Movie Review:Wall·E

I make it a point never to miss any movie even remotely related to Pixar Animation Studios. Amongst the top creative organisations in the world today, Pixar has carved a special place for itself. We’re going to tell our next generation and the one after that(heaven knows how many generations will hear about this, like they hear about Ingmar Bergman and Satyajit Ray. I’m not making comparisons….that was just to give an idea) about Pixar’s flawless characterisations and concepts.

Wall·E seems to be inspired by iRobot and Idiocracy but still is in a different genre. One of humanised Robots but nothing related to the movie ‘Robots’. Wall·E(our hero) is a machine built by mankind for waste management on Earth. His full name is Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class. He spends his time compacting thrash on the planet and heaping it systematically. Until one day a futuristic machine lands on Earth and out pops EVE….another Robot. What happens next? Watch Wall·E to find out.

Andrew Stanton who gave us the brilliant Finding Nemo, is the writer and director of Wall·E. The film has other characters like Eve, Captain and Hal (the cockroach) but largely it focuses on the hero….Wall·E. A few robotic voices are used once in a while for personification. But since the central character is a robot most of the film has no dialogue…..it relies instead on visual communication via body language and movements. I’d say precision in animation becomes all the more difficult due to large focus on movements. Pixar and who else but Pixar could put up a such a fantastic show.Wall·E is convincing right down to the smallest leg of his E. The disciplined, frightened, humanised robot whose best friend is Hal, a cockroach. EVE’s gradual change from a disciplined, work oriented robot to a robot who discovers herself is well graphed. Brilliant characterisation by Andrew Stanton and Pete Docter who jointly wrote the story.

Possibly the only glitch is in parts where the show Wall·E playing a VHS tape and watching humans on a screen. How does a 700 year old(or even older considering VHS tapes are pretty old even today) VHS tape work in the first place? Come to think of it, the tape and what Wall·E sees on screen is of importance in the screenplay ahead. So on grounds of cinematic liberty that can be excused.