WALL-E (2008)

I've never been so emotionally invested in a robot.

WALL-E is a well-thought-out story of a lone robot trying to compact all of Earth's garbage while humans drift through space waiting for their home to become livable again. Andrew Stanton, with some assistance from the Grand Master of Sound, Ben Burtt, has given us characters that can win you over without saying a word. There are plenty of other elements to laud this film for - improved camera work over past Pixar productions, original concepts, biting socio-environmental commentary, more nods at other films than at which you can shake a fish... But the true, achievement of this film is how easily you can engage with it.

It's not that this film is perfect. It has it's share of plot holes/logical fallacies, but, unlike so many other films, I didn't feel the need to think about them until after the movie was over. And yes, there's some rather drawn out moments in the second act. But the powerful story of a creature looking for companionship overwhelms the flaws. Even when WALL-E takes more beatings than you'd like to see, it's a testament to the reason you don't want to see him get hurt: you like him. He's the deepest animated character possibly ever and for that, I can forgive him for looking a lot like the horrid No. 5 from Short Circuit.

Rating: 5/5
Recommended for: Everyone everywhere.

Extended review: I first have to mention WALL-E's beat up VHS of Hello, Dolly. It's the only complete dialogue in the first 30 minutes. Even though it's a film I don't really enjoy, I like it here. The two numbers selected fit harmoniously with WALL-E's aspirations - in a way giving him an extra voice. In a way it was a bold choice, but it paid off.

The other "character" meriting a more in-depth mention is/are the humans. Or, to put it more precisely, the large, lazy, floating tubs of lard. On Earth, WALL-E comes across an old billboard ad for The Axiom and it highlights that even grandma can come along on this ship because of the floating chair technology. Once aboard The Axiom you see everyone uses the chairs due to bone-loss from being in space so long and sheer laziness. It's elements like that which show how well-thought-out and detail-oriented the people behind this film are. And that's definitely appreciated.