Why Must I be a Teen Robot in Love?

Packing a lot of laughs, and eye-popping digital animation, I quite enjoyed Disney and Pixar’s latest animated feature, WALL-E. Though most of the gags were visual, slapstick humor, the film is sure to please viewing audiences everywhere, especially those looking for fairly wholesome, family entertainment.

I was a little disappointed at the lack of dialogue-driven humor, something quite prolific in animated features since Disney’s 1992 feature, Aladdin. In fact the film in general is very dialogue-light, which might present a challenge for some. However, I was quite pleased to experience an original concept and visuals reminiscent of some of the great space adventures, a la 2001: A Space Odyssey.

One self-reflective bit had the vintage WALL-E robot powering up and emitting the Macintosh “Start-Up” tone, which garnered a lot of laughs. Interestingly, this demonstrates the depth to which technology has now integrated itself into popular society. It was one of many references to Apple, which is no suprise given Pixar was founded, and is still currently run, by Steve Jobs, Apple CEO. Another clear indication that Apple has come back into the public mainstream, though I think it will take a lot more for their personal computer division to get back on top.

The politics here succeed, where a film like Happy Feet failed miserably. They aren’t heavy handed, jarring and confusing. They’re subtle, weaved into the plot fairly nicely, and presented as an element of the story, not dominating it.

There were a lot of sad, melancholy moments that work well, though I could have dealt with a few more, up-beat sequences – something that was promised in the trailer, a teaser which featured part of Michael Kamen’s score for Brazil (as many, man do).

At the end of the day, human courage and ingenuity triumphs, and the robot gets the girl. I don’t think this feature bears too much repeating, as most of the enjoyment is the expectation of what is to come, but a deeper analysis could certainly be done, with some interesting results.