Movie Review - Disney-Pixar's WALL.E

This afternoon my hubby, mother-in-law and I braved the wilds of a Saturday matinee to introduce our three year old to the big screen. We were also in the company of our five year old who was very excited to be seeing the newest Disney-PIXAR release WALL.E . She was not disappointed.

WALL.E is the story of a lonely robot, the last of his kind, left to toil on an abandoned, garbage-strewn earth. One day our leading man, er machine, encounters a feminine robot probe who has been sent to Earth in search of any signs of regenerating life. WALL.E, from hundreds of years of function and innumerable viewings of the classic film Hello Dolly has developed not only personality, but feelings and quickly falls in love with the beguiling EVE (Extraterrestrial Vegetation Evaluator). When EVE is retrieved to her mother ship a distraught WALL.E pursues. Through his quest to follow his love WALL.E becomes an unlikely hero who unwittlingly saves not only the environmentally ravaged planet Earth, but the essence of the human race.

In keeping with true PIXAR style, the animation and creativity of this film is incredible. It is not only a feast for the eyes, but the imagination. Much of the movie is void of dialogue, as the robots interact, but the viewer always hears the message.

This film also carries a strong commentary on our planet's environmental crisis and the devestating effect humans have and could bring to the Earth. It is also a sobering glimpse at what human kind may become as hundreds of years of subgravity and sedintary existence has rendered us into blubbery baby-like beings virtually incapable of independent movement or thought. This message maybe lost on the younger viewers in the audience, but it definitely wasn't with the grown-ups. It was a sobering image.

While our youngest was only able to make it through about two-thirds of the film, it was no reflection on the movie (only an overly-stimulated three year old attention span). Our five year old loved the film, as did I (unfortunately my hubby missed the ending as he was entertaining aforementioned three year old in the parking lot). We are already looking forward to family movie night when WALL.E is released on DVD. A must see!