WALL-E

I am going to start this post by saying what a huge fan of Pixar I am. With the exception of Cars- I'm just not that into NASCAR, I have always said that the Pixar movies are by far the best written and animated of the barrage of CG (computer generated) movies that have swamped theaters in the recent years. I would have to say that at the top of my list would be The Incredibles, which I completely loved, and Finding Nemo, which I thought was really funny and the water animation in that film is amazing. So needless to say I was really excited when the first teaser for Wall-E was released. Ever since I saw the cute little robot with a pet cockroach finding treasures in enormous garbage heaps I knew I was going to love it.

But I was't prepared for how much I was going to love it, even though the movie was a bit different than I was expecting it to be (it's almost like a comedy from the silent film era, reminiscent of Charlie Chaplin or Buster Keaton films). Yes, Wall-E does resemble a cross between ET and Johnny 5 from Short Circuit, but that doesn't take away from his charm. I don't really know how Pixar did it, but they made a robot emote, and he is an adorable, hopelessly romantic garbage compactor. And that's what surprised me most: at the heart of Wall-E is a love story between two robots that's smart and heartwarming. And the animation of this film is INCREDIBLE! It's almost as of you can reach out and touch Wall-E, and the scenes in space with the swirling galaxies are absolutely beautiful - Pixar's animators are at the top of their game.

The main storyline of the movie is that humans pretty much ruined Earth with garbage, so they invented the WALL-E to deal with it. Unfortunately it was too late to get the situation under control, so the humans took to space on a permanent vacation and would stay there until Earth showed signs of sustainable life, i.e. vegetation. And that's where Wall-E's heartthrob EVE comes in; after Wall-E has been alone for hundreds of years, she is the robot deployed to Earth find plant life. When Wall-E tries to woo Eve with a little plant he found near one of his garbage heaps, EVE is programmed go back to the ship to deliver the plant to the captain. And of course Wall-E follows his crush across the galaxy to help and protect her. The two encounter all sorts of adventures as they become hunted robots, befriend a group of rogue robots, fall in love and save humankind's future.

The movie is full of wit, humor and romance. And there are some really great subltle pop culture moments: Wall-E has an IPOD, he plays with a Rubik's Cube, he feeds his cockroach Twinkies, which apparently can last 700 years, and there are some hilarious references to 2001: A Space Odyssey. Pixar's future vision for humankind is also really funny: all humans do in the future is ride around in little floating chairs, watch TV while talking on the phone, and drink their meals in smoothies. Humans have become obese and lazy...hm sounds kind of familiar - I think Pixar might be trying to tell us something.

Wall-E isn't just a movie for kids, it for people of all ages. It's one of the best movies I have seen in a while, and I would definitely urge people to go out and see it. It's so smart and optimistic, you can't help but feel happy when you leave the theater. Pixar has definitely proved themselves once again, and I doubt whether any of the other CG movies that will be released this year will even come close to Wall-E's brilliance.

Oh, and when you go see Wall-E, you get to see a
new Pixar short, Presto, about a hungry rabbit and the magician who forgets to feed him. It's hilarious as we watch the bunny try and torture magician into giving him the carrot, but the magician won't cave until the rabbit performs his trick. The battle between the two builds and builds until in the end the magician gets a showstopping trick and the rabbit gets his carrot. A great opening treat before the feature Wall-E begins.