Review of WALL·E (2008) by James K — 10 Aug 2013

Pixar Animation Studios has always found creative and imaginative ways to tell a story to movie audiences everywhere. From toys that have a life of their own, to a family of superheroes, Pixar has always done something great in terms of story. But what about a love story between a pair or robots? It sounds like a silly concept but that is the case with 2008's "WALL-E", a simple idea that became a huge hit. Unfortunately, the lesson that is bought up in the movie is pretty predictable, and to a lesser extent, somewhat preachy. "WALL-E" is a remarkable little film from Pixar, but it needs a better story.

Set hundreds of years in the not too distant future, the human race has heavily polluted the Earth to a point where life is uninhabitable. Enter WALL-E, a robot that can clean up trash, but he is amazed at what humans have left behind like lighters and and a Pong machine. One day, a female robot named EVE comes to Earth and WALL-E instantly falls in love with her. EVE is looking for a plant; WALL-E finds one, and together, the two go on an extraordinary journey where an even bigger plot unfolds.

"WALL-E" was a good attempt at Pixar trying to tell a great and interesting story. What this means is that while the first act of the movie is brilliant, the second and third acts lose on the main story of the two robots and instead focuses on these human characters that are only brought up at pivotal moment into the film's run time. Yet the interaction between WALL-E and EVE is a good relationship between characters. In fact the characters make the film work as they are memorable as well as having WALL-E and EVE having a good chemistry between the two. The visuals are amazing, as per Pixar standards, and the voice work and sound effects are incredible. The whole film has a nice vibe to it as it truly takes on the form of a sci-fi film; this is noticeable as there are numerous references to the film "2001: A Space Odyssey" scattered throughout the movie, down to the villain. "WALL-E" is an impressive feat that has one major problem.

Once WALL-E and EVE are on the spaceship, the movie goes from a message about two lovable robots, to a message about protecting our planet. This is a theme we have seen many times before in other films and it is getting redundant. The movie tries very hard to keep your main attention to our main characters, when all of a sudden, this theme of environmental safety comes into play. This is an error in an otherwise perfect movie.

In conclusion, "WALL-E" is good movie with great visuals and characters, but maybe Pixar needed to improve its story a bit then it would have been perfect.