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Andrew Stanton, WALL-E

by Kathryn Durfee
06/27/2008

Leave it to Pixar to take a post-apocalyptic theme, a protagonist reminiscent of silent movie comedians, and an environmental message and create a film that is at once humorous, touching, and romantic. WALL-E directed by Andrew Stanton, is the tale of the little robot who, after 700 years alone, ends up saving our devastated planet, and all because of a pretty girl. Looks like things won't change too much in the future.

When the trash heaps became overpowering and earth was no longer hospitable to humans, the planet was evacuated to a giant space station called the Axiom, and little trash-compacting bots (Waste Allocation Load Lifter - Earth class) were left behind to clean up the mess. Over the years, all of these little guys have become defunct, except for WALL-E. WALL-E, a clunky trash compactor, spends his days collecting garbage and stacking it into makeshift skyscrapers. When he finds something he likes (a bra, a bobble-head, a rubik's cube, even a spork), he takes it home and stores it in his trailer. At night, he watches an old recording of the musical "Hello, Dolly!" with his friend, a cockroach. It is through this near-forgotten musical that he realizes what his life is missing: someone to hold hands with.

During a normal day of work, WALL-E notices a red beam on the ground and follows it until a large spacecraft lands practically on top of him. Out hovers EVE (Extra-terrestrial Vegetation Evaluator), a sleek and shiny robot as pretty as anything on the shelf at your local Apple store. WALL-E thinks she is his chance for love and gives her a gift: a small green plant. This tiny sign of life sends EVE back to the space station, and WALL-E tags along for the adventure of a lifetime.

The muddied colors of the earth WALL-E is tasked with cleaning is astounding, but you don't realize the gravity of the environment's plight until that one tiny plant appears on screen. Never has a glimpse of the color green been so moving; this gentle handling of the topic continues throughout the rest of the film, allowing Stanton to concentrate on story and characters instead of beating a political message into the ground. WALL-E is a cautionary tale, not a slap on the wrist.

WALL-E's dusty and scrapped world is contrasted with outer space and the Axiom. As WALL-E hangs on to the side of EVE's ship, he takes the audience on a wonderful voyage, passing over planets, the sun (MacNerds pay attention to our lead's start-up sound), and through star fields. The imagery is unbelievably beautiful, rivaling the footage shown in planetariums and natural history museums.

The humans of WALL-E are infantile blobs whose arms and legs have been reduced to nearly-useless flipper-like appendages. They hover around in automatic recliners, drink all of their meals from plastic cups, and live with their heads surrounded by projected screens. In the vein of COSTCO and Sam's Club comes Buy 'N Large, the superstore that makes everything from baby food to the space station on which these humans live. Everything that they could possibly want is made available to them in this floating utopia, but these people are too spoiled to realize it. This is the world and race created by consumerism. It can't be all bad, though; after all, WALL-E himself is a product of Buy 'N Large. It is in this detail that Stanton cleverly illustrates the dual nature of creativity.

WALL-E marks director Andrew Stanton's second outing as a Pixar director (his first was Finding Nemo), and this tale of an unlikely hero certainly places him among the pantheon of talent that resides in Emeryville, CA. The story is the child of both Stanton and co-writer Jim Reardon (a longtime contributor on The Simpsons). The team has skillfully blended a subtle environmental message into a family-friendly romantic comedy.

Being a Pixar film, WALL-E is guaranteed to feature top-notch animation. WALL-E doesn't disappoint, but I don't feel the need to repeat here what everyone knows going in to the film. Instead, I will focus on the sound design for the film. The first half-hour or so contains no dialogue, but trust me, you'll hardly miss it. Instead, WALL-E's world is filled with cranks, bleeps, blips, and squeals, all orchestrated by the master sound designer Ben Burtt, also responsible for the sound in E.T., the Indiana Jones series, and the Star Wars films. So much character is given to this little guy purely through sound effects. With binocular eyes and no mouth, WALL-E generates a symphony of different noises, combining with slapstick physical humor to create a contemporary (or future, I guess) Buster Keaton with treads. He and EVE communicate in similar chirps, some of which mesh together to create the heart-wrenching cries and coos of "EEE-VAA" and "WALL-E!"

Every studio has a flop, but Pixar, who has been churning out instant classics for the past 13 years, doesn't appear to have gotten the message. WALL-E is certain to be listed among the best films of 2008 and will be recognized come Oscar season for the Best Animated film category if not Best Picture. With this beautifully-rendered film, WALL-E's creators have shown that beauty and goodness can survive an inhospitable planet; it comes in a little yellow box.

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