Director: Andrew Stanton
Rating: G
Running Time: 98 minutes
Stars: 4
Pixar have made a different style of film with WALL-E. Directed by Academy Award winner Andrew Stanton (A Bug's Life, Finding Nemo), it has all of the usual brilliance that is to be expected from Pixar, from intricately detailed animation to wit and humour spread throughout the film. While Pixar films in the past have been an in-your-face rollercoaster ride from start to finish, WALL-E begins placidly, gradually building up the action as the film progresses. The Incredibles began with superheroes catching criminals. Ratatouille began with a swarm of rats fleeing a house. WALL-E begins with a solitary robot driving around and turning rubbish into neat little squares. For this reason I would not classify WALL-E as a kids film. It is slower than most Pixar or animated films and children could find it difficult to concentrate for 90 minutes. This might explain why there were kids running around the movie theatre when I saw it. Fans of Pixar films will be happy to know that keeping with the Pixar tradition, WALL-E is preluded by a very entertaining short film.
WALL-E is set on a polluted and deserted Earth, 800 years in the future. The only creatures left are WALL-E, the last remaining rubbish disposal robot, and a cockroach. WALL-E is lonely and his longing for love is influenced by an old video of Hello, Dolly, which he watches each night. WALL-E goes about his daily business when he is suddenly joined by EVE, a high-tech robot from outer space. They form a friendship and when EVE returns to space and the humans that sent her, WALL-E follows and ultimately saves the planet.
The film has a strong ecological message which the film makers have cleverly woven into the story of the film without making it feel like a lecture but ultimately it is the relationship between WALL-E and EVE that shines through.
