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I saw Wall.E on Friday, and I've faffed about since then trying to find the words to describe it. Stupendous. Grand. Warm. Utterly, wonderfully human for all that the main characters are robots. It's a genuine, sweet, gentle movie that generates more joy in seven words than most bloated Hollywood epics achieve in ten thousand. Wall.E imparts more feeling to the seven words at his disposal than most human actors manage. Who knew the quest to hold another robot's hand could be so moving? I would happily pay full price to see it again. Multiple times.
It's not perfect. At times, its anti-consumerist, tree-gnawing environmentalist message veers from scathing to cloyingly evangelistic, but the criticisms aren't without merit, either. Humans are getting fatter, lazier, stupider, and more self-absorbed, and we as a species have made a history of making a mess and expecting others to clean it up or bear the consequences. The idea of mankind abandoning Earth for a five-year space cruise while machines try to revive the environment doesn't strike me as far-fetched at all; it's exactly the oblivious, self-serving, convenient, and grossly impractical solution we'd concoct to avoid shouldering any blame or suffering unwanted effects. "It's not my problem. Let the government fix it."
Yes, because the government has a track record of rising to the occasion when disaster strikes.
The rhetoric wasn't as obnoxious and ham-handed as the Interstate Ode in Cars, but it was obvious, and Pixar should have a care. It's wonderful that they've taken to heart Spiderman's credo of, "With great power comes great responsibility." What's not so wonderful is the insidious transformation of their wonderful films into ninety-minute platform vehicles. If Pixar feels the need to act responsibly, fine. Donate their huge profits to conservation groups or environmentally-friendly research and development. Establish a foundation to promote green education in schools. But don't hijack a marvelous story about loneliness and the risks one is willing to take for love and human(robotic) connection for a Mr. Mackey-esque lecture on the evils of modern affluence. "Humans are self-indulgent, egotistical lardasses, mmmkay? Mindless consumerism is bad, mmmkay? Go green, mmmkay?"
Of special interest to me was that in this future world, everyone laid on hover mattresses to move because walking was too much effort, not too mention inconvenient. Inactivity had led to morbid obesity and such weakness that no one could sit up without difficulty. In this world, gross mobility impairment was the norm. Everyone was disabled, but no one was stigmatized for it.
"Gimp utopia," I said to Roomie as we left the theater.
"Gimp utopia sucks."
Touche.
Green sermonizing notwithstanding, Wall.E is an excellent, beautiful film, and I'll leave smoldering tracks in the dust when it hits DVD.
A+
It's not perfect. At times, its anti-consumerist, tree-gnawing environmentalist message veers from scathing to cloyingly evangelistic, but the criticisms aren't without merit, either. Humans are getting fatter, lazier, stupider, and more self-absorbed, and we as a species have made a history of making a mess and expecting others to clean it up or bear the consequences. The idea of mankind abandoning Earth for a five-year space cruise while machines try to revive the environment doesn't strike me as far-fetched at all; it's exactly the oblivious, self-serving, convenient, and grossly impractical solution we'd concoct to avoid shouldering any blame or suffering unwanted effects. "It's not my problem. Let the government fix it."
Yes, because the government has a track record of rising to the occasion when disaster strikes.
The rhetoric wasn't as obnoxious and ham-handed as the Interstate Ode in Cars, but it was obvious, and Pixar should have a care. It's wonderful that they've taken to heart Spiderman's credo of, "With great power comes great responsibility." What's not so wonderful is the insidious transformation of their wonderful films into ninety-minute platform vehicles. If Pixar feels the need to act responsibly, fine. Donate their huge profits to conservation groups or environmentally-friendly research and development. Establish a foundation to promote green education in schools. But don't hijack a marvelous story about loneliness and the risks one is willing to take for love and human(robotic) connection for a Mr. Mackey-esque lecture on the evils of modern affluence. "Humans are self-indulgent, egotistical lardasses, mmmkay? Mindless consumerism is bad, mmmkay? Go green, mmmkay?"
Of special interest to me was that in this future world, everyone laid on hover mattresses to move because walking was too much effort, not too mention inconvenient. Inactivity had led to morbid obesity and such weakness that no one could sit up without difficulty. In this world, gross mobility impairment was the norm. Everyone was disabled, but no one was stigmatized for it.
"Gimp utopia," I said to Roomie as we left the theater.
"Gimp utopia sucks."
Touche.
Green sermonizing notwithstanding, Wall.E is an excellent, beautiful film, and I'll leave smoldering tracks in the dust when it hits DVD.
A+
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