Rant: Wall-E........(possible spoiler)

[JoesInBoston]

Last night I went to watch Wall-E. I caught the 10PM showing and the place was packed. Everyone seemed to enjoy the movie.....so much so that only a few souls didn't stay until the credits had finished running....crazy huh? However, I do not share in their enjoyment and after reading every review I could find on the internet, I feel that I might be the only one who did not appreciate Wall-E.

I was completely content with the movie for the first 35 minutes, where the was virtually no dialogue and no sign of the human race 700 years into the future. The cute trash compacting robot did his thing and nostalgically collected items that have become an icon of a number of generations today. The Rubiks Cube, the iPod, Zippo Lighters, Twinkies (for his pet cockroach) and the Atari game Pong. To see that this droid knew that these things weren't trash made you feel for the little guy.

Then the love story sets in with the arrival of Eve, who reminded me of the original Apple iMac due in part to being created by Apples famed Johnny Ive. The biggest thing that director Andrew Stanton wanted to convey was that emotion (or love, in particular) conquers all, even robotic programming. He sure did that, in a very comedic way.

So what drove me to not like this movie?

The portrayal of the human race 700 years into the future, which we see when Wall-E hitches a ride on Eve's return ship to her origin, the Axiom. The movie to me implied that with the way things are now, every single person is destined to become a being of complete and utter laziness that is just downright disgusting. Nobody does anything on their own except reach up and touch a virtual computer screen that is 3 feet from their faces. They zip around the ship on floating scooters in a zombie like state and are content with the way A.I. runs their life.

For some reason, I just can't relate to that. It bothers me. I can relate to everything else I see in the movie, but not that humans will become mindless oversized pieces of fleshy jello.

And apparently, I am in the smallest bit of the minority. Virtually every critic hails every theme about this movie, from consumerism to love will conquer all to environmental protection. And, in many discussion around the internet, if someone says they don't appreciate even one of those themes, they are flamed and told they are taking it too seriously. Or they are told that it wasn't intentional (horse crap) and that its such a minute part of the movie that they should appreciate the rest of it. I couldn't do that.

And maybe I am taking this a bit too seriously, but when I go out to see a cartoon Disney movie, I expect Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy......not something that looks like it came from the mind of Michael Moore or Eric Schlosser.

[LastPlace]

Personally I think you have given a very good review of the movie, but I too thought it was great.......albeit just a cartoon movie.

Perhaps we won't get to the sedentary state portrayed in the movie but we have certainly become much more sedentary than at any time in the past.

Now where did I park the 'Hoveround'?

I would suggest that you don't see the Jolie movie 'cause it stinks.

[RMetalBroad]

Dang, if you feel this strongly to Wall-E, then might I suggest you see "Idiocracy"? It's by far one of the stupidest films I have ever seen. I guess like Wall-E, there's a moral in the story.

[cycle17]

Wall-E was a funny, heartwarming and very entertaining movie. That's how I took it. Nothing more.

[Pax]

Remember that old song "In the year 2525"? Same prediction...almost 40 years ago.

In the year 2525
If man is still alive
If woman can survive
They may find

In the year 3535
Ain't gonna need to tell the truth, tell no lies
Everything you think, do, or say
Is in the pill you took today

In the year 4545
Ain't gonna need your teeth, won't need your eyes
You won't find a thing to do
Nobody's gonna look at you

In the year 5555
Your arms are hanging limp at your sides
Your legs not nothing to do
Some machine is doing that for you

In the year 6565
Ain't gonna need no husband, won't need no wife
You'll pick your son, pick your daughter too
From the bottom of a long black tube

In the year 7510
If God's a-comin' he ought to make it by then
Maybe he'll look around himself and say
Guess it's time for the Judgement day

In the year 8510
God's gonna shake his mighty head
He'll either say I'm pleased where man has been
Or tear it down and start again

In the year 9595
I'm kinda wondering if man's gonna be alive
He's taken everything this old earth can give
And he ain't put back nothing

Now it's been 10,000 years
Man has cried a billion tears
For what he never knew
Now man's reign is through
But through the eternal night
The twinkling of starlight
So very far away
Maybe it's only yesterday

In the year 2525
If man is still alive
If woman can survive
They may find

In the year 3535
Ain't gonna need to tell the truth, tell no lies
Everything you think, do or say
Is in the pill you took today ....(fading

[Gavush]

I enjoyed it... and I would guess if you looked at the statistics, maybe the prediction isn't too far off.

[Hickeydog]

I enjoyed it. Epsecially the short at the beginning. I think that was possible better than the short before "Monsters INC."

[Defiance]

Here's how I see it. I had wrote up a very long post on this, though I think I can make it a good bit shorter so here goes.

In the world today, not the whole world but the parts Wall-E tends to makes slights against, people can go as far to get groceries and DVDs delivered. People can't be arsed to even drive to Blockbuster to rent a movie or to Safeway to buy some lettuce. On that note, a lot of people don't even cook a simple dinner. It's all flash frozen and microwaved. It's not a terrible lifestyle, but it is the basis of Wall-E's exaggeration. People like convenience, as history proves, but some people take it too far and I can think of a few folks today who are as Wall-E portrays them 700 years in the future just without flying scooters. No, they've got power wheelchairs.

So then we get to the consumerist part. That whole consumerist economy shenanigans is driven by advertisements and the general media. Thus we see in the very first scene all the billboards and advertisements for the main corporation (Buy and Large or something?). This capitalist company has taken over the media and now has a certain amount of influence over the first-world.

Wall-E assumes that the majority of the world, or at least what world survives through the 'apocalypse' is so influenced by the media and that big corporation that they buy all the products the company makes turning them in to lazy slobs. Ok, so it reeks of hyperbole but it's a reasonable worst-case-scenario and that's all that Wall-E is trying to say. However unlikely it is, considering people already live without TVs and cars and they're all the better for it, if the world were to accept the massive sacrifice in health for the ultimate conveniences, then it's perfectly plausible.

I assume you "couldn't relate to it" because it was such a stretch of what-could-happen as well as being just so uncomfortable to think about. The idea was not to relate to them though, as the last thing the moral of the story wants to do is convince us that such a world would be good as that's the last thing it cold be.

[Allister]

The portrayal of the human race 700 years into the future, which we see when Wall-E hitches a ride on Eve's return ship to her origin, the Axiom. The movie to me implied that with the way things are now, every single person is destined to become a being of complete and utter laziness that is just downright disgusting. Nobody does anything on their own except reach up and touch a virtual computer screen that is 3 feet from their faces. They zip around the ship on floating scooters in a zombie like state and are content with the way A.I. runs their life.

For some reason, I just can't relate to that. It bothers me. I can relate to everything else I see in the movie, but not that humans will become mindless oversized pieces of fleshy jello.


I understand what you're getting at, but please remember that is all allegory. They exaggerate certain things to make a point. But yeah, the film did paint a pretty dim and cynical view of our future. Not that I have a problem with that.

"Enjoy a free cupcake, IN A CUP!" ROFL. Comedy Gold.

[KrisPistofferson]

If you can't handle a kid's movie with a slightly serious subtext, how do you wrap your head around movies that are made for adults?

[gascostalot]

One of the reasons that makes Pixar movies a work of art, rather then a form of entertainment, is that Pixar target audience is everybody. All Pixar movies have some elements that are a bit more mature. For example, when Buzz Lightyear found out that his life was an illusion and he starts questioning his existance. Pixar movies are amazing in this regard, so amazing that they have to make a new reward category just to give Pixar.