Review

Review Date: 29-June-08
Spoiler Rating: Medium
Juju Judgment: Juicy

WALL*E (2008)

A few weeks ago I overheard a small boy telling his mother how much he loved WALL*E and I thought, Damn, the marketing blitz has succeeded when little 'uns are clamoring for a movie critter before the movie has even come out. I was surprised upon making the critter's formal acquaintance, for WALL*E is not just an adorable animated robot. He carries a message, and that message runs something like, "Hey, kids! Your parents are pounding the final nail into your planet's coffin and leaving you with a fetid wasteland not fit for any living thing except cockroaches! Oh, and if you blast off for greener pastures in space, you will lose your soul!" Which is not the kind of thing that lights up a first grader's eyes or inspires plastic toys in Happy Meals.

The message does engender a unique entertainment experience, however. The latest from Pixar Studios softens the moral with simple themes and promotes a hero all the more memorable because he does not really speak. The titular robot is a trash compactor left behind on the dump once called Mother Earth who combats his loneliness by keeping busy, collecting relics from the civilization that abandoned him for the stars, and looking after a pet cockroach. His cheerful curiosity in the face of abysmal prospects marks him as a being who deserves happiness. Opportunity arrives in the form of an egg-like robot acronyminously named EVE who has been sent to Earth for reconnaissance. It is love at first sight for our hero, who courts her with fervor and follows her into space when she is called back to the mother ship. There, he discovers what has happened to humankind in the centuries since leaving home (it ain't pretty) and unwittingly participates in its return to wholeness and fulfillment — while securing his own in the process.

Instead of a Toys R Us promo or Disney porn, WALL*E falls under the heading of sci-fi by addressing the future of man and his place in the universe. What is particularly interesting (in addition to how endearing the nondescript, obsessive cleaning robot is whom WALL*E meets on the ship) is that whereas many futuristic stories take it for granted that we will migrate into space with all our strengths, failings, and ambitions in tow, this movie asserts that we will lose ourselves if we lose our connection to Earth. WALL*E's need for EVE mirrors other sentient creatures' need for a place where they belong, where purpose is defined by shared community. The little guy who works diligently and seeks beauty among the trash suggests that giving up and walking away is not the answer. Behind that notion, of course, is the idea that it would be better not to create the trash in the first place. This bit of propaganda is so wise that it does not prevent WALL*E from sweeping you up.

Copyright © 2008 The Jujube (M. I. Kim). All rights reserved.