenant AUTO discover the positive probe from EVE, they believe its a malfunction when noticing see doesn't carry the plant. When taken to Diagnostics, WALL•E mistakes it to be torture and attempts to 'free' her, while also freeing other malfunctioned robots, becoming labeled as rogue in the process. When EVE tries to send WALL•E home, they discover AUTO's first mate GO4 attempt to destroy the plant by self destructing a pod, but they are able to stop that from happening without GO4 noticing. EVE shows the plant to the captain, who is convinced to return to Earth after seeing its recordings of the exploration of the planet. AUTO is against due to protocol A113 ordered by the United States President at the time (Fred Willard), where it was believed that centuries prior that the planet could not be saved and that they must stay the course instead of fixing the problem. McCrea countermands the directive, leading to AUTO mutinying. It then sends EVE and WALL•E to the garbage chute, and takes the plant. When both machines recover, they are saved by M-O (Microbe Obliterator) from being ejected into space. McCrea fights AUTO for control while the trio of robots attempt send the plant to the Holo-Detector. They are also aided by the humans and defected robots to succeed. After AUTO crushes the detector on WALL•E, McCrea is able to stand up and deactivate his lieutenant. EVE inserts the plant in the detector and activates a hyper jump that'll take the ship back to Earth. When returning, EVE attempts to repair the damaged WALL•E but its memory and personality is lost. Heartbroken, it gives a farewell kiss which sparks its memory and restores its personality. It ends with the humans plan to learn farming while the credits show a sequence of the planet returning to become a paradise, as the plant becomes a tree.
THOUGHTS
I got the chance to rent this film when I was a child back in 2008 and my opinion remains the same when I say this film is amazing. I think that what makes this one stand out from the catalog of Pixar is that it gave us a massive message in an animated film. It calls out how the world around us can be reliant on technology, neglect the environment and become obsessed with consumerism. It's supposed to look funny for kids when seeing all the humans in the Axiom. But in an adult perspective, it's not funny because this dystopia can be a reality if nothing changes and we continue to act like them. We love our titular character not because of how adorable it looks for a machine but mainly we become invested in his perspective. His curiosity keeps us interested. The entire opening where we see it go about its routine is so exhilarating, due to the incredible animation and cinematography. We like that this machine can be as curious as us. WALL•E truly becomes a hero unlike any other and that is because of its curiosity when finding the plant, the human race was saved. Also, it succeeds in getting viewers interested in 1969's Hello Dolly! due to the catchy music. EVE is easily looked at as a badass but WALL•E likes EVE because of its actual beauty. These two become one because they actually enjoy each other's presence as the story progresses. So the ending on how EVE almost loses WALL•E can be heartbreaking in one point of view and tears of joy will likely emerge when they both hold hands. Plus the voice acting from both Ben Burtt and Elissa Knight is great because they bring such incredible energy to it. M-O really made me laugh in its given time due to its programmed attitude towards dirt. So seeing how dirty WALL•E was, it was a hysterically a living nightmare. Jeff Garlin made Captain McCrea a great character because he is woken up and realizes what’s wrong with his own society. His line “I don’t want to survive, I want to live” is great because it reflects how living life is the best way to enjoy it. AUTO is mainly looked at as a villain due to being secretive and having a red lens similar to the character Hal from 1968’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. But because it is still a machine, I still think it is something following orders. It was programmed to ensure never returning home so it made sense for it to ignore the possibility of things changing. In any case, this character is more of an obstacle than a villain. Lastly, I love the irony on how Sigourney Weaver got to voice a ship’s computer because in 1979’s Alien, her character’s ship 'Mother' has a computer with a voice. This movie is great for being arguably the boldest of Pixar’s filmography but despite that, there are still stuff that don’t exactly make sense to me. It is surprisingly cute WALL•E how it has a cockroach for a pet but if it’s implying how those creatures are un-killable, where are the others of its kind? This is one of those examples where a movie can’t have it both ways. It is suspenseful how EVE gets stuck a working crane magnet, but how does that still work? Did the humans actually leave it on and WALL•E somehow avoided it out of luck? I mean that’s pretty crazy when you think about it. It is funny how it also gives M-O a hard time but why doesn’t M-O rat out WALL•E? I’m not saying that’s what I want to happen but it felt out of character for that not to happen considering that WALL•E is not from the ship. It was even more out of character that it didn’t even clean up the dirt track from behind before going forward. For something so irritated of dirt, that should’ve been dealt with before following the path. And lastly I know that it’s supposed to be surprising that humans were never supposed to return to Earth after the President gave up on it, but why hasn’t AUTO destroyed the green button in order to prevent the possibility? Yes it sends another robot to get rid of the plant, but it’s better to eliminate every possibility. However, I guarantee that you’ll still enjoy this film after ignoring these flaws. Overall, Andrew Stanton succeeds in making WALL•E more than another animated film as it explores important themes people should take notice. If you love animated movies, this one can’t be missed.
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