Wall-E (2008, Andrew Stanton, USA) **1/2
Be warned: humans grow fatter by the day by consuming fast food in a cup, the earth is in a state of decay, trash lines the cities, and robots- well robots are more cute and cuddly than ever (except…). EXCEPT the evil Hal robot (ok, so the computers name isn’t Hal, but it looks like Hal) bent on destroying man. It must want humans to get fat and it definitely does not want humans to return to earth. But why not? Earth is the universe’s biggest junkyard thanks to the humans’ carelessness (which presumably sent them up into space in the first place). But I guess evil Hal knows that complacent, fat humans are better than environmentally conscious ones. And good thing this Hal does not have a brain, because if it did it would know that letting fat humans who barely have a bone structure because of extreme decay (so much so that they can barely walk) and who think that pizzas grow on trees wouldn’t survive a day on the barren waste filled earth. Or maybe this evil Hal likes the human’s and wants them to survive, even if it means they live in The Brave New World.
The mission? For humans to return to earth- for after 3,500 years the earth’s atmosphere is finally able to support life, again. But Hal cannot let them complete the mission. Thank goodness for the anthropomorphic robots Wall-E and Eve.
Aren’t they adorable?
They can get the plant to the center of the spaceship so that humans can return home. Too bad these intelligent, capable, and loveable robots do not realize that earth for these pathetic humans is a death trap. The humans on the ship may envision earth as a utopia but they are unaware of the death and struggle that awaits them on earth. Without their food in a cup (their soma) how will they live? Food does not grow in a matter of days unlike the cheerful ending implies. No one realizes the utter destruction that the darling robots Wall-E and Eve unknowingly inflict upon these bestial humans. I would say even the creators at Pixar did not think that their safe, family friendly entertainment would secretly be the end of mankind. But now they have been warned, even the cutest robots reap destruction.
Is this evil what unknowingly happens when a movie tries to be the family friendly 2001: A Space Odyssey? Let’s face it, Wall-E opens in the full glory of 2001: A Space Odyssey. Using the avant-garde technique first discovered by 2001- visuals as a means of storytelling- Wall-E discards dialogue for the first 27 minutes. Standard narrative storytelling has never been as abstract as this curious little robot Wall-E, after all isn't it shocking to hear no dialogue and just sound effects! 2001 would be glad that its avant-garde techniques (such as no plot, a 30-minute sequence of rapid colors, a star child, and monoliths) would be realized in this non-threatening, easy to swallow story made for audiences of all ages. After all, Kubrick intended to make a heartwarming, human tale, its just that Hal destroyed the mission.
And now the humans in Wall-E stand to meet a similar fate as the humans in 2001. Why did we ever trust the robots!
~Kristen Gorlitz