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Mayberry Movie Review - "WALL-E"
Enjoy!
At a Glance
Wall-E is a masterfully crafted work of CGI, with breathtaking cinematography and an imaginative story design. As a result Wall -E turns out to be another lovable triumph for the men and women at the Pixar Animation studios, and secures its slot as the most sophisticated and intelligent of the bunch.
Synopsis
Wall-E is the last surviving model of a robot left on Earth to clean up the badly ravaged earth as a result of mass consumerism and a total disregard for the environment. With the Earth in terrible condition, the global corporate industry called "Buy 'N Large" concludes that it is best for human kind to inhabit large space vessels until the clean-up robots deem that Earth is safe to inhabit once again.
The projected time for clean up was 5 years. 700 years later, all robots cease to function, except one, Wall-E, whom along with his cockroach companion, exercises his daily routine to compact trash and clean up Earth.
However, Wall-E isn't your ordinary robot. While entertaining his duties, Wall-E takes home souvenirs from his days work, and mires a deep fascination for the human condition while watching videos reminiscent of an Eighties' family musical.
For 700 years Wall-E has been the sole robot left on Earth, until a scout vessel drops off an Extra-terrestrial vegetation examiner ( or EVE for short) and suddenly Wall-E has a new companion. While the two mingle, EVE's objective for being on Earth becomes more clear as Wall-E captivates (or stimiulates) EVE's directive by showing her his most prized souvenir, a little plant growing in a boot filled with soil.
As a result Wall-E is taken aboard the AXIOM, the flagship space vessel for human kind, only to find out, that nothing aboard this morbidly obese population is as it seems.
Wall-E takes the viewer from Earth, to Space, to a Spaceship, and back to Earth again, conveying a reality, that is not too dissimilar from our own.
The Review
Like all of Pixar's films, this is an absolutely "feel good" film. Since the main characters (or robots I should say) speak no discernible language, comedy and plot advancement is not dependent on dialog alone. This for me, is preferable. While dialog is useful in character development, humor, and story advancement, films of late have abused it, forcing the movie to crutch itself on every word every character says.
Wall-E is different, it doesn't TELL you what is going on, it SHOWS you what is going on. Not only does it create an environment that is virtually free of language barriers, but it goes to show, how masterfully the physical nuances of Wall-E and EVE's personalities have been created.
Don't expect humor in the form of a slyly spewed pun, because it doesn't come in that way. The personalities of characters such as Wall-E and EVE are so well developed, they truly do take on a life of their own. However, the way Wall-E, EVE and the rest of the cast interact with one another, the humor simply just comes. Don't feel discouraged by the lack of dialog, the film is made so well, that despite the lack of dialog, you'll never be confused as to what is going on.
Beyond Wall-E's cinematic merits, there is a fascinating story with a social criticism worth any intelligent viewer's attention. The breathtaking cinematography shows us an Earth and human civilization ravaged and crippled by mass corporate consumerism. Human dependency on automated luxuries and robots shows us a world where humans, have forgotten what is means to be human. This interesting look at corporatism, Globalization, human dependency on Artificial Intelligence, and Environmental awareness makes Wall-E Pixar's most sophisticated and intelligent film to date.
The great irony is that the dynamics of human interactions on the spaceship AXIOM are so limited and rigid that it is in fact the personalities of Wall-E and EVE that show us the most complex and unique sensibility of human emotion (despite the fact that they are robots) ; when you watch this film you can't help but smile.
The Bottom Line
See this film. You don't have to be a child to enjoy this film for what it is, in fact I'd say that the greater depth of this film has been reserved for the adults who would likely be forced to take their children to see this film. Well go ahead, take a son or a daughter, niece, nephew, or what have you, its well worth the watch.
The film makes you smile, again and again, and not in a silly and slapstick kind of way, but in a way that really examines real human emotion and interaction. This film makes you smile like a Hayato Miyazaki film does, like "Spirited Away" or "My Neighbor Totoro."
No need to put up your machismo facade, pull away your previous prejudice of this being a "kid's" film and just watch it. You'll genuinely see, there is more to this film than the unrevealing (thank goodness) trailer conveys.
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Positive MMA Fan.
Dae Han Min Guk!
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