WALL-E - A Film Review

Approximately seven hundred years in the future, earth is over-run by garbage and devoid of human life. The only robot left is a little cleaning bot called WALL-E. He spends his days compacting rubbish into blocks and building immense structures with them, occasionally collecting interesting artifacts which he shares with a cockroach - his only friend. At night he watches 'Hello Dolly', and dreams of dancing and having a hand to hold. His quiet existence is turned upside down by the arrival of another robot, EVE, who he is immediately smitten by. Their story, as they realise the presence of growing life on earth, and return to the human spaceship Axiom, provides the entertaining climax to the film.

I unashamedly love all the Pixar films - but some more than others. I've never really managed to get on board with Cars or Finding Nemo, and my favourite has ALWAYS been Monsters, Inc. Until now. In my opinion, WALL-E blows Monsters, Inc. out of the water. I've seen complaints that the robot interaction and the lack of humans makes WALL-E a little clinical. Some people dislike the 'silent movie' aspect of it. And others resent the slightly heavy-handed environmentalism message.

I guess all of those complaints could be considered valid. However, I say that WALL-E himself is one of the most adorable and human creations from the Pixar stable, while his burgeoning relationship with EVE is both cute and romantic. For me, the 'silent movie' was done in stunning fashion - the quirk of WALL-E's eyes conveying so many emotions; the beautiful soundtrack that never dominated the viewing; the tiny little details that might have been missed had there been dialogue shouting all across the film. The messages about exercising, about avoiding complete computer immersion, about treating our planet with more respect - all are done sensitively and with real compassion.

I felt that WALL-E was a triumph, a masterpiece of subtlety that is both provocative and fun. And I'm a sucker for a love story - the tender relationship between WALL-E and EVE gave real heart to the movie; for clunks of metal they were surprisingly expressive! WALL-E is easily the best film I've watched this year - and will survive many rewatches. Excellent.