That's the problem I have with AFI's (American Film Institute's) movie lists: they're inordinately skewed toward relatively recent films, and not really representative of the industry's 100-year history. I guess most people can only remember back a couple years - not only when it comes to film, but to history in general. As my 13-year-old niece recently informed me, "I won't watch anything that is over a year old." How do you fight such pop-culture snobbery?

Which is the same problem I have with contemporary Christian music: we have over 400 years of rich musical heritage, yet the songs we sing on any given Sunday were written in just the last couple years. So, our memory of music is just as short and pop-culture driven as our memory of movies.

Which brings me to Wall-e: filmmaker Andrew Stanton (Finding Nemo) says his film is not about the environment or obesity, but about relationships. Not to dispute the director, but isn't that what all romantic comedies, if not all films - if not all stories - are about? The romance between Wall-e and Eve is obviously the heart of the film. But the plot is about something else. So, even though the filmmakers were not consciously making a movie about the environment or obesity, Wall-e is about our present culture and how we are ruining ourselves and our planet by our obsession with instant gratification.

For those who aren't aware, Wall-e is a very likable little robot that is part of a mechanized effort to clean up earth, while its inhabitants take an extended 5-year cruise aboard a fleet of luxury space ships, headed by one called the Axiom. Unfortunately, the project breaks down so that only Wall-e is left to finish the work, and the 5-year cruise has turned into 700 years! (I don't think Skipper and Gilligan need ever be ashamed again over their cruise going awry!)

The Axiom sends a probe to earth to discover if there is any plant life remaining. When Wall-e meets the robot Eve, whose directive (responsibility) is to acquire the specimen, love ensues. Eventually she does find one plant, which signals the probe to come back to pick her up. But Wall-e isn't about to let the love of his life disappear, so he stows away on the probe.

When the probe reaches the mother ship, we discover that, over the course of the past 700 years, humans have become lazy, bloated floating couch potatoes. There is a plan in place that, should plant life be discovered on earth, the captain of the ship is to return to earth with his passengers. But someone wants to sabotage that plan by getting rid of the evidence of the plant. Wall-e and his girlfriend-robot try to save the plant and thus the plan.

My favorite part of the film is the time spent in Wall-e's home. Like me, he's a collector, and his home if full of all the interesting objects he's found over the course of his career as a garbage robot: everything from extra parts in order to make repairs to himself, to a rubik's cube, a light bulb, a cigarette lighter and Christmas lights (all of which figure significantly in his relationship with Eve). His favorite find is an old VHS copy of Hello Dolly, which he cherishes religiously. He plays and hums one song in particular all day long while working with his best friend, an indestructible roach.

I believe most guys will fully appreciate Wall-e, because he really speaks to the little boy in each of us - but I think he speaks to most women as well. I mean, what little boy wouldn't love rummaging through a really interesting garbage dump finding all kinds of neat gadgets and treasures they can keep? Maybe there are many little girls that feel the same way; but I think what most girls, young and old, will like best about Wall-e is the little robot's thoughtfulness: he would make a good friend.

In spite of the wonderful romance and in spite of the character of the little robot Wall-e - or maybe because of them - I think what's most important about this film is the message it relays about what will happen to us culturally if we continue down this road of self-indulgent consumerism. The floating couch potatoes aboard the cruise ship spend their days in front of a screen, talking with their friends and sipping Buy-N-Large beverages. (Buy-N-Large is the mega company behind the rampant consumerism.) They don't even realize there are swimming pools and jogging tracks onboard the ship because they are so "plugged in" to their consumption and so out-of-touch with what is going on around them.

It's an important message. So, whether rampant consumerism, resulting in an environmental wasteland and an obese society, is the main plot or a subplot, it is an important takeaway, as is how we treat each other. The relationship between the two main robots is obviously the centerpiece of the film, and their expressions and gestures are not only priceless, they are genius, because they are so human. I would also add that another important message is the importance of seeing the value in everything and everyone, rather than being so quick to throw them away. Wall-e is definitely a role model for that, even to the point of being best friends with a roach! [Ugh!]

There is a wonderful interview with director Andrew Stanton on World Magazine that you must read. Here's the link: http://www.worldmag.com/articles/14127.



Waitsel Smith, June 28, 2008

Text © 2008 Waitsel Smith. Images © 2008 Disney-Pixar. All Rights Reserved.