First of all, Wall-E is adorable. Looking at him literally brings tears to my eyes—how in the world did they manage to make a dingy robot so darn cute? How does Eve not fall head over heels the moment she sees him? How does she dismiss the ‘sculpture’ he makes of her? Ugh. Honestly, that is probably my only critique of the whole film.
Anyway, this movie is absolutely captivating—even with a complete lack of any real human dialogue in about the first 40 minutes of the film. The movie manages to say so much without saying anything at all. There is no dialogue there because there is nothing that needs to be said—it speaks for itself.
And what an ingenious move to make; the opening scene is enthralling, and leaves the audience dumbfounded, mesmerized, and even slightly nostalgic (of their lost world). It is so incredible and extremely ironic with the contrast of the music and the images we are shown. And you know what else it is? Terrifying. The air is hazy and filthy, the streets are empty, there are literal piles of trash and waste replicating buildings and skyscrapers, there is no life, no color and an ominous post-apocalyptic silence—all we can hear are the whirs and beeps of Wall-E, and then the scurrying of his cockroach friend (who is also oddly cute and lovable). New York City—the city that never sleeps—is deserted, bare and absolutely silent. Eerie.
Something else amazing about the film is that it is G-rated. They managed to produce a children’s movie on this daunting and horrifying threat of our own potential extinction from earth. The human population was literally driven off of their home planet because it was unsustainable… No one paid attention to their contribution to overpopulation, climate change, or any other global environmental problem. We, ourselves, need to pay attention, spread awareness and make changes to better our lives on the only Earth that we will ever get. Wall-E forces you to really pay attention to this, while managing to tell one of the cutest love stories ever.
Let’s focus on the humans for a minute. Completely dependent on technology, their days literally consist of being driven around and doing almost absolutely nothing for themselves. They are sitting right next to each other and video chatting. (Sound familiar?). If they fall out of their chairs, they are physically incapable of getting up themselves. They consume and consume and consume—mindlessly. And while their features and actions are definitely over-exaggerated, are they really completely off? You cannot ignore the similarities between us and these ‘fictional’ characters. As soon as their babies are born, they begin advertising brand names to them—that is what they grow up to know. It’s like when we used to teach children the alphabet and use apple for A and banana for B, and now, kids are associating McDonald’s with M and Subway with S.
The message in Wall-E is huge and not something to ignore. It is a classic, clever film that deserves all of the praise and attention it received. Wall-E had so much room to completely fail, to turn into just another love story without any deeper meaning, but they took this chance to reach everyone. They knew half of their audience would be adults, and they played this to their advantage.
So, if you haven't seen Wall-E—watch it. And if you have, watch it again. (And maybe bring a box of tissues because I promise you will get emotionally invested in Wall-E and Eve’s relationship). Also, if you know nothing about climate change, overpopulation or any of our environmental crises, educate yourself! This is not something to just ignore.
