Wall E - B+

In theaters. Rated G, 102 minutes. Trailer.

Animated movies about robots are about as far as I can go from my movie comfort zone. The only Pixar movie I have ever seen is the original Toy Story, and I generally avoid such fare at all costs. But, with offspring approaching kindergarten, my viewing habits are about to change. Tonight I took in the late show of Wall E as a parental preview to see if it was a worthy and appropriate first movie theater experience for said offspring. Wall E is a sweet, gentle love story between two robots and their shared mission to return wayward humans to the earth. Click for more of WALLE:

[The next 2 paragraphs contain spoilers]The film opens with a There Will Be Blood style opening sequence of the hero silently toiling at his sole purpose, cleaning up trash on earth. Wall E is the last of his kind on an industrial waste heap earth populated only by himself and a friendly cockroach. After his 'workday', he spends his evenings playing with the interesting trash keepsakes he has saved and watching a beat up copy of Hello Dolly to keep himself company. One day another robot, Eve, is dropped off by a large spacecraft, and Wall E is immediately in love with 'her'. She is tasked with analyzing everything she sees and slowly warms to his 'advances'. Once she finds plant life, her programming forces her to shut down and protect it, and she is reclaimed by the spaceship and taken back to the 'mothership' with a love-stricken Wall E hanging on for the ride.

The Axiom is a large deathstar-like ship with all of humanity riding on it while Wall E was supposed to be cleaning the earth for their return. The humans got on the ship and have been there for 700 years, living like slobs in oblivion. They are all fat, riding on a hovercraft that takes them everywhere and they have screens in front of their faces all the time and only shop and eat. Once Eve's package is delivered, the ship will return to earth automatically because the existence of such life means that the earth is ready for humans again. The problem is that the ship's autopilot (a clear Hal 9000 homage) has taken over the ship and tries to keep the plant from being delivered. A protracted struggle ensues, and of course everything works out and they return to earth.

The animation is truly breathtaking throughout, with my favorite sequence being the 'space dance' with the fire extinguisher. Wall E is just a robot, but his loving and timid personality is more fully developed than most real life characters. The scenes where he emulates the dancers in Hello Dolly are truly moving and his optimism is encouraging throughout. The film explores love, community, environmentalism, consumerism, American self-satisfaction and conformity. The environmental undertones didn't bother me, and I heartily enjoyed the skewering of lazy people and consumerism. All of the trash on earth has been produced by an omnipresent Wal-Martesque company (BuyNLarge), and they are the builders and operators of the Axiom. The humans never walk, don't think and are always consuming and just existing (echoes of Idiocracy). The captain of the ship (voiced by Jeff Garlin) is the only significant human character, and as he fights the autopilot, he yells "I don't just want to survive, I want to live".

The film is getting the best reviews of any film so far this year, and it is really good, but it just isn't my bag. I don't generally care for animation or non-Kubrick science fiction, so its hard for me to really enjoy this type of movie. For those that care, my verdict on whether its okay/worthy of my offspring's first theater experience, I decided it is. The themes are good and there are no inappropriate moments or violence. Interview with Director Andrew Stanton in Christianity Today.

Viewer note: There is another stupid animated featurette (like the one that ran with National Treasure 2 last winter) before the film, which meant the 9:30 showing didn't start until 9:48 (the minute I walked in, by the way).