Wall-E

(2008)

Dir: Andrew Stanton

It’s a dirty job but someone’s got to do it.

I have a serious problem watching a lot of Pixar films: I just can’t bloody handle them! Andrew Stanton and company are so versed in the art of playing with heartstrings like Jimi Hendrix on a Fender that it makes each and every second of their films an emotional (cliché time) rollercoaster.

Wall-E is no different. Whilst he never quite reaches the astronomic heights of brilliance of the Toy Story trilogy, it comes about as close as any Pixar film save possibly Finding Nemo. The story is dazzling. Our hero is Wall-E, a trash compactor robot designed to clear up an abandoned earth ruined by humanities’ excess. There’s just one problem: Wall-E is all alone. There’s no debate in my mind that he wins the award for the most adorable movie character of the past decade. Hands down. His mere presence makes this dystopian wasteland appear beautiful. His silent interaction with his cockroach companion, as he diligently goes about his work, is a joy to behold, filled with subtle slapstick humour and wonderful touches of emotion, as Wall-E stares longingly at old footage of musicals.

The action picks up with the arrival of EVE, a probe bot sent down to search for plant life. Thus begins the strangest and most beautiful romance in cinema history. It really is a joy to watch Wall-E’s pursuit of EVE, following her literally to the stars and beyond. Wall-E drops ever so slightly, with the introduction of the human characters, although the gluttonous vision created by these obese tubs of lard is a horridly poignant one.

But this film is all about robots. They are sensational. Wall-E is the star. He may very well be one of the greatest characters of all time, and this film is right up there with him.

Now would someone please hand me a tissue.

**** ¾ / *****

“So this is what beyond infinity looks like?”