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WALL-E: Another Must-See Pixar Hit
By Julie | August 4, 2008
I have loved most of the Pixar movies. Yesterday Marc and I took the kids to see WALL-E. It was a special day for us; this was the first movie our two year old ever saw in a theatre. We were a little nervous to take him, wondering if he was too young. But, we got some snacks, made a mid-movie stop at the concession stand to let him walk around, and he was content for nearly the rest of the show. Except for 10 or 15 minutes when the candy ran out and he thought he needed to go back and get more. No way, overdosing a two year old on sugar is never good.
Because of our son we had a few interruptions and neither Marc, nor I, saw the entire show. But we filled each other in. WALL-E is my favorite Pixar movie; that’s not a small feat either. It touched on one of my favorite topics: unconditional love, giving yourself to the service of another and getting absolutely nothing back. Or so it seemed.
WALL-E was a robot, left on Earth to clean it up. You see, humans had left it a littered mess with garbage to the point life was left unsustainable. So, humans boarded a ship for an extremely lazy vacation. During this time WALL-E was to get to work cleaning up the earth, while humans proceeded to get lazier and fatter. Then, when life was sustainable again, humankind was going to come back, start planting seeds and re-colonize the planet. But something went wrong. And WALL-E was left here, for 700 years, working, alone and lonely-very lonely.
After 700 years another robot came to earth. WALL-E was in love, even after she shot him. The movie makes some strong statements about human capacity for overindulgence (which leads to the destruction of our planet), severe laziness, and the consequences our bodies take because of it. I know some people are getting sick of listening to those arguments, but I thought the movie handled them well. Instead of lecturing, and shaking a finger as if to say, “If you don’t change your ways look where we’re headed!” It simply throws you into the situation as if it’s already happening, then it entertains you with it.
But the most touching aspects of WALL-E were his heart and his incredible yearning to not be alone, even though he was. It reminds me of Genesis 2:18: “It is not good for man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” So, in biblical style, Pixar brought WALL-E a “helper”. And WALL-E loved her. For a time in the movie she shut down, and was unable to respond to anything, the equivalent of a human coma. But WALL-E still cared for her, holding an umbrella up in the rain, taking her out around “town” to see the sites, and trying to hold her hand. I felt bad for him, wishing he had more then unrequited love. But in no time, the two of them were in her land. And soon, she tries to save him too.
I love a good love story, and a chance to laugh my way through it. I hope you get the chance to see it.
Topics: Life and Living, Reviews |
