Movie Review: Wall E

A cartoon should be goofy, larger than life, and full of chattery characters, right? The latest Pixar creation, Wall E, is none of these, and yet it's a deeply enjoyable layered ride.

You could subtitle this film "Robots In Love". There's a lot I don't want to say about the plot so that you're not spoiled, but I can tell you this: Wall E - Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class - appears to be the lone occupant of a wasted planet. Like a good worker, he takes his lunch cooler out to the piles and mounds of trash, and accompanied by his cockroach friend, uses his compactor insides to crush the trash into usable cubes. From there he builds skyscrapers of junk. He also keeps some of the treasures he finds - rubber duckies, light bulbs, a spork - and he happily cannibalizes other Wall Es that have stopped working to supplement his parts. He hardly makes any noises, but you understand him perfectly. The dialogue comes solely from a videotape of 'Hello Dolly' that Wall E is fascinated with.

Suffice it to say he meets other robots and has adventures. That may sound simplistic - on one level the story really is very simple - but it's better for you to come into the story like Wall E goes through his life and his adventures - with a sense of newness and wonder.

Wall E's beginnings on the wasted planet are drawn so intricately, with such detail, that you forget you're watching a cartoon. Wall E has so many human traits and movements (and occasionally he mimics a turtle, to funny effect) that you quickly pick up on the fact that he's just no ordinary robot. It may seem slow to the kiddies, but it takes its time to tell its story, while it gives you a chance to absorb Wall E's world and feel for him as strongly as if he was human.

The first half of the film is based on this home planet (our home planet as a matter of fact), and it feels incredibly different than any other Pixar film. It's quiet, introspective, detailed, calm, and funny. You will find yourself laughing at the robot pratfalls as though you'd never seen them before. You'll wince when he hits his head, 'aw' at his attempts to dance, feel sad with him when he feels alone.

The second half of the film is more typically Pixar - the action picks up and there is actual dialogue, but it's no less funny. Without spoiling too much, I can tell you that Fred Willard plays the President (yes, real live people in a Pixar film!), consumerism has taken over the world, and we've gotten so attached to our video screens that we forget everything else. I'll leave all the details out - you need to see it for yourself. I can say, however, that the adage about the eyes being the window to the soul is absolutely true, and a pair of blue eyes in this film tell us so much that I was just amazed at what we're able to learn from this simple device.

And this is one of those movies where there's a lot going on in the background, so I need to see it again to see everything I might have missed. So much is happening in the second half of the film that there are probably a ton of inside jokes and funny moments happening behind the action, and you'll only catch them on future viewings. That said, the kids will like the second half of the movie better, while adults will adore the first half. But everybody will go home happy.

This movie is proceeded by a hilarious short, 'Presto' that left me laughing so hard I was in tears. Just remember to feed your rabbit.

Animals: That cockroach is well-nigh indestructible, but no animals are harmed in the film. And after the movie's over, you'll feel like getting out to walk the dog, run a marathon, anything other than sit in front of a screen.

Overall: This introspective film with the eco-sensitive bent is gorgeous and makes you want to consider hugging your toaster. I give it four roses out of five.