Monday, March 20, 2017

Sci Fi Top 100, #40: "WALL-E" (2008)

Movie Stats:
Released 2008 (USA)
American, in English
Director - Andrew Stanton
Stars - Ben Burtt, Elissa Knight

Plot Summary:
In the distant future, after Earth has been overrun by garbage and abandoned, WALL-E (Burtt), a trash compacting robot with a personality, finds a plant and, with it, hope. Knight provides the voice of EVE, WALL-E’s love interest.

Warnings:
Minor violence.

Bad Stuff:
[SPOILER]
I don’t believe that a group of humans who’ve spent their whole lives in space being pampered, who’ve never exercised, and who lack both critical thinking skills and knowledge, would be enthusiastic about building a society on a planet that is barely habitable. Even if they were enthusiastic, I don’t believe they could do it.
[SPOILER]

Anachronisms. For example, 900 hundred years from now, are they really going to still have fire extinguishers exactly like the ones we have now?

Good Stuff:
It’s sweet and adorable and fun.

I love the soundtrack.

It’s clever, imaginative, and funny. There are many scenes that make me chuckle.

Stunning visuals.

The Verdict:
I like this movie. I’m having a difficult time imagining why anyone wouldn’t. WALL-E is an extremely likable protagonist. The story is simple and, for the most part, makes sense. It’s pretty to look at, it’ll make you laugh, and you’ll have the catchy songs stuck in your head for days. Do I have some quibbles? Sure, but this is a kids’ movie, and I tend to give those a little more leeway. This is the kind of film that’s so enjoyable that you’re likely to watch it more than once. I know I have. Side note: Going to see this movie with a friend is one of the last things I did before I left Portland for good. It’s still a little bittersweet for me.

I give it 4.25 stars.

2 comments:

Patricia said...

This is the movie Matt watched when he drove to Seattle for something and had to spend the night. I have never seen it. But I've heard good things.

Your point about the fire extinguisher has me wondering what objects we've been using unchanged for 900 years. I would guess that the fork, knife and spoon are what they were. I wonder if some other tools have changed much in 900 years, like the hammer. Chairs are the next thing that come to mind. But I wonder what machines were around then that we still use.

balyien said...

I'm quite literally stunned that you've never seen this!

That's a good point re: objects that remain largely unchanged throughout time. Too bad we won't be around 900 years from now to see how things play out!