Wall-E
Cast: Fred Willard, Jeff Garlin, Ben Burtt, Sigourney Weaver, John Ratzenberger
Dir: Andrew Stanton
Rating: 4/5
Pixar have truly become the leaders of the pack when it comes to animation setting new boundaries with every film and in 2008 they introduced a new hero, Wall-E.
After hundreds of lonely years of doing what he was built for, Wall-E (short for Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class) discovers a new purpose in life (besides collecting knick-knacks) when he meets a sleek search robot named Eve
Eve comes to realize that Wall-E has inadvertently stumbled upon the key to the planet’s future, and races back to space to report her findings to the humans, who have been eagerly awaiting word that it is safe to return home.
Meanwhile, Wall-E chases Eve across the galaxy in a bid to keep hold of his new found friend.
Not a year since the release of Ratatouille and Pixar have returned with the much anticipated movie Wall-E, and it’s safe to say that animation has come a long way since the first feature length film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
Wall-E is visually stunning and really does show the audience the potential that animation still has as Wall-E is, with no disrespect to the movies that have gone before it, the most ambitious picture for them since Toy Story.
The fact that Wall-E is predominately a non speaking character could have caused some problems but the story moves with such pace and his actions and desires are so clear, all he wants is to hold Eve’s hand, that words really aren’t necessary.
Where Ratatouille was a real led down was it lacked the heart of say Finding Nemo, despite being visually superb, it was more concerned with looking good. Wall-E however fails to fall into this trap as it is packed with emotion from the main character who just wants companionship. You really would have to have a heart of metal not to melt.
As well as being a fun Pixar picture there is a loud and clear message within the film, if you care to look the beyond beautiful animation and cute lead character, as Stanton and his team deliver a damning verdict on consumerism as well as highlighting issues of protecting the planet and obesity, subjects very prominent in the news as of late. In all Wall-E is an absolute gem of a movie that will appeal to all ages: kids will fall in love with the little robot and adults will appreciate the skill that has gone into the film as it taps into everyone’s desires to find that one person to share life’s experiences. A must have DVD this Christmas!
Wall-E is out on DVD now
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw