MANILA, Philippines—Next week, Pixar will sweep viewers off their feet once again when it delivers the groundbreaking, computer-animated sci-fi romance, “WALL-E,” one of this year’s best films, to local theaters:
The year is 2815, some 700 years after mankind abandoned a planet that had become a virtual wasteland that could no longer support life. Back in 2115, when man had already conquered space, the influential multinational company, Buy n Large, had wrestled control of Earth’s leadership and decided to sponsor a five-year human exodus to outer space—until the planet shall have recovered from the toxic destruction brought about by man’s utter disregard for his environment.
Pampered lives
As humans lived comfortable and pampered lives onboard massive robot-run spaceships, hundreds of thousands of solar-powered WALL-E (Waste Allocation Load Lifter, Earth-Class) robots were left behind to clean up mankind’s toxic mess by compacting unrecycled trash into cubes and stacking them up for easy disposal.
Fast-forward to the 29th century: Only one rickety WALL-E (voiced by Ben Burtt) has remained operational. But, like man—who, by now, has been rendered immobile by obesity and his dependence on technology—this robot has also evolved: After years of watching video clips from the 1969 Barbra Streisand movie musical, “Hello Dolly!,” WALL-E has become sentient!
However, while the musical has turned the adorable robotic protagonist into a hopeless romantic, it has also made him feel alone and, well, lonely. After all, only a listless cockroach and a fragile small plant have been keeping him company for some time.
But, life takes an exciting albeit romantic turn for WALL-E when EVE (voiced by Elissa Knight), a female robotic Extraterrestrial Vegetation Evaluator whose mission is to find botanical life on Earth, arrives.
It’s love at first sight for WALL-E! But, when EVE is retrieved by the spaceship that brought her to Earth, WALL-E clings on to the ship’s outer hull—and embarks on a breathtaking romantic adventure in outer space that will have viewers swooning and cheering!
Disparate
Disparate elements seamlessly converge in Pixar’s latest cinematic winner: A triumph in sound design, WALL-E’s story resonates well with viewers from all age brackets. Other than the endearing way WALL-E says his name, this robot hardly needs words to express himself.
Stanton’s film manages to fuse rousing entertainment, technical competence and thematic gravity. More amazingly, the production—despite the bleak, post-apocalyptic, Malthusian scenario it initially depicts—soon replaces its doom-and-gloom tone with infectious bursts of romantic inspiration and optimism.
“WALL-E” is a brilliantly realized audio-visual spectacle whose robotic protagonists ironically convey more overt emotions than many of their human counterparts. Its relevant themes should serve as a reminder that, indeed, there’s more to life than wealth and technology.
