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Review by David DiMichele

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The bewilderment and wonder that characterized stories involving toys, fish, cars and rats isn’t as powerfully conceived in this story about robots. But that isn't to say that Wall*E falls flat on its face, either. There is truth to be told in a post-apocalyptic animated film that equates to a kid's version of An Inconvenient Truth. Yet, even as the egos begin to swell at the Pixar studios, they should realize that conquering space is much more arduous than conquering a boy’s bedroom, a French restaurant, a run-down Route 66 and the Atlantic Ocean.

There is something magnificent lurking in the first half of Wall*E, the half that winces away from the use of dialogue for the first 40 minutes and yet magically pulls it off. The camera comprehends that magnificence as well as it journeys down from space to the tune of “Put on your Sunday clothes,” only to find itself descending through the clouds to a desolate Earth where the human race is no longer present. We glimpse massive skyscrapers that aren’t made of metal and stone but of neatly packed squares of rubbish. They have been placed atop of each other courtesy of the last trash clean-up robot on Earth named Wall*E. He continues his normal routine every day not knowing he’s all alone save for his best friend - a cockroach.

This life is suddenly interrupted by a colossal spaceship that lands right where he is working. On board is a sleek white robot (which looks like an iPod) that has been sent from the deep space ship Axiom. The robot goes by the name EVE and she’s been sent to find out if there's any form of life on Earth - and what she finds is Wall*E who constantly follows her around like a shy boy in love. It’s this odd and unemotional relationship between two robots that director Andrew Stanton (Finding Nemo) not only hopes to cash in on, but on which he bases the entire adventure. The outcome is a two-sided film that works best when our robots are stationed on Earth rather up in space.

Their first meeting is sweet. When Wall*E and EVE exchange names with each other he stutters at first. This just shows us how long the poor thing has gone without any conversation. Without knowing it, he gives her what she came to look for - life in the form of a little plant in a beat-up boot. Before he knows it she shuts up shop and returns to Axiom’s lazy captain to prove that it’s safe to go back to planet Earth.

Axiom is a ship where all the remaining humans now reside in the 28th century because of the Earth is in a shambles. No one now living has yet visited it. All of them are obese and their motto is “why walk” as they glide around in their hovering chairs, with whatever they desire at arm's length. Wall*E clings to EVE’s ship just before it departs and is flabbergasted when he sees the people and their style of living on the Axiom. The only bright scenes here is Pixar’s ability to pay strict attention to all the tiny details.

Wall*E might very well be the most loveable and cutest thing since E.T. Throughout the film, Pixar clearly feels the same way. A grateful little thing who finds utter fascination in the simplest of things: a bra, a lighter and a Rubic's cube. He finds this stuff amongst the heaps of rubbish just before he stashes a pile of it inside of himself and squashes it down to a compact square. He places those pieces that he likes the most in his living space shows and we see just how little it takes to please him. His space is inside a box where Christmas lights are strung, a talking rubber fish adorns the wall and the musical “Hello Dolly!” continuously plays for his pleasure.

Astonishing in every sense is the way how Pixar created Wall*E. I’m not talking about how he looks - Pixar always succeeds at that - but it’s his movements that leave me awestruck. The subtlest tilt of his robotic hand or the delicate nod of his binocular-like head - all of this is shown in the early stages of the movie where something magnificent is lurking - and this is it. Much of these movements seems to have been lifted from magnificent silent film stars such as Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin. Notice too how Wall*E never really plans anything he does; it's as if he achieves his goals by accident and again, this is reminiscent of the early silent movies.

Wall*E in its first half is a great silent film, with the occasional grunts that focus on a robot’s beguilement. He is as innocent a character as you’ll ever come across. When he goes to bed at night, he goes into his shell as a turtle would and rocks himself back and forth like a baby needing to be cradled. These will be the scenes that will stay with you and the children as you walk away from the movie - scenes to be cherished and that make you think that if Pixar had stayed with this concept - a robot’s fascination with the world around him - they would’ve created a rare gem indeed.

Sadly though, given the previous experiences that Pixar has delighted us with, it’s going to be tough for their new film to stand it's own ground. Prior to Wall*E being thrown out into space to deal with issues that become tiresome and repetitive, the movie is a masterpiece. None of the emotional punch or kick in the gut that is inevitable with Pixar films is to be found here and that is a rarity. Instead the punch comes by way of its haunting score, luminous effects, color palette and the loveable Wall*E.

Film Rating: ***1/2 out of ****

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